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Richard Wagner
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Richard Wagner was born on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig, Germany. Those
were stirring times in that part of the world, for revolution was
often on the eve of breaking out. The tiny babe was but six months
old when the father passed away. There were eight other children, the
eldest son being only fourteen. The mother, a sweet, gentle little
woman, found herself quite unable to support her large family of
growing children. No one could blame her for accepting the hand of her
husband's old friend, Ludwig Geyer, in less than a year after the
loss of her first husband. Geyer was a man of much artistic talent,
an actor, singer, author and painter. He thought little Richard might
become a portrait painter, or possibly a musician, since the child had
learned to play two little pieces on the piano.
Geyer found employment in a Dresden theater, so the family removed to
that city. But he did not live to see the blossoming of his youngest
step-son's genius, as he passed away on September 30, 1821, when the
child was eight years old.
Little Richard showed wonderful promise even in those years of
childhood. At the Kreuzschule, where his education began, he developed
an ardent love for the Greek classics, and translated the first twelve
books of the Odyssey, outside of school hours. He devoured all stories
of mythology he could lay hands on, and soon began to create vast
tragedies. He revelled in Shakespeare, and finally began to write
a play which was to combine the ideas of both Hamlet and King Lear.
Forty-two persons were killed off in the course of the play and had
to be brought back as ghosts, as otherwise there would have been no
characters for the last act. He worked on this play for two years.
Everything connected with the theater was of absorbing interest to
this precocious child. Weber, who lived in Dresden, often passed their
house and was observed with almost religious awe by little Richard.
Sometimes the great composer dropped in to have a chat with the
mother, who was well liked among musicians and artists. Thus Weber
became the idol of the lad's boyhood, and he knew "Der Freischütz"
almost by heart. If he was not allowed to go to the theater to
listen to his favorite opera, there would be scenes of weeping and
beseeching, until permission was granted for him to run off to the
performance.
In 1827 the family returned to Leipzig, and it was at the famous
Gewandhaus concerts that the boy first heard Beethoven's music. He
was so fired by the Overture to "Egmont," that he decided at once to
become a musician. But how--that was the question. He knew nothing of
composition, but, borrowing a treatise on harmony, tried to learn the
whole contents in a week.
It was a struggle, and one less determined than the fourteen-year-old
boy would have given up in despair. He was made of different stuff.
Working alone by himself, he composed a sonata, a quartette and
an aria. At last he ventured to announce the result of his secret
studies. At this news his relatives were up in arms; they judged
his desire for music to be a passing fancy, especially as they knew
nothing of any preparatory studies, and realized he had never learned
to play any instrument, not even the piano.
The family, however, compromised enough to engage a teacher for him.
But Richard would never learn slowly and systematically. His mind shot
far ahead, absorbing in one instance the writings of Hoffmann, whose
imaginative tales kept the boy's mind in a continual state of nervous
excitement. He was not content to climb patiently the mountain;
he tried to reach the top at a bound. So he wrote overtures for
orchestras, one of which was really performed in Leipzig--a marvelous
affair indeed, with its tympani explosions.
Richard now began to realize the need of solid work, and settled down
to study music seriously, this time under Theodor Weinlig, who was
cantor in the famous Thomas School.
In less than six months the boy was able to solve the most difficult
problems in counterpoint. He learned to know Mozart's music, and tried
to write with more simplicity of style. A piano sonata, a polonaise
for four hands and a fantaisie for piano belong to this year. After
that he aspired to make piano arrangements of great works, such as
Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony." Then came his own symphony, which
was really performed at Gewandhaus, and is said to have shown great
musical vigor.
Instrumental music no longer satisfied this eager, aspiring boy; he
must compose operas. He was now twenty, and went to Würzburg, where
his brother Albert was engaged at the Würzburg Theater as actor,
singer and stage manager. Albert secured for him a post as chorus
master, with a salary of ten florins a month.
The young composer now started work on a second opera, the first,
called "The Marriage," was found impracticable. The new work was
entitled "The Fairies." This he finished, and the work, performed
years later, was found to be imitative of Beethoven, Weber, and
Marschner; the music was nevertheless very melodious.
Wagner returned to Leipzig in 1834. Soon there came another impetus
to this budding genius: he heard for the first time the great singer
Wilhelmina Schroeder-Devrient, whose art made a deep impression on
him.
It was a time for rapid impressions to sway the ardent temperament of
this boy genius of twenty-one. He read the works of Wilhelm Heinse,
who depicts both the highest artistic pleasures and those of the
opposite sort. Other authors following the same trend made him believe
in the utmost freedom in politics, literature and morals. Freedom in
everything--the pleasures of the moment--seemed to him the highest
good.
Under the sway of such opinions he began to sketch the plot of
his next opera, "Prohibition of Love" (Liebesverbot), founded on
Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." This was while he was in Teplitz
on a summer holiday. In the autumn he took a position as conductor
in a small operatic theater in Magdeburg. Here he worked at his new
opera, hoping he could induce the admired Schroeder-Devrient to be his
heroine.
Wagner remained in this place about two years and finished his opera
there. The performance of it, for which he labored with great zeal,
was a fiasco. The theater, too, failed soon after and the young
composer was thrown out of work. His sojourn there influenced his
after career, as he met Wilhelmina Planer, who was soon to become his
wife.
Hearing there was an opening for a musical director at Königsberg,
he traveled to that town, and in due course secured the post. Minna
Planer also found an engagement at the theater, and the two were
married on November 24, 1836; he was twenty-three and she somewhat
younger. Kind, gentle, loving, she was quite unable to understand she
was linked with a genius. Wagner was burdened with debts, begun in
Magdeburg and increased in Königsberg. She was almost as improvident
as he. They were like two children playing at life, with fateful
consequences. It was indeed her misfortune, as one says, that this
gentle dove was mismated with an eagle. But Minna learned later,
through dire necessity, to be more economical and careful, which is
more than can be said of her gifted husband.
After a year the Königsberg Theater failed and again Wagner was out
of employment. Through the influence of his friend Dorn, he secured
a directorship at Riga, Minna also being engaged at the theater. At
first everything went well; the salary was higher and the people among
whom they were placed were agreeable. But before long debts began to
press again, and Wagner was dissatisfied with the state of the lyric
drama, which he was destined to reform in such a wonderful way. He was
only twenty-four, and had seen but little of the world. Paris was the
goal toward which he looked with longing eyes, and to the gay French
capital he determined to go.
When he tried to get a passport for Paris, he found it impossible
because of his debts. Not to be turned from his purpose, he, Minna and
the great Newfoundland dog, his pet companion, all slipped away from
Riga at night and in disguise. At the port of Pillau the trio embarked
on a sailing vessel for Paris, the object of all his hopes. The
young composer carried with him one opera and half of a second
work--"Rienzi," which he had written during the years of struggle in
Magdeburg and Königsberg. In Riga he had come upon Heine's version
of the Flying Dutchman legend, and the sea voyage served to make the
story more vital.
He writes: "This voyage I shall never forget as long as I live; it
lasted three weeks and a half, and was rich in mishaps. Thrice we
endured the most violent storms, and once the captain had to put
into a Norwegian haven. The passage among the crags of Norway made a
wonderful impression on my fancy, the legends of the Flying Dutchman,
as told by the sailors, were clothed with distinct and individual
color, heightened by the ocean adventures through which we passed."
After stopping a short time in London, the trio halted for several
weeks in Boulogne, because the great Meyerbeer was summering there.
Wagner met the influential composer and confided his hopes and
longings. Meyerbeer received the poor young German kindly, praised his
music, gave him several letters to musicians in power in Paris, but
told him persistence was the most important factor in success.
With a light heart, and with buoyant trust in the future, though
with little money for present necessities, Wagner and his companions
arrived in Paris in September, 1839. Before him lay, if he had but
known it, two years and a half of bitter hardship and privation;
but--"out of trials and tribulations are great spirits molded."
There were many noted musicians in the French capital at that time,
and many opportunities for success. The young German produced his
letters of introduction and received many promises of assistance from
conductors and directors. Delighted with his prospects he located in
the "heart of elegant and artistic Paris," without regarding cost.
Soon the skies clouded; one hope after another failed. His
compositions were either too difficult for conductors to grasp, or
theaters failed on which he depended for assistance. He became in
great distress and could not pay for the furniture of the apartment,
which he had bought on credit. It was now that he turned to writing
for musical journals, to keep the wolf from the door, meanwhile
working on the score of "Rienzi," which was finished in November, 1840
and sent to Dresden. In later years it was produced in that city.
But the Wagners, alas, were starving in Paris. One of Richard's
articles at this time was called "The End of a Musician in Paris,"
and he makes the poor musician die with the words; "I believe in
God--Mozart and Beethoven." It was almost as bad as this for Wagner
himself. He determined to turn his back on all the intrigues and
hardships he had endured for over two years, and set out for the
homeland, which seemed the only desirable spot on earth.
The rehearsals for "Rienzi" began in Dresden in July 1842. Wagner had
now finished "The Flying Dutchman," and had completed the outline of
"Tannhäuser," based on Hoffmann's story of the Singers' Contest at the
Wartburg.
And now Wagner's star as a composer began to rise and light was seen
ahead. On October 20, 1842 "Rienzi" was produced in the Dresden Opera
House and the young composer awoke the next morning to find himself
famous. The performance was a tremendous success, with singers, public
and critics alike. The performance lasted six hours and Wagner, next
day, decided the work must be cut in places, but the singers loudly
protested: "The work was heavenly," they assured him, "not a measure
could be spared."
With this first venture Wagner was now on the high road to success,
and spent a happy winter in the Saxon capital. He could have gone on
writing operas like "Rienzi," to please the public, but he aimed far
higher. To fuse all the arts in one complete whole was the idea that
had been forming in his mind. He first illustrated this in "The Flying
Dutchman," and it became the main thought of his later works. This
theory made both vocal and instrumental music secondary to the
dramatic plan, and this, at that time, seemed a truly revolutionary
idea.
"The Flying Dutchman" was produced at the Dresden Opera House January
2. 1843, with Mme. Schroeder-Devrient as Senta. Critics and public
had expected a brilliant and imposing spectacle like "Rienzi" and were
disappointed. In the following May and June "The Dutchman" was heard
in Riga and Cassel, conducted by the famous violinist and composer,
Spohr.
In spite of the fact that "The Flying Dutchman" was not then a
success, and in Dresden was shelved for twenty years, Wagner secured
the fine post of Head Capellmeister, at a salary of nearly twelve
hundred dollars. This post he retained for seven years, gaining a
great deal of experience in orchestral conducting, and producing
Beethoven's symphonies with great originality, together with much that
was best in orchestral literature.
"Tannhäuser" was now complete, and during the following summer, at
Marienbad, sketches for "Lohengrin" and "Die Meistersinger" were
made. During the winter, the book being made he began on the music
of "Lohengrin." In March of the exciting year 1848, the music of
"Lohengrin" was finished. There was a wide difference in style between
that work and "Tannhäuser." And already the composer had in mind a new
work to be called "The Death of Siegfried." He wrote to Franz Liszt,
with whom he now began to correspond, that within six months he would
send him the book of the new work complete. As he worked at the drama,
however, it began to spread out before him in a way that he could not
condense into one opera, or even two; and thus-it finally grew into
the four operas of the "Ring of the Nibelungen."
It must not be imagined that Wagner had learned the lesson of
carefulness in money matters, or that, with partial success he always
had plenty for his needs. He had expensive tastes, loved fine clothing
and beautiful surroundings. Much money, too, was needed to produce new
works; so that in reality, the composer was always in debt. The many
letters which passed between Wagner and Liszt, which fill two large
volumes, show how Liszt clearly recognized the brilliant genius of his
friend, and stood ready to help him over financial difficulties, and
how Wagner came to lean more and more on Liszt's generosity.
Just what part Wagner played in the revolution of 1848 is not quite
clear. He wrote several articles which were radical protests for
freedom of thought. At all events he learned it would be better for
him to leave Dresden in time. In fact he remained in exile from his
country for over eleven years.
Wagner fled to Switzerland, leaving Minna still in Dresden, though in
due time he succeeded in scraping together funds for her to follow him
to Zurich. He was full of plans for composing "Siegfried," while she
continually urged him to write pleasing operas that Paris would
like. Wagner believed the world should take care of him while he was
composing his great works, whereas Minna saw this course meant living
on the charity of friends, and at this she rebelled. But Wagner grew
discouraged over these petty trials, and for five years creative work
was at a standstill.
How to meet daily necessities was the all absorbing question. A
kind friend, who greatly admired his music, Otto Wesendonck, made it
possible for him to rent, at a low price, a pretty chalet near Lake
Zurich, and there he and Minna lived in retirement, and here he wrote
many articles explaining his theories.
During the early years at Zurich Wagner's only musical activity was
conducting a few orchestral concerts. Then, one day, he took out the
score of his "Lohengrin," and read it, something he rarely did with
any of his works. Seized with a deep desire to have this opera brought
out, he sent a pleading letter to Liszt, begging him to produce the
work. Liszt faithfully accomplished this task at Weimar, where he was
conducting the Court Opera. The date chosen was Goethe's birthday,
August 28, and the year 1850. Wagner was most anxious to be present,
but the risk of arrest prevented him from venturing on German soil.
It was not till 1861, in Vienna, that the composer heard this the most
popular of all his operas. Liszt was profoundly moved by the beautiful
work, and wrote his enthusiasm to the composer.
Wagner now took up his plan of the Nibelung Trilogy, that is the three
operas and a prologue. Early in 1853 the poem in its new form was
complete, and in February he sent a copy to Liszt, who answered: "You
are truly a wonderful man, and your Nibelung poem is surely the most
incredible thing you have ever done!"
So Wagner was impelled by the inner flame of creative fire, to work
incessantly on the music of the great epic he had planned. And work he
must, in spite of grinding poverty and ill health. It was indeed to be
the "Music of the Future."
After a brief visit to London, to conduct some concerts for the London
Philharmonic, Wagner was back again in Zurich, hard at work on the
"Walküre," the first opera of the three, as the "Rheingold" was
considered the introduction. By April 1856, the whole opera was
finished and sent to Liszt for his opinion. Liszt and his great
friend, Countess Wittgenstein, studied out the work together, and both
wrote glowing letters to the composer of the deep effect his music
made upon them.
And now came a halt in the composition of these tremendous music
dramas. Wagner realized that to produce such great works, a special
theater should be built, of adaptable design. But from where would the
funds be forthcoming? While at work on the "Walküre," the stories of
"Tristan" and "Parsifal" had suggested themselves, and the plan of
the first was already sketched. He wrote to Liszt: "As I have never in
life felt the bliss of real love, I must erect a monument to the most
beautiful of all my dreams." The first act of "Tristan and Isolde"
was finished on the last day of the year 1857. In his retreat in
Switzerland, the composer longed for sympathetic, intellectual
companionship, which, alas, Minna could not give him. He found it in
the society of Marie Wesendonck, wife of the kind friend and music
lover, who had aided him in many ways. This marked attention to
another aroused Minna's jealousy and an open break was imminent. The
storm, however, blew over for a time.
In June, 1858, Wagner was seized with a desire for luxury and quiet,
and betook himself to Venice, where he wrote the second act of
"Tristan." Then came the trouble between Wagner and the Wesendoncks
which caused the composer to leave Zurich finally, on August 17, 1859.
Minna returned to Dresden while Wagner went to Paris, where Minna
joined him for a time, before the last break came.
What promised to be a wonderful stroke of good luck came to him here.
His art was brought to the notice of the Emperor, Napoleon III, who
requested that one of his operas should be produced, promising carte
blanche for funds. All might have gone well with music of the accepted
pattern. But "Tannhäuser" was different, its composer particular as to
who sang and how it was done. The rehearsals went badly, an opposing
faction tried to drown the music at the first performance. Matters
were so much worse at the second performance that Wagner refused to
allow it to proceed. In spite of the Emperor's promises, he had borne
much of the expense, and left Paris in disgust, burdened with debt.
From Paris Wagner went to Vienna, where he had the great happiness of
hearing his "Lohengrin" for the first time. He hoped to have "Tristan"
brought out, but the music proved too difficult for the singers of
that time to learn. After many delays and disappointments, the whole
thing was given up. Reduced now to the lowest ebb, Wagner planned a
concert tour to earn a living. Minna now left him finally; she could
no longer endure life with this "monster of genius." She went back to
her relatives in Leipzig, and passed away there in 1866.
The concert tours extended over a couple of years, but brought
few returns, except in Russia. Wagner became despondent and almost
convinced he ought to give up trying to be a composer. People called
him a freak, a madman and ridiculed his efforts at music making.
And yet, during all this troublesome time, he was at work on his one
humorous opera, "Die Meistersinger." On this he toiled incessantly.
And now, when he was in dire need, and suffering, a marvelous boon was
coming to him, as wonderful as any to be found in fairy tale. A fairy
Prince was coming to the rescue of this struggling genius. This Prince
was the young monarch of Bavaria, who had just succeeded to the throne
left by the passing of his father. The youthful Prince, ardent and
generous, had long worshiped in secret the master and his music.
One of his first acts on becoming Ludwig of Bavaria, was to send for
Wagner to come to his capital at once and finish his life work in
peace. "He wants me to be with him always, to work, to rest, to
produce my works," wrote Wagner to a friend in Zurich, where he had
been staying. "He will give me everything I need; I am to finish my
Nibelungen and he will have them performed as I wish. All troubles
are to be taken from me; I shall have what I need, if I only stay with
him."
The King placed a pretty villa on Lake Starnberg, near Munich, at
Wagner's disposal, and there he spent the summer of 1864. The King's
summer palace was quite near, and monarch and composer were much
together. In the autumn a residence in the quiet part of Munich
was set apart for Wagner. Hans von Bülow was sent for as one of the
conductors; young Hans Richter lived in Munich and later became one of
the most distinguished conductors of Wagner's music.
The Bülows arrived in Munich in the early autumn, and almost at once
began the attraction of Mme. Cosima von Bülow and Wagner. She,
the daughter of Liszt, was but twenty five, of deeply artistic
temperament, and could understand the aims of the composer as no
other woman had yet done. This ardent attraction led later to Cosima's
separation from her husband and finally to her marriage with Wagner.
The first of the Wagner Festivals under patronage of the King, took
place in Munich June 10, 13, 19, and July 1, 1865. The work was
"Tristan and Isolde," perhaps the finest flower of Wagner's genius,
and already eight years old. Von Bülow was a superb conductor and
Ludwig an inspired Tristan. Wagner was supremely happy. Alas, such
happiness did not last. Enemies sprang up all about him. The King
himself could not stem the tide of false rumors, and besought the
composer to leave Munich for a while, till public opinion calmed
down. So Wagner returned to his favorite Switzerland and settled
in Triebschen, near Lucerne, where he remained till he removed to
Bayreuth in 1872.
In 1866, the feeling against Wagner had somewhat declined and the King
decided to have model performances of "Tannhäuser" and "Lohengrin"
at Munich. The Festival began June 11, 1867. The following year "Die
Meistersinger" was performed--June 21, 1868.
And now the King was eager to hear the "Ring." It was not yet complete
but the monarch could not wait and ordered "Das Rheingold," the
Introduction to the Trilogy, to be prepared. It was poorly given
and was not a success. Not at all discouraged, he wished for "Die
Walküre," which was performed the following year, June 26, 1870.
It had long been Wagner's desire to have a theater built, in which his
creations could be properly given under his direction. Bayreuth had
been chosen, as a quiet spot where music lovers could come for the
sole purpose of hearing the music. He went to live there with
his family in April, 1872. Two years later they moved into Villa
Wahnfried, which had been built according to the composer's ideas.
Meanwhile funds were being raised on both sides of the water, through
the Wagner Societies, to erect the Festival Theater. The corner stone
was laid on Wagner's birthday--his fifty-ninth--May 22, 1872. It was
planned to give the first performances in the summer of 1876; by that
time Wagner's longed-for project became a reality.
The long-expected event took place in August, 1876. The Festival
opened on the thirteenth with "Das Rheingold," first of the Ring music
dramas. On the following night "Die Walküre" was heard; then came
"Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung," the third and fourth dramas being
heard for the first time. Thus the Ring of the Nibelungen, on which
the composer had labored for a quarter of a century at last found
a hearing, listened to by Kings and Potentates, besides a most
distinguished audience of musicians from all parts of the world.
At last one of Wagner's dreams was realized and his new gospel of art
vindicated.
One music drama remained to be written--his last. Failing health
prevented the completion of the drama until 1882. The first
performance of this noble work was given on July 26, followed by
fifteen other hearings. After the exertions attending these, Wagner
and his wife, their son Siegfried, Liszt and other friends, went to
Italy and occupied the Vendramin Palace, on the Grand Canal, Venice.
Here he lived quietly and comfortably, surrounded by those he loved.
His health failed more and more. He died on February 13, 1883.
Richard Wagner Facts and Information
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