May 20, 2013.Richard Wagner 200.Richard Wagner, this most exasperating of musical geniuses, was born on May 22, 1813 in Leipzig.He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century; the list of musicians indebted to Wagner is enormous, from Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf and early Arnold Schoenberg in Germany to César Franck, Ernest Chausson, Jules Massenet and Claude Debussy in the francophone world (Debussy struggled with Wagner’s influence for years).And it went well beyond opera: philosophers, starting with Friedrich Nietzsche, poets, such as Baudelaire, Mallarmé and Verlaine, also writers, too many to mention, even painters fell under his spell.Wagner had his detractors too: the German music world at the time was divided into “Wagnerites” on one side and followers of Brahms on the other.Eduard Hanslick, an influential music critic, was an enemy.Wagner was probably the only composer for whom an opera house was built: King Ludwig II of Bavaria, his major patron, helped to finance its construction in Bayreuth.It was completed in 1876, just in time for the permier of Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle.Wagner was also a notorious anti-semite and racist, but of course we cannot hold him responcible for the Nazi’s appropriation of his music half a century later.
Wagner wrote some symphonic music, none of it very successul.His genius was fully realized in his operas, from the early Rienzi (1842) and The Flying Dutchman (1843), to Tannhäuser (1845) and Lohengrin (1850).He started writing the story of Siegfried's Death in 1848.He eventually expanded and rewrote the original libretto and turned it into the cycle of four operas called Der Ring des Nibelungen.He started composing the first opera of the cycle, Das Rheingold, in 1853 and completed the Cycle in 1874 with Götterdämmerung.In 1857 he temporarily stopped working on the Cycle and wrote one of his greatest creations, the mesmerizing Tristan und Isolde.Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg followed in 1868.His last opera, Parsifal, was written in 1882, less than a year before his death in Venice in February of 1883.His body was taken by gondola and then by train to Germany.He was buried in Bayreuth.
The singing roles in Wagner operas are extremely demanding, and require exceptional physical stamina.Most of the operas are very (some might say excruciatingly) long: Die Meistersinger has about four and a half hours of music, Parsifal is not much shorter, both Tristan und Isolde and Sigfried are about four hours long without an intermission.Wagner’s operas also require a very special clarity of tone, with practically no vibrato.Wagnerian tenors, possessing power, richness of voice and drama, became known as Heldentenor, “heroic tenor” in German.Probably the most famous Heldentenor of the 20th century was Lauritz Melchior.Siegfried Jerusalem, who recently finished his operatic career, and Ben Heppner, still quite active, are among the noted Heldentenors.Wagner also created great (and very challenging) soprano roles; for example Brünnhilde in the four operas of the Ring, Isolde in Tristan, and Kundry in Parsifal.Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson were incomparable Wagnerian sopranos.Jane Eaglen and Deborah Voight are active today and perform admirably in major opera theaters.
Here’s the Prelude to Act I of Tristan und Isolde, recorded in 1952 by Wilhelm Furtwangler and Philharmonia Orchestra (it was very effectively used by Lars von Trier in his film Melancholia).From the same opera, the German soprano Waltraud Meier sings the famous Isolde Liebestod (here).And here is an excerpt from the legendary 1935 recording of Die Walküre with Lauritz Melchior and Lotte Lehmann.Bruno Walter conducts the Vienna Philarmonic.
Richard Wagner 200
May 20, 2013. Richard Wagner 200. Richard Wagner, this most exasperating of musical geniuses, was born on May 22, 1813 in Leipzig. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century; the list of musicians indebted to Wagner is enormous, from Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf and early Arnold
Schoenberg in Germany to César Franck, Ernest Chausson, Jules Massenet and Claude Debussy in the francophone world (Debussy struggled with Wagner’s influence for years). And it went well beyond opera: philosophers, starting with Friedrich Nietzsche, poets, such as Baudelaire, Mallarmé and Verlaine, also writers, too many to mention, even painters fell under his spell. Wagner had his detractors too: the German music world at the time was divided into “Wagnerites” on one side and followers of Brahms on the other. Eduard Hanslick, an influential music critic, was an enemy. Wagner was probably the only composer for whom an opera house was built: King Ludwig II of Bavaria, his major patron, helped to finance its construction in Bayreuth. It was completed in 1876, just in time for the permier of Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle. Wagner was also a notorious anti-semite and racist, but of course we cannot hold him responcible for the Nazi’s appropriation of his music half a century later.
Wagner wrote some symphonic music, none of it very successul. His genius was fully realized in his operas, from the early Rienzi (1842) and The Flying Dutchman (1843), to Tannhäuser (1845) and Lohengrin (1850). He started writing the story of Siegfried's Death in 1848. He eventually expanded and rewrote the original libretto and turned it into the cycle of four operas called Der Ring des Nibelungen. He started composing the first opera of the cycle, Das Rheingold, in 1853 and completed the Cycle in 1874 with Götterdämmerung. In 1857 he temporarily stopped working on the Cycle and wrote one of his greatest creations, the mesmerizing Tristan und Isolde. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg followed in 1868. His last opera, Parsifal, was written in 1882, less than a year before his death in Venice in February of 1883. His body was taken by gondola and then by train to Germany. He was buried in Bayreuth.
The singing roles in Wagner operas are extremely demanding, and require exceptional physical stamina. Most of the operas are very (some might say excruciatingly) long: Die Meistersinger has about four and a half hours of music, Parsifal is not much shorter, both Tristan und Isolde and Sigfried are about four hours long without an intermission. Wagner’s operas also require a very special clarity of tone, with practically no vibrato. Wagnerian tenors, possessing power, richness of voice and drama, became known as Heldentenor, “heroic tenor” in German. Probably the most famous Heldentenor of the 20th century was Lauritz Melchior. Siegfried Jerusalem, who recently finished his operatic career, and Ben Heppner, still quite active, are among the noted Heldentenors. Wagner also created great (and very challenging) soprano roles; for example Brünnhilde in the four operas of the Ring, Isolde in Tristan, and Kundry in Parsifal. Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson were incomparable Wagnerian sopranos. Jane Eaglen and Deborah Voight are active today and perform admirably in major opera theaters.
Here’s the Prelude to Act I of Tristan und Isolde, recorded in 1952 by Wilhelm Furtwangler and Philharmonia Orchestra (it was very effectively used by Lars von Trier in his film Melancholia). From the same opera, the German soprano Waltraud Meier sings the famous Isolde Liebestod (here). And here is an excerpt from the legendary 1935 recording of Die Walküre with Lauritz Melchior and Lotte Lehmann. Bruno Walter conducts the Vienna Philarmonic.