The life of Richard :: essays research papers

born Leipzig, 22 May 1813 died Venice, 13 February 1883). He was the son any of the police actuary Friedrich Wagner, who died currently after his birth, or of his mothers friend the painter, histrion and poet Ludwig Geyer, whom she married in August 1814. He went to school in Dresden and therefore Leipzig at 15 he wrote a play, at 16 his initiatory compositions. In 1831 he went to Leipzig University, also studying music with the Thomaskantor, C.T. Weinlig a melody was written and successfully performed in 1832. In 1833 he became chorus mortify at the Wrzburg theatre and wrote the text and music of his first opera, draw Feen this remained unheard, but his next, Das Liebesverbot, written in 1833, was staged in 1836. By then he had made his dbut as an opera conductor with a small company which however went bankrupt soon after performing his opera. He married the singer Minna Planer in 1836 and went with her to Knigsberg where he became musical director at the theatre, but he so on left and took a similar post in capital of Latvia where he began his next opera, Rienzi, and did much conducting, especially of Beethoven. In 1839 they slipped away from creditors in Riga, by ship to London and then to Paris, where he was befriended by Meyerbeer and did hack-work for publishers and theatres. He also worked on the text and music of an opera on the Flying Dutchman figment but in 1842 Rienzi, a large-scale opera with a semipolitical piece set in imperial Rome, was accepted for Dresden and Wagner went there for its exceedingly successful premiere. Its theme reflects something of Wagners own politics (he was involved in the semi-revolutionary, mind Young Germany movement). Die fliegende Hollnder (The Flying Dutchman), given the next year, was less well received, though a much tauter musical drama, beginning to move away from the number opera customs and strong in its evocation of atmosphere, especially the supernatural and the raging seas (inspired by the stormy trip from Riga). Wagner was now appointed joint Kapellmeister at the Dresden court. The theme of redemption through a womans love, in the Dutchman, recurs in Wagners operas (and perhaps his life). In 1845 Tannhuser was completed and performed and Lohengrin begun. In both Wagner moves towards a more sustained texture with semi-melodic narrative and a supporting orchestral fabric constituent convey its sense.