Richard Wagner 1813-1883

Richard Wilhelm Wagner was born on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig, Germany. Compared to most other famous composers, his musical education began relatively late; he did not begin to study the violin and piano until the age of fourteen. He soon began to study composition and theory, and after six years of study had acquired enough experience to become chorus master at the Würzburg Theater. It was at this time that he also wrote his first opera, entitled Die Feen, based on Carlo Gozzi's play, La Donna Serpente.

Although Die Feen remained unperformed, more operas were soon to follow. In his third opera, Der Fliegende Holländer Wagner cautiously began to experiment with the breakdown of set forms for dramatic purposes, a procedure more evident in Tannhäuser (Dresden, 1845). The style of Wagner's early maturity is exhibited best in Lohengrin, finished in 1848. At this time, Germany was experiencing political upheaval and revolution, and Wagner was exiled to Switzerland for his participation in revolutionary activities. As a result of this exile, Lohengrin was not produced until 1850.

In exile, Wagner began work on a dramatic poem entitled Siegfrieds Tod (Siegfried's Death), which would evolve into his famous, four-evening cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). The development of this work was spread out over more than a decade, delayed by his work on two other operas: Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

In Tristan (1865) Wagner reached the outer limits of chromatic harmony, pointing the way toward Arnold Schoenberg's systemization of atonality. Its quintessentially romantic story reflects the composer's susceptibility to the philosophical ideas of Schopenhauer and to the charms of the poet Mathilde Wesendonck. Die Meistersinger (1868), much more diatonic in musical style, reflects Wagner's interest in Protestant chorales and counterpoint as the structural roots of German music.

During his period of greatest productivity, Wagner was fortunate to have the support of two individuals. One was the Bavarian king Ludwig II, who risked the displeasure of his cabinet ministers by supporting Wagner lavishly with state funds. The other was Cosima von Bülow, daughter of Franz Liszt, who faced social ridicule and disapproval by leaving her husband to become the mistress of a composer twenty-four years her senior. Cosima and Wagner were married in 1870, after she had already borne him three illegitimate children. Cosima's husband, Hans von Bülow, was a devoted disciple of Wagner's and the conductor of the premiere of Tristan und Isolde.

In addition to his revolutionary and influential works of art, Wagner left behind another monument that changed the musical world. In the small Bavarian town of Bayreuth /bye-royt/, Wagner constructed an opera house designed especially to perform his own works. In this theater Wagner hoped to pioneer what he called Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art, in which the audience would be completely immersed in a fusion of drama, music, and poetry. The operation of this theater is still in the hands of Wagner's descendants.

Wagner died in 1883, but his legacy continues to be felt in the worlds of music and theater.

Freeman, John W. The Metropolitan Opera: Stories of the Great Operas. New York: The Metropolitan Opera Guild, W.W. Norton & Company, 1984.