Richard Wagner

22 May 1813 — 13 February 1883

Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was a German composer, conductor, and theatre director best known for his revolutionary operas, which he called “music dramas.” Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the music and the libretti for all of his stage works. His mature style is characterized by rich orchestration, complex harmonies, and the systematic use of leitmotifs—recurring musical themes associated with characters, ideas, or dramatic situations. Among the most famous excerpts from his works are the “Ride of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre and the “Wedding March” (Bridal Chorus) from Lohengrin.

Operas

Opera	Premiere or date of written	Libretti available
Die Feen		german
Tristan und Isolde		german
Siegfried		german
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg		german
Götterdämmerung		german
Lohengrin		german
Siegfried		english
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg		english
Götterdämmerung		english
Tristan und Isolde		english
Lohengrin		english
Die Feen		english
Lohengrin		russian
Tristan und Isolde		russian
Siegfried		russian
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg		russian
Götterdämmerung		russian
Das Liebesverbot	1836, March 29	german, russian
Rienzi	1842, October 20	german, russian
Der fliegende Holländer	1843, January 2	german, english, russian
Tannhäuser	1845, October 19	german, english
Das Rheingold	1869, September 22	german, english, french, russian
Die Walküre	1870, June 26	german, english, french
Parsifal	1882, July 26	german, english

History

• January 2, 1843 — World premiere of Richard Wagner’s opera "Der fliegende Holländer" at the Königliches Sächsisches Hoftheater (Semperoper), Dresden on 2 January 1843.
• July 22, 1844 — Richard Wagner conducted the first performance of his concert work "Faust Overture" in Dresden, a composition originally intended as the opening movement of a Faust Symphony.
• April 13, 1845 — The premiere of Wagner's "Tannhäuser" took place at the Königliches Hoftheater in Dresden.
• April 28, 1850 — The premiere of Richard Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" took place in Weimar under the direction of Franz Liszt.
• June 21, 1868 — Wagner’s "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" received its world premiere at the National Theatre in Munich.
• April 6, 1869 — The Paris premiere of Wagner’s "Rienzi" opened at the Théâtre-Lyrique under Jules Pasdeloup.
• June 6, 1869 — Siegfried Wagner, German opera composer, conductor, and later artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival, was born at Tribschen near Lucerne.
• May 10, 1876 — First performance of Richard Wagner's Centennial Inaugural March at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, conducted by Theodore Thomas.
• August 16, 1876 — Richard Wagner’s opera Siegfried premiered at the opening of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus as part of his monumental *Ring* cycle.
• July 26, 1882 — First complete performance (world premiere) of Wagner’s final opera "Parsifal" at the Bayreuth Festival, conducted under the composer's supervision.
• January 1, 1914 — First Italian performance of Wagner’s "Parsifal" at Teatro Comunale di Bologna on 1 January 1914, conducted by Rodolfo Ferrari.

Images

Notable videos

External links

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Bayreuth Festival (in German and English) Official site of the Bayreuth Festival, a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by Richard Wagner are presented.