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WAGNER, RICHARD. 



out the comic opera of the " Meistersinger." 

 "Lohengrin" was matured about the same 

 time, and "Parsifal" was conceived. When 

 " Tanhauser " was produced in 1845, the pub- 

 lic was dissatisfied at the depressing effect 

 of the drama and the unfamiliar musical ef- 

 fects. Even the singers rebelled at the ex- 

 traordinary demands made upon their vocal 

 powers, which after all did not please the pub- 

 lic. A controversy between the critics ensued, 

 and lasted many years. Dramatic art, it was 

 argued, should aim to leave pleasing impres- 

 sions, and the musical drama should have 

 plenty of melody. The "Meistersinger" was 

 instanced as containing no airs at all. Wag- 

 ner was represented by these critics as wasting 

 his genius on vain theories, though the theories 

 were mostly of their own invention. "Tan- 

 hauser" gradually became popular, when the 

 public got used to Wagner's original style, and 

 found that it contained melody of the purest 

 quality. Every one of Wagner's operas had 

 to undergo the same probation. For ten years 

 no theatre was willing to give "Tanhauser" 

 a representation, except Wagner's own in 

 Dresden, where it slowly won popular ap- 

 proval. Wagner's material circumstances con- 

 stantly grew worse ; yet he still remained true 

 to his art, and proceeded with the composition 

 of the words and music of " Lohengrin." Al- 

 though incapable of enjoying his productions, 

 the people of Dresden prized Wagner as the 

 greatest of operatic directors. He selected 

 none but the highest products of German mu- 

 sical genius, and subjected the text and instru- 

 mentation to a thorough revision. His method 

 of presenting Glilck's operas, in particular, be- 

 came the model which is everywhere followed. 

 Even more famous was the rendition under his 

 direction of classic orchestral works, particu- 

 larly the Beethoven symphonies of the royal 

 chapel band. The management of the opera- 

 house, discouraged by the mere succes cTestime 

 of " Tanhauser," and dismayed at the cost of 

 the mounting which Wagner insisted upon, de- 

 layed putting the piece on the boards until the 

 composer felt the neglect. A scheme which 

 he advocated for the establishment of a Saxon 

 national theatre was disregarded. 



When the outbreak of May, 1849, occurred, 

 Wagner took an active part in the insurrection. 

 He arranged the signals with church-bells, or- 

 ganized the arrival of bands from outside, and 

 delivered fiery revolutionary speeches. After 

 the suppression of the revolution he escaped 

 from prison by hasty flight, and became a po- 

 litical refugee. He settled at Zurich, and first 

 turned to the pen as a means of support, writ- 

 ing three important and characteristic books, 

 entitled "Art and Revolution" (1849), " The 

 Art of the Future " (1850), and " Opera and 

 Drama" (1851). Franz Liszt, soon after re- 

 ceiving the appointment of chapel-master to 

 the Grand Duke of Weimar, became the first 

 applicant for " Tanhauser " in 1848. Wag- 

 ner, when in his flight he saw the representa- 



tion at Weimar, declared that Liszt was his 

 alter ego. Liszt now took up "Lohengrin" 

 and made it a success, after which he wrote 

 Wagner that he should create a new work. 

 Though he composed no music between 1849 

 and 1853, he became immersed in the dramatic 

 reproduction of the Germanic mythology. 

 " Siegfried's Tod " was already finished in 

 1848. He felt impelled to proceed with the 

 dramatization of the rest of the story of the 

 "Nibelungenlied," corrected by the study of the 

 " Edda." In 1853 Wagner printed his poetical 

 work on this subject, in order to acquaint his 

 friends with the musical task he had under- 

 taken. Liszt was the only one who did not 

 lose courage. In order to render possible the 

 realization of an artistic project so unusual and 

 formidable, he proposed a national prize, with 

 the obligation to present the crowned work, 

 and, when this was rejected, attempted to have 

 a grand festal theatre built in Weimar. When 

 Wagner had completed "Rheingold," "Wal- 

 kiire," and the two first acts of "Siegfried," 

 he stopped, discouraged and exhausted. His 

 next work was " Tristan und Isolde," in which 

 the development of his style had proceeded so 

 much farther, and his demands on the techni- 

 cal theatrical art were so much greater, that 

 no theatre would undertake its representation. 

 Wagner determined to make another appeal 

 for recognition to the wealth and taste of Paris. 

 His plan was to collect a German troupe to 

 represent his operas. He was obliged to aban- 

 don this project, but in concerts he presented 

 fragments of his works, won friends and ad- 

 mirers, and succeeded in having " Tanhauser" 

 presented in the Grand Opera-House. Anti- 

 German feeling was already rife in Paris, and 

 fashionable rowdies conspired to destroy the 

 chances of the opera. The performance was 

 interrupted by hisses and ejaculations, and not 

 allowed to be finished. The same year (1861), 

 through the intercession of the Grand Dukes 

 of Weimar and Baden, he was arrested and 

 permitted to return to Germany. Efforts of 

 his friends to obtain him a place were fruitless, 

 from the fear of operatic managers that with 

 his services they would have to accept his 

 operas and their impossible conditions. For 

 some years he presented fragments of his un- 

 completed great work in concerts throughout 

 Germany and Europe. In Russia he earned a 

 great deal of money, and in London and other 

 cities he gained reputation, but the prospects 

 of his operas were gloomier than ever. He 

 offered to write a new piece for the Vienna 

 company, but received a cool refusal. 



At length, in 1864, to his greatest astonish- 

 ment, he received an invitation from the young 

 King of Bavaria to come and complete his 

 Nibelung series. His first movement after his 

 arrival in Munich was to bring out the oft-re- 

 jected "Tristan und Isolde," in 1865, with 

 such success that his friends came from all 

 over the world to witness the triumph. Hans 

 von Billow was called from Berlin to direct 



