Wednesday, April 20 th

 Review Wagner  Continue Wagner’s Late Years  Happy Wedensday!  Wagner Quiz Tuesday 4/26

 Who was Wagner’s first major teacher? What instrument was considered Wagner’s primary?  Who played a substantial role in Wagner’s theatrical development?  Wagner was not known for his symphonies. Why?  Name 1/6 places of Exile.  What were Wagner’s years? Where was he born?  Wagner’s musical writing indirectly influenced Hitler, but none more than which Opera?  What were Wagner’s three Romantic Operas?

 Before his exile to Switzerland, Wagner was heavily involved in left-wing politics in Dresden which eventually led to a revolution and Wagner’s need to flee. (Wife leaves him)  Wagner arrives in Switzerland and finishes Lohengrin and writes his friend *Franz Lizst to conduct the premiere of it in Weimar  In Fernem Land 

 When he arrived in Zürich, Switzerland, Wagner began writing essay’s for publishing  One of his major writings was “The Artwork of the Future” where he goes on to discuss Opera as a “total work of art” and it includes many facets of art including: music, song, dance, poetry, visual arts and stagecraft.  Another article he wrote was called, “Judaism in Music.”  This was one of his first anti-Semitic articles and expressed his dramatic views

 In 1853, Wagner began work on the first of four operas in the Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold   In 1854, he begins work on the second of the four operas, Die Walküre    In 1856, he beings the third of the four operas, Siegfried 

 Written in 1857  Considered to be one of his most influential operas  Most notable musical concepts within this opera are Chromaticism and Harmonic Suspension  

 In 1858, Wagner moves to Venice for a short period of time while Minna returned to Dresden  In 1859, Wagner moves to Paris again and helps oversee a new staging of Tannhäuser  In 1861, at the re-premiere of Tannhäuser, protests against Napoleon and Wagner break out causing the show to close sooner than anticipated.  Attempts to make peace with Minna, but fails

 In 1862, Wagner has been granted amnesty and is allowed to return to Germany  In 1864, King Ludwig II takes the throne and happens to be an admirer of Wagner and pardons Wagner of all his crimes and agrees to pay all his debts  In 1866, Minna passes away (Wagner does not attend funeral) and Wagner remarries shortly after to Cosima

 King Ludwig agrees to help Wagner move and fund the building of the most elaborate opera house to this date, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus  This opera house was built specifically to do only Wagner operas #ego  In 1876, Wagner completes Götterdamerung and the Ring Cycles is premiered 

 In 1868, Wagner finishes Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg    In 1876, Wagner completes Parsifal  (2:00)