German Romantic Opera: Wagner

Important Terms / ConceptsMusic DramaGesamtkunstwerk (“unified work of art”)LeitmotifEndless melody

Role of Folklore in operaChromatic harmony

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)• Wagner became one of

the historic reformers of opera, on a par with Glück and Bertold Brecht

• He wrote his own libretti, based mostly on myths and folklore of German and Arthurian origin

• Initially unsuccessful in Paris, he moved back to Germany and found his first success in 1842Above: photo of Wagner

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)• Born in Leipzig; his father died early, and his

stepfather encouraged Richard’s artistic interests• Age 20 (1833): writing librettos and operas,

working for various regional opera companies• In Paris 1836-42; no success• Returns to Germany; success:

Rienzi (grand opera), Der fliegende Holländer• 1848: flees Dresden after his role in the socialist

revolution there (see picture above); moves to Switzerland through 1860

• Published his theories on opera, drama and culture in a series of famous essays, esp. The Artwork of the Future, Opera and Drama

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)• He wrote the 1st music drama of

Der Ring des Nibelungen c. 1848; the other 3 operas had to wait until he earned more money.

• c 1860: Wagner finds a true patron in the slightly insane King Ludwig II of Bavaria; he completes the Ring music dramas by 1876.

• Wagner had repeated affairs, incl. with a patron’s wife and with his conductor’s wife (Franz Liszt’s daughter!) as he conducted Tristan und Isolde; he later married her. Above: photo of Wagner

Wagner’s Opera Reforms• Rather than the Italianate emphasis on

melody above all in Opera, Wagner sought for all the arts to be unified in service to the Drama (N.B. drama = more than just a “play”)

• Gesamtkunstwerk (“unified work of art”): the German term coined by Wagner for the manner in which all the arts (instrumental music, singing, gesture / dance, acting, literature, painting (backdrops) and other plastic arts (costumes, set design) come together to support the drama

Wagner’s Opera Reforms• Rather than separating recitative from aria,

Wagner championed an arioso-like style of singing which would allow for musical continuity throughout an entire dramatic section. “Endless melody” would avoid periodic phrases and use chromatic harmony to propel the music until the end of a scene or act.

• Leitmotifs (recurring motives associated with persons, things, emotions or ideas of the drama) would help to provide musical unity and clarity– Can be altered upon subsequent appearances

The Influence of Schopenhauer

• Wagner absorbed the philosophical views of Arthur Schopenhauer, especially from his The World as Will and Representation (1854)– Music is the one art which can embody the deepest

aspects of human experience– Words and ideas resulted from Reason, which

governs “Appearance”– Emotions reside in the “Will,” which is the ultimate

reality– Opera text = Appearance, orchestral parts = Will;

His music dramas were “Symphonies with words,” building upon Beethoven’s 9th

Wagner’s Major Operas• Rienzi (1842)• Der fliegende Holländer (1843)• Tannhäuser (1845)• Lohengrin (1850)• Tristan und Isolde (1865)• Die Meistersinger von

Nürnberg (1868)• Der Ring des Nibelungen

– Rhinegold (1869)– Die Walküre (1870)– Siegfried (1876)– Götterdämmerung (1876)

• Parsifal (1882)Katarina Dalayman &

Peter Seiffert as Tristan and Isolde, Metropolitan

Opera 2008

Bayreuth Festspielhaus• In 1882 Wagner had a theater

constructed in the Bavarian countryside according to the demands of his operatic/dramatic theories; all his music dramas are performed there annually.

Tristan und Isolde (1865)(NAWM, p. 710-752; CD 10:31)

• Wagner wrote the libretto based on a 13th Century romance by Gottfried von Strassburg

• Tale of an illicit love affair which represents the conflict between Will and Appearance

• The Plot: King Mark sends his trusted Tristan to bring his bride, Isolde, from Ireland to Cornwall. Isolde falls for Tristan but he offends her. She attempts to poison them both but her maid-in-waiting swaps the poison with a love potion. Much sexy music ensues. The ship arrives but the two are oblivious.

Tristan Plot, Cont’d(NAWM, p. 710-752; CD 10:31)

• Act II: the two continue their trysts after her marriage to the King, but are discovered. Tristan is wounded by another knight.

• Act III: Tristan is dying at his castle in Brittany. Beckoned by Tristan, Isolde comes just in time to see him die. Mark has followed and offers to forgive them both, but she has no will to live without Tristan and soon dies.

• Youtube: Tristan und Isolde, Act I scene 5, La Scala 2007 or DVD-234 & 235

Leitmotifs of Act I, Sc. 5• Tristan’s Honor

• Passion, Traitor

Leitmotifs of Act I, Sc. 5• Passionate Love:

Hail, King Mark! Hail!