Richard Wagner
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“Das Rheingold”, by Richard Wagner, premiered on September 22 1869, at the National Theatre, Munich
Das Rheingold, WWV 86AFirst of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner’s cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). Libretto: Richard WagnerMusic: Richard WagnerBased on Nordic and German legendsPremiered: 22 September 1869 at the National Theatre Munich In the depths of the Rhine, the three Rhinemaidens guard the Rhinegold, a…
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Lohengrin (Wagner) premiered today in 1850
Lohengrin, WWV 75Romantic opera in three acts Composition: Richard WagnerLibretto: Richard WagnerPremiere: 28 August 1850, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach, and its sequel Lohengrin, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain. It is part of the…
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Götterdämmerung, fourth day in Ring des Nibelungen (Wagner) premiered VIII 17 1876
Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner’s cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (English: The Ring of the Nibelung). It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 17 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the whole work. The…
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Siegfried, second day in the Ring of the Nibelung (Wagner), premiered VIII 16 1876
Siegfried is a figure from the heroic literature of the ancient Germanic people. He appears in both German and Old Norse literature, although the versions of his stories told by these two branches of the Germanic tradition do not always agree. He plays a part in the story of Brunhild, in which he meets his…
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Richard Wagner *V 22 1813 — The Life You Give
Richard Wagner, born Wilhelm Richard Wagner, on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig, Germany, is the dramatic composer and theorist whose operas and music had a revolutionary influence on the course of Western music, either by extension of his discoveries or reaction against them. Among his major works are The Flying Dutchman (1843), Tannhäuser (1845), Lohengrin…
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Simon Estes *III 2 1938 — The Life You Give
One of just a few African-American male singers who has had a top-rank international operatic career, bass-baritone Simon Estes grew up in Iowa in a house without heat or indoor plumbing. He sang in church as a youth, but when he enrolled at the University of Iowa in the late ’50s he had never heard…
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Waltraud Meier *I 9 1956 — The Life You Give
Though she has achieved much acclaim for her Wagnerian roles — and rightly so, mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier possesses a vast repertory — not to mention a consummate skill — in Italian, French, and even Russian opera, from Bizet’s Carmen and Tchaikovsky’s Jeanne d’Arc to Verdi’s Azucena (Il Trovatore) and Saint-Saëns’ Dalila (Samson and Dalila). She…
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Siegfried, second day in the Ring of the Nibelung (Wagner), premiered VIII 16 1876
Siegfried is a figure from the heroic literature of the ancient Germanic people. He appears in both German and Old Norse literature, although the versions of his stories told by these two branches of the Germanic tradition do not always agree. He plays a part in the story of Brunhild, in which he meets his…
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Parsifal (Wagner) premiered today in 1882
Parsifal, WWV 111Music Drama / Opera in three actsComposer: Richard WagnerLibretto: Richard WagnerBased on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance Parsifal of the Minnesänger Wolfram von Eschenbach, and the Old French chivalric romance Perceval ou le Conte du Graal by Chrétien de Troyes, in the 12th century. Both tell different accounts of the Arthurian…
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Die Walküre (Wagner) premiered today in 1870
Die Walküre / The Valkyrie, WWV 86B, is the second of the four epic music dramas known Der Ring des Nibelungen / The Ring of the Nibelung. It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on 26 June 1870, and received its first performance as part of the Ring cycle at…
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Richard Wagner *V 22 1813 / The Life You Give
Richard Wagner, born Wilhelm Richard Wagner, on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig, Germany, is the dramatic composer and theorist whose operas and music had a revolutionary influence on the course of Western music, either by extension of his discoveries or reaction against them. Among his major works are The Flying Dutchman (1843), Tannhäuser (1845), Lohengrin…
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Days with Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner was born two-hundred and eleven years ago this 22nd of May. Beyond, and because of being one of the most controversial creative minds known to man, he has forever shaped our music, and influenced society in politics, art, and thinking. Thus, we celebrate the man – in joy, and in difficulties – by…
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“Tristan und Isolde”
“I fear the opera will be banned – unless the whole thing is parodied in a bad performance – only mediocre performances can save me! Perfectly good ones will be bound to drive people mad, – I cannot imagine it otherwise.”– Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonck
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Waltraud Meier: The Life You Give
Though she has achieved much acclaim for her Wagnerian roles — and rightly so, mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier possesses a vast repertory — not to mention a consummate skill — in Italian, French, and even Russian opera, from Bizet’s Carmen and Tchaikovsky’s Jeanne d’Arc to Verdi’s Azucena (Il Trovatore) and Saint-Saëns’ Dalila (Samson and Dalila). She…
Sila Blume 