Opera's Second Death
Žižek, S. and Dolar, M. (2002) Opera's Second Death, London and New
York: Routledge.
If Hitchcock's films are the most common source of examples in
Žižek's books, Wagner's operas probably run them a close second.
Picking up on this exemplary obsession and expanding his analysis of
it from Tarrying with the Negative, Žižek here devotes half a book to
the subject - the other half being Dolar's discussion of Mozart's operas.
What is slightly unusual about this book is the subtle change of emphasis
where, instead of using Wagnerian opera as a means to explain Lacanian
theory, Žižek is more intent here on using Lacanian theory to explain
Wagnerian opera. This perhaps makes the book a more relaxing read
than the standard Žižekian work, as the reader is no longer fraught
with the expectation that each example will have to bear the weight
of a demanding Lacanian theorem.
