Looking for Wagner recommendations

'Personally I love this music, but Der Walkure puts me right out. All that incestuous swooning in the cave for what seems like hours with no action at all.'

are you expecting some X-rated behavior?

Q.Whats the definition of a man's foreplay?

A.Fancy a sh*g?!!!
(or two hours of begging).

LOL! Gawbless, god bless you.

No I have no expectations of Wagnerian porn.As I said, Der Walkure is just plain too long and boring.Of course the famous "Ride of the Walkure" is what everyone thinks of when they think of Wagner.Perhaps this is what I don't like.It has become gosh.
To me the immolation scene in Goetterdamering is so incredible that the "Ride" pales by comparison.

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Wagner is one of the great anti-Semites in musical history. It is very hard to separate the evil man from the evil men and women who worshipped his music.

I believe that one must separate the artist from the man. Wagner was one of the greatest musical geniuses in history, the definitive iconoclast. It can be argued that he affected music more than any other artist has affected his art. For many decades afterwards, all composers had to deal with his concepts. Music exploded in many different directions after him - it was never the same again. He is also, at least was as of the late 1980's, still the third most written about figure in the western world. Many Jews championed and still champion his music. It is even played again in Israel now. To say that it is only "evil men and women who worship his music" is absurd.

I think it is a common mistake to equate Wagner the man with Wagner the Nazi hero. The Nazi's exploited the "Wagnerian Hero" icon for their own propaganda.Indeed, the idea that Hitler wept when you heard Das Rhinegold brings tears to my eyes....NOT!

One could compare Wagner and the Jews in a similar light as some of the founding fathers with slaves. Everyone loves Jefferson and Washington,and they were slave owners.No one thinks of them as evil,just a product of their time.The same cold be said of Wagner.

You cannot deny the invention of the Leif Motiv as a musical form.

Also the scope of the Ring cycle and the over 25 years in the making is quite literally herculean.

I would suggest taking a look at this non-operatic pieces as well.
His Leider such as "The Ruckert songs" are genius in a completely different way than the operas.

Happy Christmas