For more than a century, Wagner's music has been the subject of intense debate among philosophers, many of whom have attacked its ideological framework - according to some, anti-Semitic and reactionary. In this book, undoubtedly one of the great recent contributions to the extensive body of literature on the German musician, Alain Badiou, radical philosopher and Wagnerian enthusiast, offers a detailed reading of the critical responses to the work of the composer, among which are included Adorno's writings and co-optation by National Socialism. It also offers a new and clarifying approach to the "Wagner case", which ends with a penetrating interpretation of that great -and controversial- work that is "Parsifal". The volume, which is completed with a long epilogue by Zizek, is an attempt, written from passion, to highlight the relevance of Wagner in the contemporary world.