Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen. Band IV. Oper und Drama, Teil 2, 3. Eine Mitteilung an meine Freunde

By all accounts one of the most narcissistic men ever to put pen to paper, Richard Wagner was a revolutionizing force in the world of nineteenth-century music. In the Ring des Nibelungen opera cycle and elsewhere, Wagner's expanded tonal vocabulary and use of leitmotifs - both of which would resonate through the succeeding decades - were juxtaposed with an inflated philosophy that would have a profound impact on the young philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.