The life and career of richard wagner

Wagner Wilhelm Richard (1813-1883), German composer.

Born May 22, 1813 in Leipzig into an artistic family and from childhood was fond of literature and theater. Wagner's formation as a composer was greatly influenced by his acquaintance with the work of L. van Beethoven. Studying a lot on his own, he took piano lessons from the organist G. Müller, music theory - from T. Weiling.

In 1834-1839. Wagner had already professionally worked as a conductor in various opera houses. In 1839-1842. lived in Paris. Here he wrote his first significant work - the historical opera Rienzi. In Paris, Wagner failed to stage this opera, it was accepted for staging in Dresden in 1842. And until 1849, the composer worked as a conductor and conductor of the Dresden court opera. Here in 1843 he staged his own opera The Flying Dutchman, and in 1845 - Tannhäuser and the Singers' Competition in Wartburg. One of Wagner's most famous operas, Lohengrin (1848), was written in Dresden.

In 1849, the composer was declared a state criminal for participation in the revolutionary unrest in Dresden and was forced to flee to Switzerland. His main literary works were created there, such as Art and Revolution (1849), Artistic Work of the Future (1850), Opera and Drama (1851). In them, Wagner acted as a reformer - primarily of operatic art. His main ideas can be summarized as follows: in opera, drama should take precedence over music, and not vice versa; at the same time, the orchestra is not subordinate to the singers, but is an equal "actor".
A musical drama is intended to become a universal work of art capable of morally influencing the audience. And such an impact can be achieved only in terms of philosophical and aesthetic concepts, generalized in the mythological plot.

The composer always wrote the libretto for his operas himself. In addition, for Wagner, each character, even some items important for the development of the plot (for example, a ring), have their own musical characteristics (leitmotifs). The opera's musical canvas is a system of leitmotifs. Wagner embodied his innovative ideas in a grandiose project - "Ring of the Nibelungen". This is a cycle of four operas: The Gold of the Rhine (1854), The Valkyrie (1856), Siegfried (1871) and The Death of the Gods (1874).

In parallel with the work on the tetralogy, Wagner wrote another opera, Tristan and Isolde (1859). Thanks to the patronage of the Bavarian king Ludwig II, who favored the composer since 1864, a theater was built in Bayreuth to promote Wagner's work. At its opening in 1876, the entire tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen was staged for the first time, and in 1882 Wagner's last opera, Parsifal, was published, which the author called a solemn stage mystery.

He died on February 13, 1883 in Venice.

The largest German opera composer of the 2nd half of the 19th century. Opera reformer.

The goal of his creative life is to create a musical work of the future, a musical drama. He considered himself the only possible creator of such a work. This is a work in which romantic idea synthesis of arts. This is an expression of programmaticness in opera. To implement this plan, Wagner abandoned the traditions of operatic forms. He tried to bring opera closer to life. Came to end-to-end, continuous development. There are large vocal and symphonic scenes. In his musical dramas ("Tristan and Isolde", "Ring of the Nibelungen"), the vocal part is suppressed by the orchestral part, it becomes one of the instruments of the symphony orchestra. It is recitative, very difficult, there is no song, ariosity. The external action is reduced to a minimum, it is, as it were, transferred to the psychological side, which is personified by the orchestra with the help of a huge system of leitmotifs (there are more than 100 leitmotifs in The Ring of the Nibelungen). Wagner uncommonly elevated the role of the orchestra. He was an extraordinary master of orchestral color. The orchestra is unusually colorful, magnificent, grandiose. In the "Ring of the Nibelungen" he uses a quadruple orchestra (8 horns !!!). He created his own designs for a quartet of tubas. There is a bass tuba, double bass trombone, expanded string group, 6 harps. Its harmony amazes with its intense, refined sound. It contributes to the continuous growth of emotions, since there is no tonic support, but continuous interrupted turns. This contributes to the creation of an endless melody. Wagner wrote 13 operas and passed big way opera composer. He did not come to musical drama right away.

Life path

Born in Leipzig in the family of an official. Father died early. His stepfather, an actor and a writer, introduced Wagner to the theater. Wagner was fond of theater and at the age of 15 he wrote the tragedy "Leibald and Adeloide". Great impression from Weber's operas and Beethoven's music. After performing Beethoven by the Gewandhaus Symphony Orchestra, Wagner decided to become a composer. He wrote an overture for piano. In his youth he was fond of Hoffmann. At Leipzig University he studied as a music student. Dropped out of university. Studied with Theodor Weinlig. Writes sonatas for piano, orchestral overtures, symphony, music to "Faust".

1833 year. The period of wandering begins. He worked in various opera houses (including the Würzburg Theater). Wrote the opera "Fairies". Carl Gozzi's story. A romantic opera with fantastic horrors influenced by Weber. After that, Wagner became disillusioned with German opera and criticized it in the article "German Opera".

1836 year. Macdeburg Theater. Writes the opera "The Prohibition of Love" based on Shakespeare (the comedy "Measure for Measure"). Influence of Italian opera. Works in the theater in the city of Kenesberg (Kaliningrad). He married an actress and left for Riga. In Riga he directed the opera house.

1839 Runs with his wife to Paris, fleeing creditors. Received a letter of recommendation from Meyerbeer, but it didn't help him.

In 1839 he wrote the opera "Rienza" in the style of the great French opera. I didn't get it staged. In 1842 he wrote the opera The Flying Dutchman, the Faust overture, romances, wrote articles about Berlioz, contemporary opera, and the article "Pilgrimages to Beethoven". Great impression from Berlioz, Chopin, Liszt.

In 1842 he left for Dresden. Became a conductor. Put on "Rienza" and "Flying Dutchman". Wagner was fond of philosophy, socialism. The Flying Dutchman is Wagner's first major achievement. The features of the musical drama were outlined: the legendary plot, the presence of through scenes, the increasing role of the orchestra, the presence of leitmotifs.

1845 year. Opera "Tannhäuser". It is influenced by Weber's German knightly opera "Evrianta".

1848 - Lohengrin. The most harmonious opera, in which there are through scenes, and the orchestra does not yet suppress the vocal part. Develops the plot of the opera "The Meistersingers". Conceives "Ring of the Nibelungen". He writes articles where he criticizes the social system, article "Revolution". In 1849 he pasted leaflets, was on the barricades. After the defeat of the revolution, he hid from the authorities at Liszt in Weimar. In 1849 he flees to Switzerland.

1849-1859

The years of Swiss exile. He writes many articles where he formulates his opera reform. These are: "Art and Revolution", "Opera and Drama", "Artistic Work of the Future". In 1852 he returned to the "Ring of the Nibelungen". He wrote the libretto for the operas. He composed "Ring of the Nibelungen" for over 20 years. His philosophical views have changed during this time. He was imbued with a mood of doom. He turned to the philosophy of Schopenhauer. The Ring of the Nibelungen was first performed in Bayreuth in 1876. The World as Will and Representation is a work by Schopenhauer.

Wagner substantiated in his articles the idea of \u200b\u200bhis reforms. These are: "Art and Revolution", "Music and Drama", "Artistic Work of the Future", "Address to Friends" (preface to the libretto of three operas - "The Flying Dutchman", "Tannhäuser", "Lohengrin", in which some principles of reform already implemented). All of these articles were written in the early 50s.

1859 - the main creative work - the musical drama "Tristan and Isolde". Wagner's reform was vividly realized in this drama. This is a grandiose vocal-symphonic poem, in which the action is transferred to the inner psychological plane.

Music has tremendous emotional intensity. Music flows in a single stream. Huge end-to-end scenes. There are no established forms. There is no chorus. Instead of arias, monologues. Wagner employs a system of leitmotifs that express different states one feeling - love (the leitmotif of longing, the leitmotif of a loving gaze). The whole musical fabric is the interweaving of these leitmotifs. The musical language is especially evident in the introduction.

There are many leitmotifs in the introduction. 3-part form. It begins with the theme of longing. It expresses the harmonious structure of Wagner's music - altered chords, interrupted revolutions that prolong the movement and lead away from the tonic, from stability. The first chord was named "Tristan Chord" (dv. D43 acc).

The opera was not staged for a long time. At the end of the 50s. Wagner began to seek permission from the authorities to return to Germany. In 1861 he returned and settled in Bibrech (on the Rhine). He began writing a new opera - The Meistersingers (comic opera). Wagner's financial situation is difficult. In 1863 he went to Russia. Enthusiastic welcome. We paid a big fee. Wagner was highly praised by Odoevsky and Serov in their articles. In 1864, Wagner was approached by the Bavarian king Ludwig II. Wagner settled in Munich. His friendship with the king made him an ardent monarchist. "Tristan and Isolde" was staged in Munich in 1865.

1866-1872

Again, Wagner lives in Switzerland. Here he completed the Meistersingers. The opera was performed by conductor Bülow. Wagner stole his wife, Liszt's daughter (apparently, as a sign of gratitude and appreciation). In honor of his son Siekfrit Wagner wrote the play "Siekfrit Idyll" based on the material of the opera.

He is constantly working on the "Ring of the Nibelungen". The opera "Meistersingers" occupies a special place in Wagner's work. Written on a household plot of the 16th century. The music is based on a German folk song. The vocal element is of great importance. There are many choirs, ensembles, but also many leitmotifs. During these years, Wagner conceived of creating his own theater. Tauzig is the organizer of the Wagner Fan Society.

The Wagner Theater originated in Bayreuth. In 1872 the first stone of the theater was laid. On this occasion, Wagner performed Beethoven's 9th symphony and settled near the theater. In 1876 the theater was opened. The "Ring of the Nibelungen" was performed 3 times at the opening.

Tchaikovsky praised Wagner's music, but did not accept his operatic reform. "Ring of the Nibelungen" is a grandiose tetralogy of 4 operas: "The Gold of the Rhine", "Valkyrie", "Zikfrit", "Death of the Gods". The philosophy of the "Ring of the Nibelungen" is close to Schopenhauer. The heroes are already doomed at first.

The music is based on a system of leitmotifs. There are about 100 of them in the opera. There is no division into numbers (through development). A grandiose orchestral quadruple cast. An immense copper band.

After the "Ring of the Nibelungen" Wagner began to create the last musical drama "Parsifal". Christians develop in her, moral issues... Wagner became religious towards the end of his life. He bequeathed that after his death "Parsifal" should be staged for 30 years only in Bayreuth. Wrote an article "Art and Religion". In 1883, Wagner died on vacation in Venice.

Wagner's operatic reforms

Wagner wrote these articles in Switzerland. In these articles, he develops the idea of \u200b\u200ba synthesis of arts, which will be embodied in the work of the future. This is a musical drama. Its creator will be Wagner.

1. Wagner criticized contemporary Italian and French opera. He criticized Italian opera for its excesses. Especially got in his articles Rossini. Wagner fiercely opposed French opera (especially Aubert and Meyerbeer). "Wasteland of a rotten social order", "sugar-coated boredom" - this is how Wagner put it about French opera. He criticized French opera for its excessive pomp. He believed that a new musical drama should be created, embodying all the arts.

2. Choice of subjects. Opera should reveal eternal problems eternal ideas life. In these plots there should be nothing passing through. Everyday plots and stories are not suitable, since they are only suitable for the time in which they are written.

3. Wagner believed that music and drama should merge into one. Development should be continuous - as in life. Therefore, separate numbers should be absent, since they divide the movement. Wagner denied arias, ensembles, choirs as unnatural forms. Therefore, instead of arias - monologues, instead of ensembles - dialogues. There are no choirs. Monologues and dialogues are parts of cross-cutting scenes.

4. From Wagner's point of view, the leading role in the drama is played not by the voice, but by the orchestra. The word cannot express all the depth and meaning inner experiences... This function is performed by the orchestra. Wagner's orchestra is like an ancient choir that comments on what is happening and conveys meaning. All this happens with the help of a leitmotif system. Each leitmotif means something. The musical fabric is made up of interweaving and changes in leitmotifs. Leitmotifs can express objects - a ring, a spear, ideas - leith. Prohibition, fate. Symphonic continuous development forms an endless Wagnerian melody. Vocal parts become one of the instruments of the general texture. The melodies are very individual. Wagner rejects the reliance on established elements.

The reform was not implemented immediately. Some of its elements were embodied in the operas of the 1940s - "The Flying Dutchman", "Tannhäuser", "Lohengrin". The reform was most fully embodied in "Tristan and Isolde" and "Ring of the Nibelungen".

Overture to the opera "Tannhäuser"

1845 year. Dresden. A chivalric opera that continues Weber's "Evrianta" line.

The overture expresses the main conflict, the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe opera. This is the opposition of the righteous, pure world, associated with the image of the pilgrims, and on the other hand, the world of Venus. This contrast is expressed in different intonation spheres - the music of the pilgrims is choral, diatonic, while the music of Venus is chromatic, with diminished seventh chords, fast tempo, tremolo strings.

Complex 3-part form. Very big. The outermost parts are the world of the pilgrims, and the middle one is the world of Venus, a sonata form with a mirror reprise and an episode in development. The shape has concentric features.

Ih. E-dur. Pilgrim theme. Chorale of wind instruments (I myself did not understand, because chorale is a church choir chant, as well as a piece of music in this form). Diatonic. 2nd theme - the theme of Tannhäuser's suffering. It sounds from cellos. Chromatic sequence. Repeats varying. Form I part - 3-part with varied repetition of the middle and recapitulation. The chant suddenly breaks off.

Middle section. Contrast sphere - chromaticism, fast tempo, reduced seventh chords, fabric vibrates. Violins in high register. There is a small introduction. Based on the mind. 7 acc. With tremolo strings in high register. Colorful woodwind chords.

G.P. E-dur. 1st theme is marching. The 2nd theme is based on the introduction to the sonata form.

S.P. Accurate. Based on detentions.

P.P. H-dur. This is the hymn to Venus, which Tannhäuser sang at the singing competition.

Development. Based on the 2nd theme by G.P. Inside (in the middle) there is a slowdown and the Venus theme arises in the solo clarinet. G-dur. In the high register under the strings tremolo.

Mirror reprise.

General reprise. Pilgrims' theme - E-dur. 3-part form without repetition of the middle of the reprise. Overture complete in form.

Opera "Lohengrin"

1848 year. Dresden. One of the most harmonious works of Wagner, in which Wagner's reformist features are already clearly visible, but not yet exaggerated form, but, as it were, all the important components of the opera are in balance. There are 3 acts in the opera. The music develops slowly, narratively. Psychological drama. External action is not suppressive. Here Wagner is already using a reformatory operatic form - through scenes. Big scenes continuous development, which can include solo, ensemble, and choral moments. Instead of arias - monologues, stories; instead of duets - dialogues. There is still a choir. He plays the role of a commentator (as in an ancient choir), expresses feelings. There are quite a few leitmotifs, but still not all of the musical fabric is filled with them. Keynotes associated with state of mind - Lohengrin's leitmotif, the Grail's leitmotif; there are leitmotifs associated with the idea - the leitmotif of prohibition, God's judgment, evil forces... The role of the orchestra is very important, but it does not suppress the vocal part yet. Many colorful orchestral numbers (introduction to the 3rd act, "The Wedding Feast").

This is the first opera to feature an introduction instead of an overture. The vocals are very expressive. Then they will be recitative, and there are many beautiful melodies (duet-dialogue between Elsa and Lohengrin - 3 acts, "Elsa's Dream" - 1 day, "Lohengrin's Story" - 3 days). The idea of \u200b\u200bthe opera is romantic, but the plot is already legendary. The idea of \u200b\u200bincomprehensibility great personality the surrounding world. Wagner wrote about this in the article "Address to Friends". The conflict between the two main areas is expressed musically. The 1st sphere is associated with Lohengrin. It is characterized by diatonicity and chorality. A-dur. High registers. Feeling clean. 2nd sphere - evil forces. They are expressed in Telramund and Ortrud. Chromatics, low registers. Fis-moll. The development of the 1st sphere occurs in the 1st and 3rd acts (the framing of the opera). In the 1st scene of the 1st act - parting with the swan thematically echoes Lohengrin's story in the 3rd act. The characteristic of evil forces is in the 2nd act. Elsa is a complex developing image. She's changing. In the beginning - chorality, diatonicity, and as doubts overwhelm her, chromaticisms and intonations of evil themes penetrate into her part. This is very noticeable in the duet of Elsa and Lohengrin in Act 3.

Introduction. It conveys the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe opera - a knight descends from heaven to earth and returns to heaven. Based on the 1st theme-keynote of Lohengrin - the Grail Ambassador. The theme varies. High case. Violin divisions. A-dur. Diatonic. The topic gradually descends. When copper enters, Lohengrin enters the ground. Tutti. Between the 2nd and 3rd conduction of the main theme, a theme from Elsa's dream appears - her admiration for Lohengrin. At the end comes the 3rd theme with a downward movement - the theme of the people's admiration for Lohengrin. At the end, the violins remain and the 1st intonation of the Grail leitmotif appears.

1 action. Scene 1 - action on the banks of the Scheldt. Scene 2 - the appearance of Elsa. As-moll. She seems to be in oblivion. She does not answer the accusations and, suddenly, begins to tell her dream.

1st section of sleep. As-dur. Choral chords. An enthusiastic character is gradually acquired. Climax on la b.

2nd section of sleep. Elsa talks about a knight from a dream. Its indirect characterization arises. The Grail leitmotif appears, but in As-major (the tonality of the dream). The leitmotif of the knight is As-major. Marching, short. It culminates in Act 1 - Lohengrin's exit.

After the second section of the dream, the leitmotif of God's judgment arises. The mind ends. 7 acc. After each call of the herald, this topic sounds 2 lower and after this topic Elsa's prayer sounds. Further A-dur and Lohengrin's approximation. The leitmotif of the knight and the leitmotif of the Grail. Similar to the introduction.

Climax - Lohengrin steps onto the ground. Lohengrin the knight's leitmotif sounds. Marching. Next, Lohengrin's conversation with Elsa. He asks her if she wants him to protect her. She agrees. The prohibition leitmotif sounds (Lohengrin forbids her to ask who he is). The leitmotif of the prohibition sounds as-moll in the voice. Ends in As-dur. Then there is a short fight. Lohengrin won. Scene 3 ends with the leitmotif of Lohengrin the Knight in B major.

2nd action. In the beginning follows a description of the evil forces - Telramund and his wife Ortrud. A small orchestral introduction contains intonations of evil - fis-moll, low register, chromatism (the theme of evil). Abundance of syncope. Next, the second theme of evil is the leitmotif of doubt. Then there is a topic prohibition - fis-moll, but only its 1st half sounds. Then again the theme of evil. They alternate with the leitmotif of doubt (2nd theme of evil).

4 scene. The wedding card is moving towards the temple. Small orchestral introduction. Lohengrin's sphere. Es-dur. 2nd theme of the introduction to B-dur.

3rd action. It begins with a picture of a wedding feast. Brilliant orchestral introduction. Powerful sound. Very lush orchestration. G-dur. 3-part form. Big (action). 1st theme for strings in high register. 2nd theme in copper (French horn and trombone). The middle part is softer, lyrical, for strings. 3rd topic \u003d 1st topic.

2nd scene. The climax of the drama. Lohengrin and Elsa. It ends with a duel between Telramund and Lohengrin. Elsa's part changes. At first, it is melodic. Then the themes of evil penetrate into it. Leitmotif of love in E-dur. Sounds in the orchestra. A love duet is based on it. Elsa sings first. Duet of Consent. Then Elsa starts asking questions. 2nd section of the duet. Enlarged triads. In the end, the theme of evil penetrates into Elsa's party. At the end, Lohengrin kills Telramund, who burst into the bedroom where Elsa and Lohengrin were to kill Lohengrin, but Lohengrin got ahead of him.

3rd scene. A kind of reprise of 1st day and introduction. Most important point - Lohengrin's story. A-dur. Grail theme. The same material in act 1 (farewell to the swan). The beginning is like an introduction. Grail theme in the orchestra. The theme is a melodious recitative. The orchestral part is in the upper register first. Different leitmotifs emerge. The voices go down. The dynamics are growing. Lohengrin the knight's leitmotif sounds at the end. Further - the reaction of the people and the king.

Contents

Richard Wilhelm Wagner

Way german composer As a person and artist, Richard Wagner surprisingly combines purposefulness with the sharpest and most unexpected turns. An ardent supporter and even a participant in the revolutionary movement in his youth, he mature years finds himself a crowned patron of the arts. Dreams of a nationwide, as in ancient Greece, theater are realized in the construction of a theater only for Wagner's works and ... only for a super-select audience.

Passion for the harsh heroics of ancient Germanic myths is replaced by the poeticization of Christian humility and forgiveness ... And with all this, Wagner always and everywhere remained Wagner, a composer with the brightest individuality, whose manner can be guessed by several bars of music.

He did not have indifferent listeners: they immediately became either enthusiastic admirers or fierce opponents.

And only half a century after the creation of his most controversial works, the passions subsided, and Wagner's legacy became a classic of musical art.

Nowadays no one doubts the genius of the composer.

Wagner's path to the heights of art was unusual. It is hard to believe that the composer, who opened new paths in music, was almost self-taught.

Wagner was almost self-taught

From childhood he was attracted to art: this was also facilitated by the atmosphere of the family: Wagner's stepfather was an actor and playwright, his older sisters and brother also devoted themselves to theater - opera and drama. It is clear that in adolescence, Richard was fond of theater and, as a fifteen-year-old schoolboy, planned to create a tragedy with music.

But how to do this without knowing the laws of musical creativity?

Secretly, he began to take music theory lessons from one of the orchestral musicians, but he could give only the most initial information.

Wagner gained professional skills by rewriting Beethoven scores

And yet, Richard was confident that he could become a composer. He himself invented an extraordinary way of self-study: to rewrite the scores of Beethoven's symphonies (this composer was his idol), following the course of musical thought and presentation technique. This method turned out to be effective, and when, finally, Wagner found an experienced teacher, six months of classes were enough for the self-taught yesterday to acquire the necessary professional skills.

Real knowledge of the laws of theatrical art, the capabilities of the orchestra, and singing voices came to Wagner after several years of practical work. His brother Albert, a singer at the Würzburg Theater, put Richard there as a choirmaster. This was the beginning of wandering around small theaters in provincial cities - Würzburg, Magdeburg, Konigsberg, Riga - as a conductor and music director theater.

And Wagner dreamed of Paris, and one of his first works - the historical opera Rienzi - was conceived with a view to the theatrical style of Parisian grand opera: spectacular, lush, decorative.

In 1839, Wagner went to Paris. He was twenty-six years old, full of energy, plans, hopes.

He brought ready-made compositions to Paris, but no one knew him, and no theater wanted to risk putting on an opera of an unknown musician.

Opera "Rienzi" was first accepted for staging at the Dresden Theater

Three years in Paris have passed in vain attempts to stage Rienzi and in search of daily income. Wagner did not refuse any work: he wrote newspaper articles, made arrangements for various instruments of melodies from fashionable operas.

In the end, making sure that he could not conquer Paris, he returned to his homeland. The news that the opera Rienzi had been accepted for staging at the Dresden theater settled the matter.

This was the first success, and even a triumph. The legendary wheel of fortune - the goddess of fate - suddenly turned in his direction. After the Paris misadventures, Wagner received an invitation to the post of Kapellmeister of the Opera House, which means that the opportunity opened up to stage operas - by his own and by other composers - in accordance with the ideal of the unity of music and drama.

Tristan and Isolde (1859)

And there was also an opportunity to create yourself, already having the confidence that the new work will see the light of the stage. It would seem that the Dresden years were extremely productive. Wagner staged classical operas by Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, and operas by Weber, one of the first German romantics, at the theater. Under his direction, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which was considered extremely difficult, was performed by an opera orchestra and a choir of three hundred people.

The creative result of the Dresden years is the operas Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. The plots are borrowed from old German legends, freely reworked by the composer (Wagner always wrote the librettos for his operas himself). His talent has already been fully revealed here. The clear relief of musical themes expressively conveying the very essence of the artistic image, the bright, rich colors of the orchestra create a kind of special musical atmosphere in each opera.

Wagner's work on both Dresden operas took place in significant, pre-storm years. In 1848, a wave of uprisings swept across Europe. In the spring of 1849, it also touched Dresden. Wagner was personally associated with revolutionary circles (including the Russian revolutionary Bakunin) and during the "May days" of the uprising took a direct part in it, printed and pasted revolutionary proclamations. The uprising was brutally suppressed, its leaders and many participants were arrested.

Portrait of Wagner at the piano

Wagner managed to escape. The years of exile began, which became the years of work on the main works - literary and musical.

Wagner was not a consistent revolutionary. He was acutely aware of the injustice of the bourgeois social order, the undivided power of money, inequality, appalling poverty alongside fabulous luxury. This led him to the revolution.

But most of all he was oppressed by the dependent position of the artist, who was forced to turn a work of art into a commodity. In his book Art and Revolution, written already during the years of the Swiss exile, Wagner recalled: “I was not interested in the very moment of the political and social revolution, but in the way of life in which my projects related to art could find fulfillment”.

Wagner's literary works are mainly devoted to questions of operatic art. In his book Opera and Drama, he sharply criticizes contemporary opera for the fact that in it music dominates drama. He himself believed that the end should be drama, and music - the means. He even calls his mature compositions not operas, but musical dramas.

But I must say that, contrary to his own theoretical views, Wagner in his works is much stronger as a musician than as a playwright.

The range of ideas expressed in the book "Art and Revolution" is reflected in the central piece of music Wagner - a monumental cycle of four plot-related musical dramas ("The Gold of the Rhine", "Valkyrie", "Siegfried", "The Death of the Nibelungs") under the general title "Ring of the Nibelung". The names of the heroes, some plot motifs are borrowed from the old German "Song of the Nibelungs" - the children of the fog, a tribe of evil dwarfs who own countless treasures. But Wagner freely, creatively recreates these myths, giving them modern sound and based on the "Ring" idea of \u200b\u200bthe destructive power of gold.

The treasure lying at the bottom of the Rhine and passing from hand to hand brings only misfortune to its owners. He is the cause of betrayal, atrocities, murders. Only a hero who knows no fear, Siegfried, can free the world from the curse that lies on this gold. He gets the main treasure - the ring. But, becoming a victim of treachery, Siegfried dies, the dwelling of the gods Valhalla dies in the fire, and the ring returns to the waters of the Rhine. So on the funeral pyre of Siegfried, Wagner burned his dreams of freeing the world from the power of gold ...

In Der Ring des Nibelungen, Wagner rejects the usual structure of the opera as a sequence of recitatives, arias, and ensembles. Music flows in a continuous stream, melodies combine declamation and melodiousness. The main role is assigned to the orchestra, which should reveal the subtext of what is happening on the stage.

Each character, each concept, even some objects that are especially important for the development of the plot (ring, sword), have their own specific musical themes-characteristics (the so-called leitmotifs) that emphasize the essence of a given situation and are repeated in similar situations.

When, for example, in front of one of the heroes - Sigmund - appears the daughter of the gods, the Valkyrie Brünhilda, a mysterious and sorrowful motive of fate sounds in the orchestra, preparing the words of Brünhilda, the messenger of death.

There are about a hundred leitmotifs in The Ring, and, of course, even a very prepared listener cannot remember all of them. But they are very expressive and in most cases generate vivid and precise associations. The sparkling, playing motive of fire, the warlike fanfare of the sword, the already mentioned motive of fate is remembered for a long time and firmly. Wagner masterfully develops them and connects one with the other. Thus, the funeral march to The Death of the Gods, where all the main motifs of The Ring are held, not only mourns the dead Siegfried, but, as it were, tells again - now in the language of instrumental music - the whole saga about the gold of the Nibelungs.

Rhine Gold (1854)

In parallel with the work on The Ring, which took more than twenty years, Wagner created two completely dissimilar operas: Tristan and Isolde and The Nuremberg Meistersingers. The first is a tragic story about the love of a knight for the king's bride, love that is forbidden and brings death to both. The second is a hilarious comedy about a singing contest. But its characters are no longer knights, as in "Tannhäuser", but German artisans, amateurs and experts in singing, and the main authority among them is the shoemaker Hans Sachs.

In the Nuremberg Meistersingers, Wagner returns to many traditional elements operas that previously seemed to him to be inconsistent with the ideal of "musical drama": ensembles, choirs.

Wagner was about sixty years old when he set about realizing his long-held dream of building a theater specifically for staging his works. He was at that time at the height of fame, he was patronized by the Bavarian king Ludwig II, in different cities In Germany, Wagnerian societies were organized, promoting his music and raising funds for the construction of a theater.

And finally, in 1876 in Bayreuth, the House of ceremonial performances for one and a half thousand spectators was opened and the entire cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen" was staged, of which only the first two parts had been performed before. The dream had come true, but how unlike its realization was to the old Wagnerian ideal of a national theater! Lodges filled with aristocratic audiences displaying jewelry and fancy dressing ...

And Wagner himself was already different. Less and less remained in him from the democrat artist of the 40s, more and more self-centeredness, intolerance, reactionary-nationalist spirit, characteristic of many German leaders after the unification of Germany in 1871, manifested in him. Glory is unprecedented glory! - was achieved, but the controversy around Wagner did not stop. They also boiled among the Russian musicians - Wagner's contemporaries.

Wagner, who came to Bayreuth for the premiere of The Ring of the Nibelungen, assessed Wagner more objectively than others:

“No matter how you relate to Wagner’s titanic work,” he wrote, “no one can deny the greatness of the task he accomplished and the strength of mind that prompted him to complete his work to the end and to carry out one of the most ambitious artistic plans ever conceived in the head of a person. "

Major works:

Operas and musical dramas:

• Fairies (1834)
• The Prohibition of Love (1836)
• "Rienzi - the last tribune" (1340)
• The Flying Dutchman (1841)
• Tannhäuser (1845)
• Lohengrin (1848)
• Rhine Gold (1854)
• Valkyrie (1856)
• Tristan and Isolde (1859)
• "Nuremberg Meistersingers" (1887)
• Siegfried (1871)
• Death of the Gods (1874)
• Parsifal (1882)

Richard Wagner's many-sided activities occupy an outstanding place in the history of world culture. Possessing an enormous artistic talent, Wagner proved himself not only as a genius musician - composer and conductor, but also as a poet, playwright, critic-publicist (16 volumes of his literary works include works on a variety of issues - from politics to art).

It is difficult to find an artist around whom there would be such fierce disputes as around this composer. The stormy polemic between his supporters and opponents went far beyond the modern era of Wagner, and did not subside after his death. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, he truly became the "ruler of thoughts" of the European intelligentsia.

Wagner lived a long and turbulent life, marked by sharp fractures, ups and downs, persecutions and exaltation. It included police harassment and patronage. " the mighty this ".

He was born on May 22 1813 g... in Leipzig in the family of a police official who died in the year his son was born. The upbringing of the future composer was handled by his stepfather, the talented actor Ludwig Geyer. Geyer moved the family to Dresden, the opera house of which was known throughout the country - at the head of it was Weber. One of the strongest musical impressions in Wagner's childhood is the impression of Weber's "Magic Shooter", heard under the direction of the author himself.

Unlike many other great composers, Wagner was not a child prodigy obsessed with music: until the age of 17 (!) He did not receive a real professional musical training... At the age of 17, only 6 months he studied with the cantor of the church of St. Thomas in Leipzig (Weinlig). At the same time, as an artist, in the broadest sense of the word, Wagner was formed very early due to his passion for art - theater and literature (the works of Homer, Shakespeare, Goethe, Schiller).

Wagner first embarked on the path of a professional musician in 1833, when at the age of 20 he began his career as a conductor. He worked in opera houses Wurzburg, Magdeburg, Konigsberg, Riga... At the same time, in the 30s, his first works appeared: piano sonatas, symphony in C-dur, early operas - "Fairies" and "The Forbidden of Love" (the first - based on the tale of the Italian playwright Gozzi, the second - on the comedy of Shakespeare).

Paris crisis

At the end of the 30s (1839), in search of success and recognition, Wagner, together with his wife, actress Minna Glider, went to Paris, however, the 3 years spent in the French capital became for him the time of "lost illusions", the collapse of hopes. He failed to stage any of his operas, financial situation came to the brink of poverty. Neither the support of the French composer Meyerbeer, nor the energy of Wagner himself, who worked hard and hard, helped: his third opera, Rienzi, and the Faust overture, were written in Paris.

The disappointment of the Parisian years grew in Wagner to hatred of the entire bourgeois culture, which the capital of France became for him from now on. At the same time, the ideological crisis experienced by Wagner had great value for his further creative path:

• he is aware of the acute contradictions between the aspirations of the genius composer and the banal tastes of an entertainment-hungry public;
• Wagner reassesses the greatness of German culture (as evidenced, in particular, by Wagner's novella "Pilgrimage to Beethoven"). Far from his homeland, Wagner felt himself a German with special strength. He begins to be interested in German history, German-Scandinavian mythology. From now on, national plots will accompany him until the end of his career.

Operas of the 40s

Since 1842 Wagner Dresden, where the premieres of Rienzi and The Flying Dutchman took place. The production of Rienzi was a resounding success, which resulted in Wagner's invitation to the post of conductor of the Dresden Opera House. The Flying Dutchman, where the composer first became himself, was, on the contrary, greeted coldly (precisely because of his novelty). But Wagner did not follow the lead of the public, and the following Dresden operas - "Tannhäuser" and continued the line started by "The Flying Dutchman".

The operas of the 40s constitute a kind of triad, significantly different from the three earlier operas. They are all written based on national Germanplots, all adjoin the German romantic opera in its various varieties. In all three operas of the Dresden period, the composer transfers the meaning of ancient legends to the modern world of capitalist relations, trying to embody the problem of the artist in modern society:

• in "The Flying Dutchman" - an artist who is looking for ways to the hearts of people;
• in Tannhäuser, there are two possibilities that open up before the artist - the path of external glory and the thorny path of a true creator;
• in "Lohengrin" - hostility modern society in relation to a creative, outstanding personality.

The main thing that unites these three operas in creative development Wagner is that they were gradually preparing his operatic reform. The 40s, therefore, were exclusively important stage creative path of the composer - a period of gaining creative maturity (after the imitation of early operas). It was also the most active time. political activities Wagner.

Wagner has always responded warmly to events public life... Known for his sympathy for the Polish rebels, sympathy for the participants in the July 1830 revolution in France. His revolutionary spirit naturally led him to the barricades during the May uprising in Dresden in 1849. This was largely facilitated by constant communication with fellow conductor August Rekel, the future leader of the Dresden Uprising. Another leader of the uprising was the Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin, whose anarchist ideas made an indelible impression on Wagner. The brutal suppression of the uprising in Dresden forced the composer to flee abroad.

The years of Swiss exile (1849-1859)

The composer spent 10 long years in Switzerland as a political emigrant. The first years of emigration (1849-51) occupied an absolutely exclusive place in Wagner's creative development. At this time, not only social activities, but even music as such recede into the background for him. Living alone in Zurich, the composer is trying to comprehend everything that has just happened in Europe engulfed in revolutions. He thinks about the role of the revolution in the development of art and outlines new creative tasks for himself. One after another, his most important literary works appear: "Art and Revolution", "Artistic Work of the Future", "Opera and Drama", "Address to My Friends". Criticizing state of the art operatic genre, Wagner sets out here the basic principles of his reform. In Switzerland, the full text of the "Ring of the Nibelung" was completed in the first edition, the beginning of which refers to the revolutionary 1848. The tetralogy was created with long interruptions and was completed 10 years before the composer's death. In emigration, only the first two dramas were created - "The Gold of the Rhine" and "Valkyrie".

The period of "Swiss exile" ended with the drama "Tristan and Isolde" - Wagner's most personal work. The time of work on it - the mid-50s - is perhaps the most difficult in the entire biography of the composer. Forced emigration, material and everyday difficulties, lack of genuine interest in his work - all this gave Wagner genuine torment. The two main events of this period are the love for Matilda Wesendonck (the strongest love feeling, which Wagner had to experience, but also the most doomed - Matilda was the wife of a friend and patron of the composer, the wealthy banker Otto Wesendonk) and acquaintance with the book of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer "The world as will and representation." In "Tristan and Isolde" both the philosopher's ideas, implemented in line with Wagner's own convictions, and the feeling of tragically hopeless love were reflected.

Continuation of wanderings

Having received a political amnesty, Wagner unsuccessfully tries to find work in his homeland, his wanderings continue. In order to have a livelihood, he performs a lot as a conductor. For example, his concerts in Russia (in Moscow and St. Petersburg), in which Beethoven's symphonies and symphonic episodes of Wagner's operas were performed, were a huge success. At the same time, business with the performances of Wagner's works on the stages of opera houses is not realized ("Tannhäuser" scandalously failed when Wagner tried to stage it in Paris; the drama "Tristan and Isolde" after 77 rehearsals at the Vienna Theater was declared unfeasible).

It is surprising that it was at this most difficult time for the composer that his most optimistic creation, "The Nuremberg Meistersingers", was created. The plot, borrowed from the life of medieval artisans, led to a close connection with the folk German song culture.

The last period of creativity. Bayreuth.

In 1864, Wagner's fate changed dramatically: the young Bavarian king Ludwig II invited him to Munich, the capital of Bavaria. A passionate admirer of Wagner's work, Ludwig does everything possible to implement the composer's creative ideas. Wagner's dream of his own opera house is coming true: it was built in Bayreuth. Not only comes to the composer material well-being... He also gets real family hearth in alliance with a selflessly devoted companion - the daughter of Liszt Cosima.

IN last period his work, Wagner returned to work on the "Ring of the Nibelungen". He completed the drama Siegfried (3rd drama of the tetralogy) and wrote The Death of the Gods (4th). The entire tetralogy was performed in its entirety at the grand opening of the Bayreuth Theater in 1874.

The natural completion of the composer's career was "Parsifal", which reflected complex picture worldview of the late Wagner. Parsifal summed up the artist's long thoughts about the fate of mankind.

Six months after the premiere, on February 13, 1883, during a vacation in Venice Wagner died suddenly on the threshold of his 70th birthday.

The fourth opera, The Flying Dutchman, is close in time to Rienzi, but in its style adjoins the next, Dresden period.

In his will, the composer banned the production of Parsifal for 30 years after his death, anywhere except Bayreuth.

Richard Wagner (Richard Wagner). - This German composer occupies a very important place in the history of music. He is one of the few musical figures of the 19th century who produced a powerful musical movement in all civilized countries with his operas. At present, V.'s imitation has become almost universal, with followers, i.e. those who adopted Wagner's principles, while trying to maintain their own musical identity, are much less than blind imitators. From the first one should point to Verdi ("Othello"), Massene, Serov. Wagnerism is now in vogue; that among the laymen this word has become a synonym for everything complex and difficult to understand in music. In essence, the operatic principles of V. do not represent an entirely new phenomenon. For more than three centuries, among opera composers, music prevailed over drama, then drama over music. Wagner, in continuation of his many years artistic activities, constantly strived to create an ideal opera, in which the purpose of expression should be drama, and the means - music. Of course, composers were striving for such an ideal even before Wagner, but he brought this striving to the extreme. His operatic form embraces the drama more strongly, having an indissoluble organic connection with it, representing something whole, rounded, not disintegrating into arias, duets, choirs, and ensembles. V., considering the libretto one of the main factors of the opera and possessing a poetic gift, he himself wrote the texts for his works, which he gave desired shape his musical illustration. Some of his texts, such as for the opera "The Wanderer Sailor", represent completed poetic works. Giving their images in the text characteristic outlines; he always strove to ensure that these images, thanks to music, received even more typical and relief. The idea of \u200b\u200breturning in opera to a melody associated with a characterization of a face or a dramatic moment - the idea of \u200b\u200breminiscences - in no case can be attributed only to V. It was used by many composers earlier, and was also applied by V.'s contemporaries, even at a time when this composer was not made me talk about myself. But V.'s reception of thematicism received an unprecedented before him wide application... Each character, especially in the last works of V., has its own motive, which accompanies this person throughout the entire opera, undergoing modifications in accordance with the nature of the dramatic situations. Thus, V.'s musical drama was covered by a thematic network. In his first operas, V. resorted to reminiscences without developing characterizing motives. In operas of the middle period of activity, as, for example, in "Lohengrin", even "Tristan", the leading motives (Leitmotive) have been used since great variety... In the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen and in Parsival, V. applied thematicism with extraordinary consistency. Unfortunately, due to this sequence, the music often comes across as something mechanical. Possessing a wide melodic gift, V. in all his works, despite the absence of rounded forms, makes an impression of charming. Its melody is expressive, varied and original. Trying to approach the nature of speech in his music, he mainly adheres to a melodious recitative or the so-called arious singing. His melodies, especially in recent works, are directly dependent on the correct and meaningful recitation of speech. V. in his creations is a highly gifted accordion player. Its orchestral accompaniment conveys sensations character, is extremely beautiful, interesting and expressive in a harmonious sense and in orchestral colors. Attaching great importance to the orchestra in opera, V. showed himself in this area as a remarkable symphonist. Although his innovations in the orchestra are not practical in the sense that they go beyond the established norm in all theaters as part of the orchestra, they are artistically absolutely correct. He began to use wind instruments not in two, as before, but in three, as a result of which it became possible to obtain triads of one timbre. V. is an original nature, and this originality is reflected in all the details of his creations: in the operatic concept, melody, harmony and symphonic part. What can be blamed for V. is a certain monotony of rhythm, which, however, is redeemed by other major virtues.

Wagner, in spite of his enormous fame, and at the present time

many opponents. The reason for this lies in the exorbitant lengths of his vast works, which, despite the wonderful beauty, are absorbed with difficulty and are obeyed not without fatigue. Dedicating his whole life to the reform of the opera, Wagner served his art in word and deed. Perfectly mastering the pen, in his literary works he clearly and eloquently expounded deep views on art. Possessing an extraordinary talent for the bandmaster, he was a powerful propagandist of both his works and those that, in his opinion, constitute precious contribution to the treasury of musical art. Germany considers V. its national composer, and she is quite right. Wagner, in the course of his many years of composing activity, stood on purely German soil and worked tirelessly for the benefit of the prosperity of national art. All of his operas, and especially Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Meistersingers of Nuremberg, embrace their purely national spirit.

V. was born in Leipzig in 1813, died on February 1 (13), 1883 in

Venice. He lost his father very early, and at seven years old, with the death of his stepfather - Geyer, an actor, writer and painter - V. musically was left to himself. As a child, he did not have an extraordinary musical development. He was always not interested in the technical side of execution; in the very early age he always felt attracted to everything beautiful and sublime. In his leisure hours, he loved to play Weber, read Shakespeare. Possessing a poetic ability, he composed poetry, and then, under the influence of Hamlet and Lear, wrote a tragedy. The very first acquaintance with the works of Beethoven made a deep impression on the young Wagner and made him even more addicted to music. Above scientific pursuits more and more music and poetry prevailed. Until the age of sixteen, Wagner was completely unfamiliar with musical theory, then began to study it from manuals. The first teacher-theorist V. was Theodor Weinlig, cantor of the Leipzig school of St. Thomas. Even before theoretical studies, under the influence of Beethoven's pastoral symphony, W. composed a pastoral, using his own text. After more or less serious studies, a sonata, an overture and a symphony came out from under V.'s pen. The overture was performed in Leipzig in one of the concerts of the Gewandhaus "a, and then, in 1833, V. made his debut with his symphony there. This is V.'s first extensive work - and at the same time the last which he conducted in Venice, on the fiftieth anniversary of his composing activity, shortly before his death. In 1833 V. wrote the first opera: "Fairies", on a plot from the novel by Gozzi. The text of the libretto was composed by the composer himself. At that time it did not get on the stage and only after death Wagner saw the light of God.Although in this opera one can see the beginnings of the music that subsequently developed so widely and luxuriously, but, in the opinion of V. himself, in it he obeyed the influence of Beethoven, Marschner, Weber. From the first composer's steps V. direction and appreciated it among contemporary Italian composers, while not sympathizing with their simple, unskilful, semi-amateurish texture. This direction, under the influence of Italian operas, was especially shown in his second opera: "Palerm sky novice ". In 1834, V., having received the position of assistant conductor at the Magdeburg theater, had the opportunity to stage his own opera, which, however, was not successful. This failure began in the life of V. a period of trials, which became more and more difficult until 1842. Nervous and passionate nature V. sought extensive and fruitful activity. Dissatisfied with his position, he changed his place as conductor in Magdeburg to a similar one in Konigsberg, then moved to Russia in 1837, conducted an opera in Riga, where he was taken to new workinspired by Bulwer's novel: "Rienzi". Two acts of this new, full of brilliance of the opera were already ready when V. in 1839 again decided to leave his place and go to Paris, where failure awaited him. The fuss of staging the opera Rienzi, which he had finished, failed. The wonderful first movement of the symphony, later called the Faust overture, also did not desired results... The failures, indifference of those musically influential people in whom he hoped to find support, while the need, could shake at least someone the energy and faith in his abilities. But V., feeling his high calling, worked hard and in his creative activity drew strength for the struggle. The source of all V.'s failures, in essence, lay in the fact that he, as an original nature, did not know how to adapt to fashionable tastes and in his works he became above the level of contemporary musical requirements. Interrupting somewhat materially, V. because of his daily bread did not hesitate to earn something by transcribing fashionable excerpts from operas, commissioned by the publisher Schlesinger. He also took up literary work, placing stories in the Gazette musicale, dedicated to the destinies of aspiring musicians. These articles, written with passion and heart, though interested the readers, but since they were written in German and required translation, this source of income was also difficult. Even during a sea voyage from Riga to France, V., caught by a storm, came up with the idea to write an opera based on the "Wanderer Sailor". He brought this plan to fruition in Paris, writing a three-act opera in seven weeks. The libretto of the opera helped V. out of trouble: he sold it to a certain Ditch, who was delighted with the perfection of the libretto and intended to write music for it. Selling your text. V., however, got himself a property right for Germany. In 1842, V.'s life took a turn for the better. He left Paris and the production of Rienzi in Dresden made him a brilliant success. Having received the place of the second court conductor, V. begins to enjoy a more solid position. But the glimpse of happiness was short-lived. In the staged opera The Wanderer Sailor, the public did not find the brilliance and effects that they expected after Rienzi. The failure was obvious. The performances of both operas in Hamburg and Berlin were also unsuccessful. Since V. with each opera more and more went out on an independent path and was far ahead of the views of his contemporary public, he could hardly count on success at the moment. The subsequent opera "Tannhäuser" also experienced a cold reception from the public in Dresden, which at that time did not see in this work a highly artistic and national significance... V. had individual fans, but the audience was not for him. V.'s vigorous creative activity was so strong that he did not have time to finish one opera, as a plan for a new one was already appearing in his head. After "Tannhäuser" appears "Lohengrin", and between these two V. begins the comic opera "Nuremberg Meistersingers". Wagner was not destined to finish this opera soon, since his life did not cease to develop more and more sadly. Due to the political events in which V. was involved, he has to take cover; staging Lohengrin was out of the question. In 1849, a difficult year for V., he finds true friend in Liszt, an ardent admirer of his works. After staying in Weimar, at Liszt, V. in 1850 moved to Switzerland, where he settled in Lucerne. Thanks to Liszt's propaganda, "Tannhäuser" was staged in Weimar in 1849 and there (for the first time in Germany) "Lohengrin" in 1850. Liszt spoke out in favor of these operas in the most energetic way in the brochure: "Lohengrin et Tanhauser de Richard Wagner". From that time on, a proper view of V.'s works began to be gradually established in Germany. The public began to become more and more interested in V., and then fell in love with him, despite the fact that with the number of supporters of his direction, the number of his opponents also grew. A whole Wagnerian question arose, Germany, and then the entire musical world began to talk about V. During his stay in Zurich, Wagner took up aesthetic treatises, which he began to publish in 1850. In them he expressed deeply philosophical views on art and, as in operas; so in their literary works, far stepped over the level of modern views. The works that came out of his pen: "Art and Revolution", "Artistic Work of the Future", "Opera and Drama", caused the most lively talk among the masses, musically interested in aesthetic issues, the most diverse opinions for and against in the press. But along with literary pursuits, V. did not leave composing. He wrote: the text and part of the music of the tetralogy Ring of the Nibelungen (The Gold of the Rhine, Valkyrie, Siegfried, The Fall of the Gods) and the opera Tristan and Isolde, one of the composer's most profound and exciting works. Despite the hardships endured in Paris, the thought of success in this city does not leave V. Thanks strong ties, he manages to achieve the production of "Tannhäuser" on the stage of the Grand Paris Opera. In 1861 the first performance took place, but Paris this time did not turn out to be welcoming for V. The opera fell. This failure could not affect already gradual development the success of Wagner's operas in other countries, which, having conquered opera stages in Germany, moved to Russia, Italy, England and other countries. In 1863, V. visited St. Petersburg and Moscow, where he introduced the public to excerpts from his operas. In addition, W. conducted many of Beethoven's symphonies. Neither before nor after V. Petersburg has seen such a genius conductor. He was, in the best sense, a virtuoso in leading the orchestra. The last significant outbreak of protest against Wagner's music was the refusal of singers in Dresden and Vienna to perform Tristan and Isolde as an opera inaccessible to human voices. The patronage of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the energetic propaganda of Bülow, and, finally, the development of Wagner circles in very many musical centers in Germany, contributed to the implementation of the broad plans of this composer. Munich is a center of strong Wagnerian music propaganda. Those works of V., which would have to wait a very long time for access to the opera stages, appear in the Munich Opera. Beautifully executed and superbly staged, they eloquently proved the unfairness of mistrust in them. In 1865 the opera "Tristan and Isolde" was staged, then, three years later, "The Nuremberg Meistersingers", "The Rhine Gold", "Valkyrie". The appearance of these last two operas on the Munich stage was the first attempt at performing a huge cycle: "Ring of the Nibelungen", which V. led to an end.

This tetralogy with a mythological plot, according to V., required

theater with a stage equipped with all kinds of innovations. The auditorium had to be arranged so that listeners from everywhere could see and hear the performance equally well, without having any amusement. To this end, the orchestra had to be hidden from the eyes of the audience, and during the performance, the auditorium was supposed to be dim. The mass of friends and admirers of V., led by King Ludwig, financially helped the implementation of this idea, in Bayreuth the Wagnerian theater was erected. In 1876 the first performance of the tetralogy took place, for the performance of which the best musical forces of Germany came together. Since then, Bayreuth has become summer time focus; where come not only from Germany, but also from all parts of the musical world, who want to get acquainted with the exemplary performance of Wagner's operas. In 1882 on this stage the last opera by V. "Parsifal" was performed for the first time, and then staged: "Tristan and Isolde", "Nuremberg Meistersingers" and "Tannhäuser". Outside the Bayreuth stage, the main promoter of V.'s tetralogy is the entrepreneur Neumann, who travels with his troupe throughout Europe. We had Neumann's troupe in St. Petersburg and Moscow in 1889.

The last 17 years of Wagner's life presented the starkest contrast to

everything that this person had previously experienced. In 1866 V. married again, to the daughter of Liszt, ex-wife Bülow. In her he found complete happiness. Glory, artistic satisfaction, and finally material well-being - all rewarded V. for a difficult past. The famous composer settled in Bayreuth in his home, which he named Vanfried. This house is adorned with the following verses: "Hier, wo mein Wahn Frieden fand, -" Wahnfried "sei dieses Hans genannt". The approximate meaning of these lines is that Wagner calls his home a place in which his dreams found peace. V. is buried behind this house in the park.

Here is a list of V.'s works - Opera: "Fairy", in 3 acts (completed

1833); "Palermo novice" (1836); Rienzi, in five acts (1840); The Wanderer Sailor, in three acts (1841); Tannhäuser, in three acts (1845); Lohengrin, in three acts (1848); "Gold of the Rhine", 1st part of the tetralogy "Ring of the Nibelungen" (1854); "Valkyrie", 2nd part of the tetralogy, in three acts (1856); Tristan and Isolde, in three acts (1859); Siegfried, 3rd part of the tetralogy, in three acts (1869); The Meistersingers of Nuremberg, in three acts (1867); "The Fall of the Gods" 4th part of the tetralogy, in three acts (1874); Parsifal, in three acts (1882). Symphonic and choral works: overture in b-dur (1830); overture in d-moll (1831); overture in the form of a fugue (1831); overture "Polonia", c major (1832); symphony (1832); cantata on new Year for choir and orchestra (1834); overture "Christopher Columbus" (1835); "Mountain Spirit", music and vocal numbers for the Gleich extravaganza (1836); overture "Rule Britannia" (1836); overture "Faust" (1840); scene of the apostles for male choir and orchestra (1843); cantata for the opening of the monument to King Friedrich Augustus (1843); a funeral march in memory of Weber based on motives from Euryanthe (1844); Huldigungsmarsch (1864); "Siegfried" s Idylle "(1870);" Kaisermarsch "(1871); march for the world exhibition in Philadelphia (1876) Piano pieces composed: sonata in b-minor, polonaise, fantasy" fis-moll, sonate d "album" and two "Feuillet d" album ". For one voice, written: romances, such as" Two Grenadiers "," Der Tannenbaum ", etc. For piano, arranged by V. Beethoven's ninth symphony," Favorite "," Love drink"Donizetti and others. All these arrangements refer to the beginning of V.'s career. From literary works we point out the following:" Die Kunst und die Revolution "(Leipzig, 1849);" Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft "(Leipzig, 1850);" Oper und Drama "(Leipzig, 1852);" Deutsche Kunst und Politik "(Leipzig, 1868);" Das Judentum in der Musik "(Leipzig, 1869);" Ueber das Dirigieren "(Leipz., 1874);" Ueber Schauspieler und Sanger " (Leippig, 1872); "Beethoven" (Leipzig, 1870); "Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen" (in 10 books, Leipp;., 1871 - 73); "Richard Wagner, Entwurfe, Gedanken, Fragmente. Aus nachgelassen Papieren zusammengestellt "(Leipzig, 1885); Liszt's" Ein Brief von Richard Wagner "(Leipp,., 1857);" Ueber die Bestimmung der Oper "(Leipzig, 1871). About V. has been written so much that there is no possibility Let us mention the following works: Tuppert, "Richard Wagner" (Elberfeld, 1883); Bolzogen, "Wagnerian" (Leipz., 1888); Glasenap, "Richard Wagner" s Leben und Werken "(in 6 volumes, Leipzig, 1882); Richard Paul, "Richard Wagner" (Leipzig, 1883); Hanslik, "Die moderne Oper" (in three volumes, Berlin, 1884 - 85); Liszt, "Richard Wagner" (Berlin, 1881); "Katalog ciner Richard Wagner Bibliotek" (2 volumes, Leipzig, 1882

86); Adolphe Julien, "Richard Wagner" (Paris, 1886); Eduard Shure,

"Le drame musical" (Par., 1886); Hippo, "Parcifal et l" opera wagnerien "(Paris, 1885); Ernest," Richard Wagner et le drame contemporain "(Par., 1887); Blaz de Bury," Une nouvelle philosophic de l "opera" ("Revue de deax Mondes "1884); Lindau, "Richard Wagner" (Par., 1885); Bernardini, "Richard Wagner, sa vie, ses poemes d" opera, son systeme dramatique et musical "(Paris). In Russia, AH Serov wrote a lot about V. Here are his most outstanding articles:" Richard Wagner and his reform in the field of opera " ("Journal of Art", 1860, No.1, 2). "Nibelungen ring", musical and dramatic poem, sketch ("Anchor", 1863, in ten issues); "About Wagner" ("Musically Teatralny Vestnik", 1858 , No. 34); "Richard Wagner to St. Petersburg" ("St. Petersburg Vedomosti" 1863, No. 40 and 52). Let's also name: Trifonov, "Richard Wagner" ("Bulletin of Europe" 1884, March, April); Ess Yiwu, "Richard Wagner and his trilogy" (Moscow, 1889); Alexander Reingold, "Ring of the Nibelung" (St. Petersburg, 1889); A. Famintsyn, "Richard Wagner and his opera Lohengrin" ("The Voice", 1868, No. 273, 274, 275) N. Soloviev.