Biography IV. Dresden and the great romantic operas (1842-1849)

Miniature-4-annees-DresdeBiography IV.
DRESDEN
AND THE GREAT ROMANTIC OPERAS
(1842-1849)

Richard Wagner already experienced many disappointments: the artist struck many doors, sought recognition as a composer, musical director, theorist … But the few little successes he met were followed by massive failures. And this series of hopes and disappointments would continue for some time.

MVRW-Rienzi-creationDuring the 1840s, the composer created several works. Not all would see the light of day, but the ones that were completed and performed in front of the public correspond to what can be called the first romantic works of the composer. These were also the years when Wagner struggled to represent himself in the way he wanted. Therefore, in April 1842, Wagner and Minna left France where the couple were only met with disappointments and went back to Germany in order to supervise the production of Rienzi in Dresden. In May, it was with Theodor von Küstner, the new intendant of the Berlin theatres, that Wagner negotiated the performance of The Flying Dutchman (Der Fliegende Holländer).

When Rienzi was created in October 1842, Wagner realized, horrified, that opera is extremely long. The enthusiasm of the public was nevertheless very much present at the end of the fifth act, despite the six hours that the performance lasted (intervals included), which did not prevent the composer from making numerous cuts.

MVRW-Affiche-creation-Vaisseau-FantomeOn the creative side, the opera The Mines of Falun (Die Bergwerke von Falun), started in 1842, would remain at the draft stage. In 1843, it was the turn of The Flying Dutchman to be produced at the Semperoper in Dresden (Royal Theatre of the Court of Saxony) under the direction of the composer with a more mitigated success than the one received for the production of Rienzi. Shortly afterwards, Wagner was appointed as choirmaster of the Royal Court of Saxony.

But money was still lacking and when Wagner, desperate, asked Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient for help, who had already loaned money to the composer at the beginning of 1843, she refused to provide any further financial support to her composer friend.

Despite all his difficulties, Wagner finished Tannhaüser in April 1845. At least its first version.

As with The Flying Dutchman, the overture was composed last; the latter would mainly consist of the motifs of the Pilgrim’s Chorus and the Venusberg music.

MVRW-Tannhaueser-creation-Dresde-1845Without losing any time, in July 1845, Wagner began to lay the first foundations of The Master-Singers of Nuremberg (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) that he created originally as a satire of Tannhäuser. And worked also concurrently on the framework of Lohengrin.

When Tannhäuser was created in Dresden on 19 October, 1845, the work only received critical success (at least from the critics). The composer felt misunderstood but persevered in his artistic choices: in 1846 he completed the score of Lohengrin and included in his work a new project, Barbarossa, on the life of Frederick I.

Tired of his duties as choirmaster and increasingly at odds with the authorities of the Royal Court of Saxony, Wagner submitted his resignation letter to von Lüttichau during the summer of 1847.

Little by little, political tensions became palpable. In Dresden, the people took to the street. Wagner met Bakunin and got involved politically, in the name of freedom of the press, in the name of freedom of thought. The composer continued this effort by abandoning his theatrical project on Frederick Barbarossa in favor of another equally patriotic epic: the legend of the Nibelungen.

MVRW Drede 1849In October 1848, Wagner finished the draft in prose of Siegfrieds Tod and, decidedly inspired, laid the first foundations of a drama whose hero would be Jesus of Nazareth in 1849. Even more than his first heroes, Wagner saw in the figure of Christ the incarnation of a social revolutionary.

With the pen of the composer was combined the more acerbic, more revolutionary, even more ambitious one of the political activist. During the civil riots of 1849, Wagner produced even more writings each more subversive than the next in which he openly sided with the popular forces. Let the army of the kingdom not hesitate to repress violently. Wagner was then regarded, like Bakunin, as one of the leaders of the pack who must be put out of the way. And stopped.

An arrest decree against him pronounced on 16 May, 1849 urged the composer to go into exile. Driven from his homeland, wanted by the police, Wagner arrived in Switzerland on 28 May, 1849. Then began long years of exile and wandering…

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