Who was Richard Wagner? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

German Celebrities Born In May

Also Known As: Wilhelm Richard Wagner

Died At Age: 69

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Cosima Wagner (m. 1870–1883), Minna Planer (m. 1836–1866)

father: Carl Friedrich Wagner

mother: Johanna Rosine

siblings: Albert

children: Eva von Bülow, Isolde Ludowitz von Bülow, Siegfried Wagner

Composers Conductors

Height: 5'5" (165 cm), 5'5" Males

Died on: February 13, 1883

place of death: Venice, Italy

Cause of Death: Heart Attack

City: Leipzig, Germany

More Facts

education: Leipzig University

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1

What influenced Richard Wagner's music compositions?

Richard Wagner's music compositions were heavily influenced by German mythology, literature, and philosophy, as well as his own personal experiences and emotions.
2

What is the significance of Richard Wagner's opera The Ring Cycle?

"The Ring Cycle" is a series of four epic operas that explore themes of power, love, and the struggle between gods and mortals. It is considered one of Wagner's greatest achievements and a masterpiece of the operatic genre.
3

How did Richard Wagner revolutionize opera?

Richard Wagner revolutionized opera by introducing the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, or total artwork, which combined music, drama, and visual elements to create a unified artistic experience. He also pioneered the use of leitmotifs, recurring musical themes associated with specific characters or ideas.
4

What was Richard Wagner's relationship with the composer Franz Liszt?

Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt had a close friendship and mutual admiration for each other's work. Liszt was a strong supporter of Wagner's music and helped promote his operas, while Wagner dedicated his opera "Tristan und Isolde" to Liszt.
5

How did Richard Wagner's anti-Semitic views impact his legacy?

Richard Wagner held anti-Semitic views that are evident in some of his writings, most notably in his essay "Judaism in Music." While his music continues to be celebrated for its artistic innovation, Wagner's anti-Semitism has been a source of controversy and has influenced interpretations of his work.

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Childhood & Early Life

Richard Wagner was born on 22 May 1813 in Leipzig, Germany, to a baker’s daughter, Johanna Rosine and her husband Carl Friedrich Wagner, a clerk in the police service who died of typhus six months after Richard’s birth.

He was the 9th child of his parents. After Carl’s death, his mother moved along with her children to live with a friend of her deceased husband, Ludwig Geyer in Dresden.

His mother had an affair with Geyer, and probably went on to marry him, but no church documents have been retrieved to document the same.

Until he was fourteen years old, Richard believed that Geyer was his biological father; he was named Wagner after he learned that he was originally the son of Carl Wagner and Geyer was his stepfather.

Ludwig Geyer had a mighty influence on his life. Geyer was a painter, actor and poet and it was through him that Wagner experienced theatre.

Not only his step-father but his biological sisters were also opera singers and thus, a new passion was born in him that led him to opera and dramatization.

In 1820, his stepfather put him into Pastor Wetzel’s school in Possendorf, here he received tutelage in piano by a Latin teacher, who described his talent as sheer torture for musical instruments.

The next year, ill fate befell his familyonce again when his stepfather passed away and he was enrolled into the Kreuzschule boarding school. Here, found his passion as a playwright and was inspired by Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

He was just a young teenager when he wrote his first drama ‘Leubald’, a tragic play. But it was only in 1829, after watching a performance of Wilhelmine Schroder-Devrient, did his drive to compose both music and script escalate to its highest peak.

He joined Leipzig University and took lessons from Thomaskantor Theodor Weinlig in 1831. Weinlig was pleasantly surprised by Wagner’s passion and declined any fees for his lessons.

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As a Composer

Richard Wagner’s brother Albert helped him become a choir master in 1833. In the same year he composed his first piece of opera called ‘Die Feen’ which when translated means ‘The Fairies’.

However, he couldn’t stage his first opera. In order to attain professional growth, in 1834 he became a musical director at the opera house in Magdeburg.

It was during this time that he wrote ‘Das Liebesverbot’ or ‘The Ban on Love’, a piece similar to Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’, that was staged in 1836 at Magdeburg theatre itself.

Nonetheless, it was only performed once;curtains were drawn on the second show as the theatre shut down, which left him reeling from financial losses.

A Disintegrating Career

At this gutted moment in his life, the actress Christine Wilhelmine ‘Minna’ Planer helped him get back on his feet by introducing him to the theatre at Konigsberg.

They married on 24 November 1836, but their love lasted only for six months as Planer left him for a wealthier man. The marriage being a failure urged Wagner to move to Riga.

At Riga he became the music director of a local theatre and aided Minna’s sister Amalie, as a singer at the theatre. This act of benevolence reconciled the separated couple and Minna came back into his life.

In the late 1830s Wagner was steeped in debt and in order to save himself from creditors, he escaped to Paris in search of wealth and success. He lived in France and hoped to prosper but found no opportunity and took a deep dislike for the French musical culture.

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Wagner

By 1840, Richard Wagner had completed his opera ‘Rienzi.’ He then returned to Germany in 1842, swearing to never leave his homeland again. The play was then staged in Dresden.

‘Rienzi’ did receive some success, but it wasn’t until 1845 at the premiere of ‘Tannhauser’ that Wagner received his first major success. At around this period he was also appointed the Royal Saxon Court Conductor.

In 1846, he had already completed half of his poem, ‘Lohengrin’ after which the inception of his most revered work in opera history—the ‘Der Ring des Nibelugen’ that spanned four dramas—ultimatelydawned on him.

Left-wing Politics & Exile

With rising success he gradually became involved in politics. He supported the left wing with his socialist ideals that he shared with August Rockel and Mikhail Bakunin.

He minutely supported the May Uprisings that occurred in Dresden on account of the new constitution declare by King Frederick Augustus II in 1849.

The uprisings ended with the defeat of the revolutionaries and warrants were issued in their names, thus Wagner absconded to Paris once again and then to Zurich spending the next twelve years in exile.

It was only in 1862 that the political ban on Wagner was lifted. He settled in Biebrich where he began working on ‘Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg’, a comedy.

Turn of Fortune

On the other hand, Wagner’s wife, Minna, by now was undergoing severe depression after she found a letter her husband had written to the poet-writer Mathilde Wesendonck.

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Mathilde was the wife of Otto Wesendonck, a silk entrepreneur, and she was indulging in an extra-marital affair with Wagner. Unable to trust her husband again, Minna separated from him.

King Ludwig II was an admirer of Wagner’s work and possessed a soft corner for the composer; himself being homosexual though Wagner was not. He summoned Wagner to Munich and paid all his debts. Wagner reciprocated deep admiration in return of the tremendous support provided by the king.

In 1865, after toilsome rehearsals, ‘Tristan und Isolde’ was performed at the National Munich Theatre. The opera was titled after Wagner’s alleged daughter, Isolde, who was born to Cosima, the wife of Hans von Bulow.

Learning of this development, King Ludwig II was disappointed and had the composer removed from Munich.

Minna died around the same time in 1866, and Cosima conceived two more of Wagner’s children, a daughter named Eva and son, Siegfried. Finally, Cosima, around 24 years younger to Wagner, divorced her husband and married Wagner in 1870.

In 1876, the complete ‘Ring Cycle’ which included ‘Rheingold’, ‘Walkure’, ‘Siengfried’ and ‘Götterdämmerung’ was premiered at ‘Festspielhaus’ an opera house Wagner had built for himself at Bayreuth, and in 1882, he wrote his last drama ‘Parsifal’.

Major Works

Richard Wagner’s best known work was ‘The Ring Cycle’—a cycle of four epic music dramas—thatwas considered decades ahead of its time. He wrote the libretto and music over the course of several years, from 1848 to 1874. Such portrayal of drama hadn’t hit Western entertainment until then, as composers and directors hadn’t thought of including sequels to their operas.

Some of his other successes were, ‘Tannhauser’ and ‘Lohengrin’. He also wrote a series of essays in 1849-52.

Facts About Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner had a pet Newfoundland dog named Peps, who often accompanied him to rehearsals and performances.

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Wagner was known to have a deep affection for animals.

Wagner was a prolific writer in addition to being a composer.

He wrote essays, articles, and even authored his own librettos for his operas, showcasing his diverse talents beyond music.

Wagner was a pioneer in the use of leitmotifs in opera, a technique where musical themes are used to represent specific characters, emotions, or ideas in a consistent way throughout a work.

Wagner was a skilled conductor and often conducted the premieres of his own operas.

His meticulous attention to detail and interpretation of his own works added a unique depth to his performances.

Wagner's music and ideas had a significant influence on later composers and artists, with many considering him a visionary in the development of opera and music in the 19th century.

Personal Life & Legacy

He died in 1883 on 13th February at the age of 69, from a heart attack. He was on a holiday in Venice with his wife Cosima and his children.

His body was shipped back to his home in Bayreuth where he had spent the last years of his life; he was buried in the garden of Villa Wahnfried.

The genesis of his musical dramas laid the foundation for several art forms of the 20th century. His compositions were not merely articulate scripts of literature; rather they contained intense and polemic philosophy.

Richard Wagner Biography

You wanted to know

What influenced Richard Wagner's music compositions?

What is the significance of Richard Wagner's opera The Ring Cycle?

How did Richard Wagner revolutionize opera?

What was Richard Wagner's relationship with the composer Franz Liszt?

How did Richard Wagner's anti-Semitic views impact his legacy?