The characters and motifs of Wagner’s music dramas have ancient, subcutaneous roots in the mythologies of global cultures, which expand the spectrum of ‚myth‘. More recent findings in the human sciences, palaeogenetics, archaeology, astrophysics and NASA’s „Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence“ cast the gods and mythological figures in a different light. While productions often show Wagner’s transcendental figures as everyday people, visualizations of their spiritual, religious and extraterrestrial dimensions can open up a broader horizon. Some of these sources will be assigned to the motifs of Wagner’s music dramas using selected examples. Their affinity to the religion of art is presented with a brief overview of relevant positions in Wagner literature.
