Richard Wagner

RichardWagner

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Wagnerbruhl

Minna

Richard Wagner c.1840

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Richard Wagners Steckbrief 1849

Mathilde Wesendonck by Karl Ferdinand Sohn, 1850

Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his later works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Carl Maria von Weber and Giuseppe Verdi, Wagner revolutionized opera through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of art"), by which he sought to synthesize the poetic, visual, musical, and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama. This was articulated in a series of essays, including "Art and Revolution" (1849), "The Artwork of the Future" (1850), and "Opera and Drama" (1851). The Bayreuth Festival plays an important role in the realization of Wagner's ideals.

Biography

Born in Leipzig, in the Kingdom of Saxony, Wagner's family was of modest means, and he was largely self-taught in music. He attended Leipzig University and received some brief lessons from the composer Christian Gottlob Neefe. Wagner's early compositions were influenced by Ludwig van Beethoven and Carl Maria von Weber. In 1833, he held his first appointment as musical director at the theatre in Würzburg. Wagner's early operas, such as Die Feen (The Fairies, 1833), Das Liebesverbot (The Ban on Love, 1836), and Rienzi (1842), met with mixed success.

Wagner's fortunes began to change with the 1842 premiere of Rienzi at the Dresden Court Theatre. Following this, he was appointed Royal Saxon Court Conductor. During this period, he composed Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman, 1843), Tannhäuser (1845), and Lohengrin (1850), which further developed his style and began to attract a significant following. However, his involvement in the May Uprising in Dresden in 1849 forced him into exile in Switzerland.

While in exile, Wagner wrote his most important theoretical works and began the composition of the Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), a cycle of four operas, including Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold, 1869), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie, 1870), Siegfried (1876), and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods, 1876). These works were part of his contribution to the development of the Gesamtkunstwerk. Wagner sought to premiere these works in a festival theatre designed to his specifications, which was realized with the opening of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in 1876.

Wagner's later works, including Tristan und Isolde (1865), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, 1868), and Parsifal (1882), continued to explore the themes of love, redemption, and the quest for wisdom. Wagner's innovations in harmony and musical structure, particularly his use of leitmotifs and the unending melody, had a profound influence on the development of Western music, including the works of Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Arnold Schoenberg.

Legacy

Wagner's influence extends beyond music to the realms of philosophy, literature, and the visual arts. His works have inspired countless interpretations and provoked both admiration and controversy, particularly because of his anti-Semitic views and the appropriation of his music by the Nazi regime. Despite these issues, Wagner remains a pivotal figure in the history of opera and the broader cultural history of the 19th century.