Richard Wagner

Jeremy Tambling (University of Hong Kong)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

Born 22 May 1813
Died 13 Feb 1883
Activity 1865-1883

Places

Born in Germany
Active in Germany

Activities

Primary

Composer
Essayist
Music critic or historian

Resources

Wagner's Works

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Wagner was born in Leipzig in 1813 into a musical and theatrical family and studied music at Leipzig University. His first musical composition was his

Symphony in C Major

which was performed in his graduation year, 1833. He then worked as a conductor and opera coach, but not with much success, and wrote his first operas

Die Feen

(

The Fairies

, 1833, from a tale by Carlo Gozzi),

Das Liebesverbot

(

The Ban on Love,

1836,

from

Measure for Measure

). Living in Paris (1839-1842) he wrote music journalism and his opera

Rienzi

(1840). All of these early operas are indebted to Italian and French “grand” opera, and

Rienzi

(based on Bulwer's novel) is especially indebted to Meyerbeer, the German-Jewish composer of

Les Huguenots

(1836), who was later criticised by Wagner in his essay “Jewishness…

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2491 words

Citation: Tambling, Jeremy. "Richard Wagner". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4569, accessed 26 November 2024.]