Known For
Sound
Born
May 22, 1813
Died
Feb 13, 1883
Place of Birth
Leipzig, Germany
Credits
233 titles
Richard Wagner
Biography
Wilhelm Richard Wagner (/ˈvɑːɡnər/; German: [ˈʁiçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ] (About this sound listen); 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his later works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. He described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). His compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex textures, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs—musical phrases associated with individual characters, places, ideas, or plot elements. His advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, greatly influenced the development of classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music. Famously, he is known for Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied. The four parts that constitute the Ring cycle are, in sequence: Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold) Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) Siegfried Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) Wagner had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which embodied many novel design features. The Ring and Parsifal were premiered here and his most important stage works continue to be performed at the annual Bayreuth Festival, run by his descendants. His thoughts on the relative contributions of music and drama in opera were to change again, and he reintroduced some traditional forms into his last few stage works, including Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg).
Known For
Filmography
The Metropolitan Opera 2026/27: Parsifal
Writer
Die Macht des Rings
Music
Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold @ Salzburg Easter Festival, Felsenreitschule 2026
Opera
Rienzi - Bayreuther Festspiele
Original Music Composer
Daniele Gatti & Gautier Capuçon Wagner, Saint-Saëns, and Debussy
Original Music Composer
Der fliegende Holländer - Wiener Staatsoper
Writer
Richard Wagner: Lohengrin @ Baden-Baden Easter Festival 2026
Original Music Composer
Siegfried - Royal Ballet & Opera House
Original Music Composer
The Metropolitan Opera: Tristan und Isolde
Writer
Concerto di Pasqua dal Duomo di Orvieto 2026
Original Music Composer
La Folle Journée de Nantes 2026
Original Music Composer
Tabita Berglund and Julian Steckel
Original Music Composer
Planet Arium
Writer
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Bayreuth Festival 2025
Writer
Tannhäuser - Wiener Staatsoper
Writer
Die Walküre - Royal Opera House
Writer
Götterdämmerung
Original Music Composer
Klaus Florian Vogt sings Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss @ Château de Neuschwanstein 2025
Original Music Composer
Elīna Garanča - My Playlist
Original Music Composer
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Pyongyang Great moments in music
Original Music Composer
Vienna Opera Gala With Elina Garança, Sonya Yoncheva, Benjamin Bernheim and Jonas Kaufmann
Original Music Composer
Wagner: La Valchiria
Original Music Composer
Tristan und Isolde
Writer
Götterdämmerung
Writer
Siegfried
Writer
Die Walküre
Writer
Das Rheingold
Writer
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Creator
Tristan und Isolde
Writer
Concerto di Pasqua dal Duomo di Orvieto 2024
Original Music Composer
A Royal Overture Festival international de Colmar
Original Music Composer
Echo Sonata
Music
Wagner: Das Rheingold
Writer
Wagner's Ring Without Words Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra
Compositor
Das Rheingold - Royal Opera House
Writer
Richard Wagner: Götterdämmerung - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Writer
Richard Wagner: Siegfried - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Original Music Composer
Richard Wagner: Die Walküre - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Writer
Richard Wagner: "Parsifal" Bayreuther Festspiele 2023
Music
Tristan und Isolde
Writer
Maledictis
Music
Die Walküre
Writer
Das Rheingold
Writer
Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Writer
Playing with Gods
Music
Siegfried (Longborough Opera Festival 2022)
Music
Richard Wagner - Die Götterdämmerung - Bayreuther Festspiele 2022
Music
First Last Man
Adaptation
New Year's Concert 2022 from the Teatro La Fenice
Music
Parsifal
Writer