Richard WagnerMay 22, 1813 - February 13, 1883
He was born in Leipzig, Germany. After his father’s early death his mother, Johanna Rosine, married Ludwig Geyer, an actor and playwright and moved to Dresden. Geyer's love of the theatre was shared by his stepson, and he took part in his performances.
Geyer died when Richard was eight and he was sent to a school in Dresden, paid for by Geyer's brother. With a desire to become a playwright, his first creative effort was a tragedy which he was determined to set to music and persuaded his family to allow him to take music lessons. In 1828, after moving back to Leipzig, he first heard two of Beethoven's symphonys. Beethoven immediately became his inspiration.
Richard enrolled at the University of Leipzig in 1831 where the cantor of Saint Thomas church was so impressed with Wagner's musical ability that he refused any payment for his lessons, and arranged for one of his piano works to be published. In 1833, at the age of 20, Wagner composed his first complete opera, Die Feen (The Fairies), which was not premiered until shortly after the composer's death in 1883.
He spent the next twelve years in exile and found himself in grim personal straits, isolated from the German musical world and without any income to speak of although he continued to develop works he had begun leaving Dresden. His wife Minna was falling into a deepening depression and he fell victim to erysipelas, which made it difficult for him to continue writing. In 1862, Wagner finally parted with Minna, though he continued to support her financially until her death in 1866. Between 1861 and 1864 he tried to have Tristan und Isolde produced in Vienna, but despite over 70 rehearsals the opera remained unperformed, and gained a reputation as being "unplayable", which further added to his financial woes.
His fortunes took a dramatic upturn in 1864, when 18-year-old King Ludwig II of Bavaria, an admirer of Wagner's operas since childhood, had the composer brought to Munich. He settled His considerable debts, and made plans to have his new operas produced. After grave difficulties in rehearsal, Tristan und Isolde premiered to enormous success at the National Theatre in Munich on 10 June 1865, the first premiere in almost 15 years. He became embroiled in an extra-marital affair and was forced to leave the court of King Ludwig, who kindly gave him a home beside Switzerland's Lake Lucerne. Richard and his new love, Cosima were married in 1870 which marriage lasted to the end of his life.
By 1882 and a second Bayreuth Festival where his final opera, Parsifal was premiered, he was extremely ill. During the sixteenth and final performance of Parsifal on 29 August, he secretly entered the pit during Act III, took the baton from conductor Hermann Levi, and led the performance to its conclusion.
After the Festival, the Wagner family journeyed to Venice for the winter. On 13 February 1883, Richard died of a heart attack. His body was returned to Bayreuth and buried in the garden of the Villa Wahnfried.
Back to.....Home Page.....Free Sheet Music Online Back to.....Classical Music History Back to..... top of page......Richard Wagner
|
Following a marriage in 1836 to actress Christine Wilhelmine "Minna" Planer Wagner moved to the city of Riga, then in the Russian Empire, where he became music director of the local opera. But by 1839, the couple had amassed such large debts that they fled Riga to escape from creditors. During their flight, they and their Newfoundland dog, Robber, took a stormy sea passage to London, from which he claimed to draw the inspiration for The Flying Dutchman, one of his most famous works. In 1842, the couple moved to Dresden, where his third opera had been accepted for performance and where they lived for the next six years, eventually being appointed the Royal Saxon Court Conductor. The Wagners’ stay at Dresden was brought to an end by Richard's active involvement in leftist politics. After one uprising he had to flee to avoid arrest, first to Paris and then to Zürich.
Beginning in about 1848 he had worked on a cycle of epic operas called The Ring of the Nibelung. Following his marriage to Cosima and with the support of King Ludwig, he again turned his attention to the completion of the Ring cycle and wanted the complete cycle to be performed in a new, specially-designed opera house. The city of Bayreuth was chosen and the foundation was laid. In order to raise funds for the construction, "Wagner Societies" were formed in several cities, and he began touring Germany conducting concerts. The Festspielhaus finally opened in August 1876 with the premiere of the Ring cycle and has continued to be the site of the Bayreuth Festival ever since.
