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Wagner wrote all his works, dressed in a costume of the era to which the action was attached.
May 22 marks the 210th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding German composer Richard Wagner. One of the brightest musicians of the 19th century was very active in public life and tireless in his personal life. And the echoes of the scandals with his participation have reached our days.
In 2012, the federal list of works prohibited for distribution in Russia was supplemented by the brochure “Jewry in Music”, where the author spoke unflatteringly about representatives of a certain nationality. It was written in 1850 by none other than the German composer Richard Wagner. Why did the author of the operas “Tannhäuser”, “Lohengrin”, “Ring of the Nibelungen” suddenly climb into spheres far away for himself and even become the inspirer of the National Socialists, whose crimes have no justification? The roots of the commonplace assertion: “Wagner is Hitler’s favorite composer” – just from there, and the author’s works are still under an unspoken ban in Israel today.
In the 19th century, the release of an odious book was accompanied by several shameful acts of a musical genius. After a concert at which he conducted Mendelssohn’s symphony, someone asked: they say, Mendelssohn is a Jew, how can you perform his work? To which Wagner issued: “I have gloves on my hands, I put them on so as not to touch the score written by a Jew.” And in 1882, before the premiere of the opera Parsifal, the composer demanded that the Jewish conductor Hermann Levy be removed from the performance. King Ludwig II of Bavaria himself urged the maestro to be tolerant. To which the 69-year-old Wagner said that if Levi stood behind the console, he would no longer compose a single note. He took out long-standing grievances on a respected musician, to which he had nothing to do.
Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig. In addition to him, eight children grew up in the family of the police writer Karl Friedrich. When his son was only six months old, Wagner Sr. died of typhus. Three months later, his widow Johanna Rosina married the actor Ludwig Geyer. It was rumored that he was Richard’s father, and until the age of 14 the future composer bore the name of his stepfather. He took the boy with him to the theater. But he, too, was soon gone. The mother sent her son to school. He studied poorly, besides, the teachers scoffed at the “damned Jew.” Richard said that he would no longer go to school and would not bear the name Geyer.
He became Wagner again and began taking music lessons. He tried to compose himself, but his first overture, which he brazenly took to the director of the local theater, was laughed at by the public. From shock, the young talent collapsed into a swoon. From now on, Wagner will perceive criticism of his writings as a personal insult.
Having written the first opera “The Wedding”, he was afraid of a new shame and burned the score. There was no luck with the performances for a long time: either the actors would not learn the text, or the organizers would forget to print the libretto, and the audience would not be able to catch the essence in the cacophony. There was no money – Wagner was hiding from creditors and ended up in a debtor’s prison.
Coming out of it, he continued to make his way onto the stage. Success came when he turned to medieval myths. Ludwig II showered the composer with money and even presented the Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. Wagner had a theater in Bayreuth. Then he got carried away. While rehearsing in England, he furiously demanded that the musicians be told that if “this bunch of idiots don’t play well, they’ll throw everyone out.” The interpreter nodded and turned to the orchestra: “Gentlemen, the maestro apologizes for the inconvenience caused by his music. He asks you to do everything in your power and not to worry.” The rest of the rehearsal went like clockwork.
And the promise not to write again if the conductor’s baton is not taken away from Levi, our hero fulfilled. Not meeting the understanding of the public, he left in annoyance to receive medical treatment in Venice, where he died of a heart attack.
Now diarrhea, then scrofula
The frail short composer was often ill. Constipation gave way to colic, and those – bouts of melancholy and insomnia. At the same time, the maestro attracted women like a magnet. Here are just some of his brightest novels.
First love – the daughter of the Viennese gravedigger Teresa, Richard wanted to make an opera diva out of her. The plan failed, but feelings inspired: Wagner wrote the opera “Fairy”. True, the premiere took place only after his death.
Marriage to actress Wilhelmina Planer. Minna is four years older, practical. And she’s Jewish. Spouses move from city to city – everywhere Minna creates conditions for her husband to be creative. After the collapse of the revolution in 1849, the Wagners flee to Zurich. But instead of thanking his wife for her support, Richard starts a new romance.
Matilda Wesendonck is a fan of the composer’s work. Her husband Otto organizes Wagner concerts and gives him a house next to his own villa. “In gratitude” he seduces his wife. The operas “Siegfried”, “Tristan and Isolde” are the fruits of an intrigue.
The father of 24-year-old Cosima von Bülow is Wagner’s friend and patron, the composer Franz Liszt. Husband Hans is the leading conductor of the orchestra with which Richard worked. 57-year-old Wagner cohabits with Cosima. Two daughters and a son are born. Only seven years later, when Minna dies and Cosima gets a divorce, will the couple get married. The composer’s grandchildren were patronized by Hitler. He also provided financial support for the Bayreuth Opera Festival.
By the way
- At home, Wagner’s talent was not immediately recognized, and when, after a performance in Vienna, someone asked if the composer thought his music was too loud, he folded his hands like a mouthpiece and yelled: “This is all so that I can be heard in Germany!”
- Wagner was terrified of the number 13 and did not schedule a premiere for that date. But he was born in the year 13, and the number of letters in his name, written in Latin letters, is also 13. And the maestro died on February 13.
