Richard Wagner war ein deutscher Komponist. He believed in Gesamtkunstwerk, which was the synthesis of art, music and drama. Richard Wagner wurde am 22. Mai 1813 in Leipzig. Sechs Monate nach seiner Geburt, am 23. November 1813, starb der Vater an Typhus. Wagner’s stepfather introduced Wagner to musical theater. He was inspired by artists such as Beethovan.

Am 24. November heiratete er Minna Planer, die dort als Schauspielerin engagiert war. Minna ran off with an army officer and came back to Wagner when the officer abandoned her. This would continue to be a volitile marriage for the next three decades. In the 1840s, the couple went to Paris to get away from their debtors. Nachdem es ihm in Paris nicht gelungen war, künstlerische Pläne voranzubringen und dort Erfolg zu haben, verließ er im April 1842 Paris und siedelte sich in Dresden an. In 1842 Wagner’s opera Rienzi received critical acclaim in Dresden. He had finally made it!

During this time, he became involved in politics and had to live in exile in Zurich. 1858 spitzte sich Wagners Affäre mit Mathilde Wesendonck zu. His affair inspired the work Tristan and Isolde. Here is a sample of this song: