Wagner, Richard

1813-1883

Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist of the Romantic period.

He was primarily known for his operas, for which, unlike most other composers, he wrote both the music and libretto.

Richard Wagner introduced the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk [total artwork], a synthesis of poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts.

He best demonstrated this idea in his four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (1876).

In order to stage his operas as he imagined them, Wagner built his own opera house, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

Wagner's compositions are remarkable for their complex texture, rich chromaticism, harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate use of leitmotifs.