LITTLE GIRL IN VALHALLA

New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 513, 22 April 1949, Page 19

LITTLE GIRL IN VALHALLA

THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BAYREUTH. By Friedelind Wagner, with Page Cooper. Eyre and Spottiswoode. English price, 15/-. HIS book is by the daughter of Richard Wagner’s only son, Siegfried. On the death of Siegfried in 1930, Winifred Wagner, Friedelind’s mother, teok over the direction of the Bayreuth festivals. Winifred was a passionate supporter of Hitler; her daughter revolted against the Nazi regime, and left the country. What the book gives us, therefore, is a behind-the-sofa view of Bayreuth on the one hand, and of the Nazi circus on the other. There are some intimate pictures of Hitler, and of other and more reputable celebrities. The story is exciting at times, and there are moments when it is quite moving. It will interest both the opera enthusiasts and the student of world affairs. The authoress is an ardént personality, a cross between Marie Bashkirtseff and Margot Asquith. She has an excellent memory, and the book is packed

with anecdotes. At times she seems to me to be a little naive. For example: "I feel very strongly about the frequently heard statement, totally untrue, that my grandfather was a Nazi in spirit and that his music exemplifies the Nazi ideology. He never could have endorsed such a pattern of thinking. His -whole life, his writing and his music all deny such a possibility. If only people would read what he wrote instead of listening to Nazi propaganda. Wagner foresaw with prophetic clarity the drama and tragedy of our time. If Hitler had read the Ring of the Nibelung with understanding "he could have foreseen

his own doom."

A.R.D.

F.