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Richard Wagner (1813-1883) • Polarizing German opera composer – Before him there was no great Germanic opera tradition • Fascination with theatre – He wrote his own music & libretti – Lead him to develop a new “type” of opera called Music Drama • No aria-recitative, just constant music (unending melody) • The orchestra is like a member of the cast Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Letimotif – a recurring musical theme associated with a particular person, place or idea Tristan und Isolde – Composed 1856-59, but not premiered until 1865 – Shocking drama of eroticism based on a medieval poem, focusing on desire and lust – Unprecedented orchestration – begins with a famous chord that does not resolve until the end of the opera • Extremely chromatic, later blamed as the downfal of tonality The Tristan Chord The Ring of the Nibelung • Four operas total, lasting a total of 15 hours: – Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold) – Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) – Siegfried – Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) • Composed from 1851-74, premiered as a whole in Bayreuth in 1876 • Based on a Norse-Germanic tale of power and love