WAGNERIAN INSEMINATION IN MANOLIS KALOMIRIS’S ŒUVRE - THE CASE OF O PROTOMASTORAS

Abstract

In this thesis I present evidence of the influence of Richard Wagner on Manolis Kalomiris, a Greek composer who is considered to be a rather influential figure in the music-cultural development of Greece during the beginning of the twentieth century. I believe that both Richard Wagner’s ideas and the formal design of his dramas can be traced in Manolis Kalomiris’s visions and work. Therefore, first through a comprehensive discussion of Kalomiris’s contribution in the Greek periodical Noumas between 1908 and 1914, I analyze his texts in order to reveal potential ideological filiations with Wagner’s ideas. Then using a formal approach I look at Kalomiris’s first music drama, O Protomastoras, for technical aspects of that could be attributed to Wagner’s influence.