Richard Wagner

200 Years Of Richard Wagner And The Will Of Music

Ron Moore — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:45:07 +0000

Wagner's incredible and improbable success is one of the fairytale's of high art. The late Jacques Barzun referred to his position in later life as: "That of a Lord of all the arts."

Randy Anderson has rightly commented on his association with the highest circles of the intellect and art: De Gobineau, Nietzsche, Semper, Meyerbeer, Berlioz and later Liszt, as Wagner would wed Cosima, the pianist's daughter.

So how did all this happen?

Gods And Monsters: 5 Unforgettable Wagner Moments

Tom Huizenga — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:34:11 +0000

How much do you know about Richard Wagner? Probably two unfavorable facts: He wrote very long, grandiose operas and was Hitler's favorite composer. As true as they are, those simple examples barely hint at the complexity of this endlessly creative and confounding artist.

Two centuries after Wagner's birth (he was born in Leipzig May 22, 1813), the man and his music continue to beguile and bewilder fans, detractors and critics.

Richard Wagner's "Siegfried," The World's Last Hope

Ron Moore — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:42:37 +0000

In "Siegfried" we return to the origins of Wagner's conception of "The Ring." Before there was an explanation and an event, a plot before a back story.

These various sketches, fragments and early drafts were separated by a quarter of century from the opera's first performance (1851-1876).

We recreate the fairytale atmosphere of "Das Rheingold" with a dwarf, a dragon, giants, a singing bird and a boy so innocent he has "never" seen a girl.

Video: The Most Famous Horse Ride In All Music In Wagner's 'Die Walkure'

Ron Moore — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:33:20 +0000

The Norse god Wotan - like his counterparts in the south, Zeus and Jupiter - got around as they say. He wasn't named "all-father" for nothing. The second opera of Richard Wagner's Ring cycle is about three of his offspring.

First, the legitimate daughter Brünnhilde, who is a Valkyrie -a collector of the heroic dead slain in battle - and after whom this opera is named. Then there are the twins Siegmund and Sieglende, their mother is Erda - mother earth.

At Home With The Gods In The First Part Of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, "Das Rheingold"

Ron Moore — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 19:21:44 +0000

After a decades-long struggle, the patience and slavish commitment of numberless friends, an inspiration that can truly be called superhuman, and a streak of luck that beggars the imagination, Richard Wagner finally finished his epic "Ring."

Despite the luminaries in attendance over the years - from Hugo Wolf and a who’s who of European royalty, to Tchaikovsky, Bernard Shaw and others - it could never pay its way.

Dragons & Gods, Fire & Blood Fill San Antonio Symphony Program

John Clare — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:19:47 +0000

Music by Richard Wagner and Michael Daugherty on tap this weekend

Throughout 2013, musicians will be playing Richard Wagner in honor of his 200th birthday this May. The San Antonio Symphony will offer wonderful selections of Wagner's grand opus, "Der Ring des Nibelungen."

Richard Wagner’s Apotheosis, 'Parsifal'

Ron Moore — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:17:13 +0000

Richard Wagner’s "Parsifal," his final opera, was created in parallel with his greatest creations including "The Ring" and "Tristan." It took him just over 30 years and several revisions before it was finally presented in 1882.

It is viewed as his most refined and elaborate work and it at times leaves people feeling that it is too profound to even applaud. In a comic twist, this bothered the composer; when Wagner would applaud a certain scene he would be hushed by members of the audience.

One Of The Greatest Operas Ever Written: Wagner’s 'Parsifal'

Ron Moore — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:48:35 +0000

Richard Wagner’s Parsifal, his final opera, was created in parallel with his greatest creations including The Ring and Tristan. Beginning in the 1850’s, its prose and poetry was returned to over and over again in first and second drafts, and was finally orchestrated and presented in 1882; it occupied over a quarter century in Wagner’s creative life. The work was scored with the acoustics of the newly built Bayreuth in mind and has one of the oddest operatic history’s imaginable.