Richard Wagner was born in Venice on May 22, 1813. As a youth, he
studied music in Leipzig. His first opera, "Die Feen" was written
at the
age of 20, in 1833. This was followed in 1836 with the unsuccessful
"Das Liebesverbot". That same year, Wagner married the actress Minna
Planer. Wagner and his family lived for a few years in Königsberg, and
then later, in Riga. While in Paris from 1839 to 1842, he composed the
grand opera, "Rienzi," and the tragedy, "Der Fliegende Holländer."
The success of "Rienzi" led to Wagner's appointment as music director
in
Dresden. More successes followed with "Tannhäuser" in 1845 and
"Lohengrin"
in 1850. However, at the same time, Wagner became involved with political
radicals. He was forced to Switzerland after his participation in the
1849 Dresden uprisings.
In exile, Wagner began work on his four opera cycle, "Der Ring des
Nibelungen," which occupied much of his life. Taking time off from his
work on the "Ring", Wagner composed the romantic tragedy, "Tristan
und
Isolde." The opera, "Die Meistersinger" followed a few years
later. This
opera is notorious for the anti-Semitic expressions of the protagonist.
In 1860, he was allowed to return to Germany. A triumphant performance of
"Tannhäuser" in Paris confirmed Wagner's stature as international
artist of
great renown.
Finally in 1876, the "Ring" premiered in Bayreuth. The strain of
raising
money and getting the production ready greatly affected Wagner's health.
His final opera, "Parsifal," was presented at the second Bayreuth
festival
in 1882.
Wagner died on February 13th, 1883 at the age of 69.
1833 Die Feen
1836 Das Liebesverbot
1837 Rienzi
1837 Der fliegende Holländer
1845 Tannhäuser
1850 Lohengrin
1865 Tristan und Isolde
1868 Die Meistersinger
1869 Das Rheingold
1870 Die Walküre
1876 Siegfried
1876 Götterdämmerung
1882 Parsifal