Gesamtkunstwerk

American  

[guh-zahmt-koonst-verk] / gəˈzɑmtˈkʊnst vɛrk /

noun

German.

1. total art work; an artistic creation, as the music dramas of Richard Wagner, that synthesizes the elements of music, drama, spectacle, dance, etc.

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Etymology

Origin of Gesamtkunstwerk

First recorded in 1935–40; from German: literally, “total art work”

Example Sentences

But it was in the staging of his own plays that he approached the Wagnerian ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk or integrated artwork.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2025

It is a Gesamtkunstwerk comprising visual art, literature, philosophy, speculation, koans and sociopolitical commentary.

From Washington Post • Dec. 22, 2021

A performance artist who has collaborated with the Royal Opera House choir, she imagined Bank Job as Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk, or a total work of art.

From The Guardian • Sep. 15, 2020

The name Gesaffelstein is a portmanteau combining Albert Einstein with the Wagnerian term Gesamtkunstwerk, which can be loosely translated as “total art work.”

From The New Yorker • Mar. 18, 2019

For me, it’s a combination of everything, the musical as an illustration of Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk, which I’m sure you never imagined you’d hear in conjunction with “Movin’ Out.”

From New York Times • Aug. 29, 2018