Richard Wagner

May 22nd 1813-

February 13, 1883
Who was Richard Wagner ?

• Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer in the romatic era of music.
• Among many other things Richard was also a theater director , polemisist, and
conductor.

• Wagner revolutionized opera through his idea of Gesamtkunstwerk which is German

for total work of art

• Spent many years in exile from his country

Early Years
• Was the 9th child to carl Wagner who was the clerk to the Leipzig police service , and
Johnna ursine.

• Bethovan became a huge inspiration for wagner

• In 1831 wagner enrolled in Leipzig University
• Early in his career wagner’s brother was obtain for him a position as a choirmaster at
the theater in wurzberg in 1833

• First complete opera was also made the same year of 1833, which was called Die feen
( THE FARIES )
DIE FEEN ( THE FARIES)
 Love / Tragedy and Exile.
• Some describe wager like they did his music. Full of tragedy , dramatization and love. During a brief
appointment as a musical director at an opera house he fell in love with one of the main ladies there at
Magdeburg who’s name was mina planer who he married in 1836, but the very next year he had left
him for a different man. He then turned around and created a relationship with mines sister to then later
get back with mina.
• Wagner was plagued by debt most of his life, and to get away from creditors he left to London, but
ended up going back to Germany
• Due to wagners in left wing politics he was exiled to Switzerland from 1849-1858
• His wife ended up leaving again in , but he still ended up providing for her even after they decided to
split amicably.
Most Recognized piece ( Rise of the Valkyries)
Change of fortune.
• Wagners fortunes started to change when a young king took over the throne in
Germany where he returned in in 1863. The young was a fan of his music and operas .
The kings was name was Ludwig , and because of the personal affectionate that he had
for the composer he did Richard Wagner a huge favor and paid off the debts that he
had plagued him during his life.

• Richard has also met a you lady who was 24 years younger than him. She ended up
giving birth to his child, even though she was already married. This eventually led him
to banned from the city of munic from the leading members of the court in Germany.
His ex wife ended up passing away and married the young lady called Cosima.
Richard Wagners Acomplishmets

• Fused drama is music. Richard was credited with mixing music and blending the
dramatization of plays with the complexity of opera.

• Had his own opera house built.

• He composed his first full opera at the age of 20
• Besides music he influenced philosophy, literature and drama, visual arts, along with
politics as well.

• Wrote the ring of Nivelung, which is a series of four music dramas. It is said that he
used 30 years to write the pieces
 Legacy

Wagner showed that music was not purely restricted to being pure formalism and differential theoretical
exploration but was a living, vibrant force capable of changing men's lives. He also proved that the
music theater is a proper forum for ideas as opposed to being an arena for only escape and
entertainment. And he demonstrated that a composer could rightfully take his place among the great
revolutionary thinkers of Western civilization, questioning and attacking what seemed intolerable in
traditional modes of behavior, experience, learning, and creation. Together with Karl Marx and Charles
Darwin, Wagner must be given his rightful due as one of the greatest forces in 19th-century cultural
history. Looking back at Wagners work his accomplishment outweighs his personal behavior and legacy.
The End !

Thank You (: