Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883), was the pre-eminent German opera composer of the nineteenth century, he is also one of the few composers who was fully cognizant of their place in history. His operas had incalculable influence not only on the operatic sphere but on Western music as a whole (outlined in his theory of the 'total work of art' or 'Gesamtkunstwerk'). The Ring Cycle is generally regarded as being among the greatest single achievements in Western music (it includes Ride of the Valkyries). His life and opinions were as exotic and controversial as his operas. Apart from his outspokenness on a variety of subjects, Wagner was a flagrant self-publicist and avowed anti-Semite which has caused problems for reception of his work down to the present day.

The Bayreuth Festival, founded by Wagner himself and which opened in 1876, dedicates itself solely to the performance of the composer's operas. Concert tickets are highly prized, and very difficult to acquire due to the level of demand for them.

Key Works: Wesendonck Lieder, Der Fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman), Tannhauser, Lohengrin, The Ring of the Nibelungen (includes Das Rheingold, Die Walkure (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, Gotterdamerung (The Twilight of the Gods)), Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nurnburg, Parsifal

Key Artists: Karl Böhm, Placido Domingo, Kirsten Flagstad, Wilhelm Furtwangler, Hans Hotter, Herbert von Karajan, Hans Knappertsbusch, Wolfgang Windgassen

Influenced by: Beethoven, Bellini, Berlioz, Liszt, Weber
Influenced: Boulez, Bruckner, Debussy, Elgar, Mahler, Schoenberg, Richard Strauss, Wolf, Zemlinsky