Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was a composer of the Romantic period. In addition to his title as a composer, Wagner was also a theorist, author and librettist. He is most commonly associated with the operatic genre, in which he is known for his lengthy and dramatic works. Wagner was a revolutionist of his time and sought to reform the operatic genre by using theories he developed to write operas in such a way that they served the drama. In this essay, Wagner’s ideas of Gesamtkunstwerk and leitmotiv will be discussed, referring to his theories and ideas about language, music, drama and poetry. To begin the discussion of Wagner’s ideas, one has to have an understanding of the history prior to Wagner’s operatic reform. Opera has its origins in the Baroque period and underwent various developments by…

Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany. At twenty, he abandoned his academic studies at the University of Leipzig and over the next six years gained practical experience conducting in provincial theaters. He married the actress Minna Planer when he was twenty-three and produced his rst operas at this time. He wrote the librettos himself, as he did for all his later works. In this way, he was able to unify music and drama more than anyone had before. Wagner’s early opera, Rienzi, won a huge…

Richard Wagner was an influence to many. His work had played huge roles for many writers, composers and also government leaders. Wagner’s work was just that outstanding. When looking at some of those who were influenced by Wagner’s work you can instantly tell that they were inspired by Wagner. One write in particular that was inspired by Wagner was James Joyce. James Joyce was a writer from Ireland, who is also known as one of the most influential and important authors of his time. Joyce…

For my composer’s report, I decided to research the infamous works of Wilhelm Richard Wagner. I was extremely interested in Wagner’s work due to the fact that he was one of Adolph Hitler’s favorite composers. I was intrigued to hear what caught Hitler’s attention and to learn what affect his interest had on Wagner’s legacy. While doing research, I learned that Wagner was behind the very famous opera titled Tristan and Isolde. I had previously heard of that opera throughout my life, but I never…

Richard Wagner was a great German composer of 19th century. Wagner was born in Leipzig on May 22, 1813. His father died couple months after he was born. Wagner grew up with Ludwig Geyer who was his stepfather. One of the interesting facts, he started to play piano at the age of 7. The young student was intelligent and smart in the music development, he transcribed Beethoven’s 9th symphony for piano at the age of 15. Remarkably, Wagner was a composer, theatre director, conductor, and writer.…

compose words for the opera. In the early 19th Century, Wagner had strong ideas and beliefs of what opera should be, and he began to challenge all of the conventional approaches to the opera. Writing his own libretti, the idea of “Gesamtkunstwerk”, and the creation of his own instruments and adaptation of singing styles are just a few examples.…

The reason I chose Wagner was because of his interesting background. Being from Germany myself, I can relate better to a German composer than any other composer just because I grew up under a German culture. What is specifically interesting about Wagner that separates him from all the other composers is that he his music pieces appealed to Adolf Hitler. His music was apparently played at concentration camps, which was used to re-educate the prisoners. This created a lot of controversy, which…

Ernest. Wagner as Man & Artist. New York: Tudor, 1946. Print. Newman makes the point that Wagner liked to create new things for the German people. Wagner's operas are just one example of his influence over the Germans. Newman also states that Wagner could not keep his opinions or political stances to himself. He used his opera to express his opinions. This created something new for the audience. It made Wagner satisfied with introducing something new to the public and these new political ideas…

Richard Wagner was one of the most influential, if not controversial composers of his time. Born in Germany on May 22, 1813, Wagner grew up writing musical compositions and dramas from the age of eleven. He had such high of a confidence that it would be overbearing to others that he met. It is uncertain who Wagner’s father was. He could either be the “son of police actuary Friedrich Wagner” who passed away when Richard was an infant or he could be the son of Ludwig Geyer. Geyer was a painter,…

Richard Wagner, a Romantic German composer, is one of the leading opera composers of his time; he often defined his stage works using the term bühnenfestspiel, or festival stage play. He is known for writing several such works, including Lohengrin, Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Tristan und Isolde. In these works Wagner is credited with the use of many compositional devices and philosophies. In particular, he is recognized for employing the idea of a “gesamtkunstwerk,” or collective art, in…