RICHARDWAGNER

PhoebeGonzales
IndependentStudyMusicHistory
Prof.Szekely
3May2016

INTRODUCTION
Achievements,seldomcreditedtotheirsource,aretheresultofunspeakabledrudgery
andworries.

RichardWagner

BIOGRAPHY
WilhelmRichardWagnerwasborninLeipzig,Germany(theplaceofJSBachsdeath),
onthe22ndofMay,1813.1Attheyoungageof15,Wagnerwroteaplay
Leubald
andatthe
ageof16hebeganwritinghisfirstmusicalcompositions.2Hischildhoodhadaratherrocky
beginningWagnerspresumedfatherwasapoliceofficer,aCarlFriedrichWagner.Carl
WagnerwasafanofthetheatreandamemberofFranzIIsCompany.Itappearsthathealso
ratherenjoyedthecompanyofactresses.CarlWagnerhadanaffairwithaWilhelmineHartwig,
andhiswife,JohanneRosinePtz,consoledherselfwithanactoraswellLudwigGeyer(alsoa
poetandpainter).ThisbecameknownastheGeyeraffairandRichardWagnerwasriddled
withuncertaintyofhisrealfathersidentitythroughouthislife.3
Inadditiontohispaternalwoes,WagnerwasbornduringtimesofstrifeinEuropethe
NapoleonicWars.Inparticular,WagnerwasaffectedbytheBattleofLeipzig.Occurringwhile
hewasjustaninfant,thisbattlebroughtlastingrepercussionsforhim.Thespreadoftyphoid
feveroccurredasaresultoftheNapoleonicoccupation,andwithinthefirstsixmonthsof
Wagnerslifethediseaseclaimedthelifeofhisfather,CarlFriedrich.ShortlyafterCarl

2012.DocumentosenzatitoloLIM.

http://www.lim.it/nuovosito/scheda.php?id=612&ritorno=novita.php
.
2013.RichardWagner,ComposerDSOKids.
http://www.dsokids.com/listen/bycomposer/richardwagner.aspx
.
3
2012.DocumentosenzatitoloLIM.

http://www.lim.it/nuovosito/scheda.php?id=612&ritorno=novita.php
.
2

Friedrichsdeath,WagnersmothermarriedLudwigGeyer.4ThisnewfamilymovedtoDresden
in1814.Unfortunately,GeyerdiedonNovember30th,1821,whileWagnerwasonly8yearsold
GeyersdeathcausedtheWagnerstomovebacktoLeipzigin1827. 5
ThemostaffectionRichardseemstohavegotteninhisyouthcamefromGeyer.Geyer
continuouslyencouragedhiminpursuitoftheartsandcreativity.Followingintheyearsafterhis
death,Wagnerbeganwriting
LeubaldundAdelaide
,aharshfiveacttragedywithoutmusic.He
wrotethisunderthenameRichardGeyerwhileastudentatDresdens
Kreuzschule.
Wagnersfirstmusiclessonsareobservedbeginninginsummerof1829,underthe
directionofRobertSippandGottliebMller.Alsoin1829,hecomposedhisfirsttwopiano
sonatas(inDminorandFminor)anideaforanoperaentitled
Hexenkche
wasalsostarted.
DuringhistripstoPraguetovisithisfamily(whohadlefthimbehindinDresdenwithan
acquaintance),hemettwowomen,daughtersofCountPachta,andfellinlovewiththem.This
loveunrequitedanditgavehimtheseedsforthedarkimagesin
TheWedding
. 6
WagnermarriedMinnaPlannerinNovemberof1836.ThecouplelivedinKnnigsberg
whereMinnawasofferedanactresspositionandhewasthemusicdirectorofthecity.They
livedinParisduringtheyearsof1839through1842.Eventually,Wagnerfindshimselfcaught
upinpoliticsdangerousNationalSocialistPartypolitics.Hefleesin1849toSwitzerland,
whereheremainsinpoliticalexileforthirteenyears.By1862heandMinnahadparted.Later,
heandFranzLisztsdaughter,Cosimaweremarried.Overthenexttwentyyears,Wagner

2015.RichardWagner:NewLightonaMusicalLifeJohnLouisDiGaetani...
https://books.google.com/books/about/Richard_Wagner.html?id=tWkPAAAAQBAJ
.
5
2005.WagnerOperasBiographyofRichardWagner.
http://www.wagneroperas.com/indexwagnerbioportal.html
.
6
2012.DocumentosenzatitoloLIM.

http://www.lim.it/nuovosito/scheda.php?id=612&ritorno=novita.php
.

composedseveralotherworks,includingcompletionof
DerRingdesNibelungen
.The
Ring
requiredatheatrespeciallyconstructedasnoexistingtheatrewaslargeenough.7
RichardWagnerdiedonthe13thofFebruaryintheyear1883,inVenice,Italy. 8
SELECTEDWORKS

DerRingdesNibelungen
thebiggestofWagnersworks,the
Ring
isafouropera
composition.ItwasbeguninNovemberof1851withafirstdraftof
DasRheingold
and
thefirsttwooperas(andpartofthethird)werewrittenthroughJulyof1857.However
afterwritingthethirdopera,Wagnertookabreakandwrote
TristanundIsolde
and
Die
Meistersinger
beforeresuminghisworkonthethirdopera,
Siegfried
,andfinishingthe
fourthoperainNovemberof1874.9
DasRheingold:
Rheingold
This first opera opens with a dwarf and gold of the Rhinemaidens. The
Rhinemaidens tell him that if someone were to denounce all love, that
person would then be able to create a ring a ring that gives its wearer
ultimate power (sound familiar? Tolkien rejected his work being
compared toWagners,buttheideasarebasicallythesame).Thedwarf,
Alberich, rejects love, steals the gold, and flees before the Rhinemaidens
canreact.10
DieWalkre:
"TheValkyries"

2005.WagnerOperasBiography,PartThree.

http://www.wagneroperas.com/indexwagnerbio3.html
.
2013.WagnerOperasBiography,Part2RichardWagnerandhisOperas.
http://www.wagneroperas.com/indexwagnerbio4.html
.
9
2008.BriefSummaryoftheRing.
http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/Teutonic_Mythology/ringsum.html
.
10
2002.THERINGSYNOPSISDASRHEINGOLD.

http://users.utu.fi/hansalmi/wagner/rhein.html
.
8

 Unlike
DasRheingold,DieWalkurehasthreeactsinsteadofone.Thefirst
act is, essentially, a reunion of twin brother and sister who were parted
from one another long ago. The women previously had been inaloveless
marriage, andnow she,Sieglinde,andthebrother,Siegmund,areunitedin
love. The second act opens with Wotan and one of his nine warrior
daughters (the Valkyries), Brunhilde. Wotan is the father of Sieglinde
and Siegmund, and supports their incestuous marriage. Brunhilde defies
her fathers orders and tries to protect Siegmund (who is killed) and
Sieglinde. The third act reveals that Sieglinde is carrying the child of
Siegmund. Wotan punishes Brunhilde for her betrayal by banishing her
from the immortals, no longer a Valkyrie, and places her on the
mountainside to under a spell of sleep to be taken by the first man who
comesuponher.11
Siegfried
Alsothreeactsinlength,
Siegfriedisthe story of,youguessed it,Siegfried
son of Siegmund and Sieglinde and how he grows up. Siegfried finds
the pieces of his fathers shattered sword with the help of a Wanderer
(a.k.a. Wotan in disguise), reforges it, and kills Fafner the dragon who
guards the hoard of gold formerly belonging to the Rhinemaidens. As a
result, Siegfried acquires Alberich's cursed ring. Siegfried follows a

11

2015.WagnerTheRingCycle|OperaNorth|AwardWinningNational...

http://www.theringcycle.co.uk/
.

birdsong to find the sleeping Brunhilde, with whom he falls in love. To

showhisdevotiontoher,hegiveshertheringattheendoftheopera.12
Gotterdammerung:

"TheTwilightoftheGods"
The four opera cycle concludes with
Gotterdammerung
,duringwhichall
the characters of the cycle face the repercussions of theiractionsfromthe
previous operas. It is constructed with a Prelude and three followingacts.
During, it becomes apparent that anyone who came in contact with
Alberichsringwouldbedestroyed.AlberichssonkillsSiegfried.13

Tannhuser
This three act opera is set in Wartburg. Wartburg homestheVenusburg,homeof
Venus, goddess of love.14 Tannhuser wanders here and despite her charms,
becomes disinterestedinVenus.Heappealstohertolethimgobacktothemortal
world. Venus promises him greater pleasures should he stay with her. He asks
again, however, andthisenragesVenuswhointurncurseshimandhisdesiresfor
salvation.15
Tannhuser
depicts a story deemed extremely controversial, as it is
rapt with human desires and is deemed one ofthemostextremedepictionsofsex
attemptedinmusic.16
CONCLUSION
12

2008.BriefSummaryoftheRing.
http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/Teutonic_Mythology/ringsum.html
.
13
2008.BriefSummaryoftheRing.
http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/Teutonic_Mythology/ringsum.html
.
14
2006.Tannhuser(Wagner)SynopsisMusicWithEase.
http://www.musicwithease.com/tannhausersynopsis.html
.
15
2015.TannhuserSynopsisMetropolitanOpera.
http://www.metopera.org/Discover/Synopses/Tannhauser/
.
16
2013.Wagner'sTannhuser|Music|TheGuardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/dec/11/richardwagnertannhauseropera
.

RichardWagnerwascontroversialinhislife,whichshouldhavebeenmoreelaborated
earlierinthispaper.Hewaspromiscuouslikebothhismotherandfather,andhiswritings,such
as
Tannhuser
havebeenregardedascontroversial,too.Hedidnotliveanexceptionallylong
timehewas69whenhedied.Duringthelastfewdecadesofhislife,hewentthrough
numerousaffairspoliticalexile,lifeinpoverty,love,andflightfromcreditors.Wagnerwrote
somewherearound113works,includingbitsandpiecesaswellascompletedworks.17

17

2011.RichardWagnerWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner
.