Are Richard Wagner's operas a potential tool to teach medical students and young doctors humanities?

There is an increasing interest in using poems and novels as a powerful resource to teach medical students ethical and professional behavior, virtues, and to illustrate the complexity of the doctor-patient relationship. This approach as part of a narrative medicine provides a framework for approaching a patient's problems more holistically and also offers a method for addressing existential inner qualities such as grief, hope, and despair that are part of illnesses. Occasionally, operas (mainly Italian) have also been used for this purpose. I however, propose that medical students may learn a lot from a deeper confrontation with the operas from the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Certainly, Wagner had a rather self-centered personality, also known for his notorious nationalistic and anti-Semitic essays, but his complete Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) encompasses almost every human feeling, conflict, and psychological problem including suffering, compassion, redemption, etc. Wagner's opera somewhat reflected his unsteady life. Wagner was convinced that his art could fill the void left by the retreat of traditional religion, suggesting that humanity may achieve freedom through the perception of beauty uniting communities through shared aesthetic experience. Not a very modest approach and not a very likable character, but a great composer. After a short biography, I will provide some (because of the complexity of the subject, naturally limited) arguments on what medical students can learn from Wagner operas, even though I am convinced that Wagner and his music are not easy to digest, even for experienced opera lovers. Key messages Operas may teach you through the characters and plots important lessons in humanities and ethics. The German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) with his Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) is a typical example of a composer of very complex operas dealing with almost every psychological aspect of human life (love, death, jealousy, hate, theft, even crime/cruelty against animals, murder, etc.). Wagner himself was a rather unpleasant personality, also reflected in his unsteady biography, thus excellent art may not always go in parallel with good ethical behavior and manner. Nevertheless, a medical student or young doctor may learn a lot regarding ethical behavior and virtues by taking an interest in the plots and motives of Wagner operas.

Automated summary

There is increasing interest in using poems, novels, and operas as resources for teaching medical students ethics, professionalism, and the complexity of the doctor-patient relationship. Richard Wagner's operas, despite the composer's controversial personal life, offer a comprehensive exploration of various human emotions and psychological issues. Medical students can learn about ethical behavior and virtues by studying the plots and motives of Wagner's operas, despite the complexity of his music.