Photo: Franz Hanfstaengl / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Richard Wagner

リヒャルト・ワーグナー　/　りひゃると・わーぐなー

Composer from Electorate of Saxony

May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883　・　Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony

composer
librettist
conductor

My Take

Writing about Richard Wagner feels almost presumptuous; he operates on a different scale entirely. Born in Leipzig in 1813 and educated at its university, he didn't just compose operas, he reinvented the form into what we call music drama, fusing story, philosophy, and sound into vast unified worlds like Tristan und Isolde and the Ring cycle. The detail that always stops me is that he wrote both the libretti and the music himself, which almost no one attempts. What draws me in is the paradox: a deeply divisive figure whose influence is impossible to escape, reaching into later concert music and film scoring alike. The sheer obsessive will, down to building his own theatre, leaves me genuinely awed.

Overview

Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( VAHG-nər; German: [ˈvɪlˌhɛlm ˈʁɪçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ] ; 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor, best known for his operas, although his mature works are often referred to as music dramas. Unlike most composers, Wagner wrote both the libretti and the music for all of his stage works.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Richard Wagner
Name (Japanese): リヒャルト・ワーグナー
Reading: りひゃると・わーぐなー
Born: May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Gemini / Rooster
Origin: Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: composer / librettist / conductor / essayist / theatre director

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Leipzig University

Awards & achievements

1873 Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

Category	Title	Role
Notable work	The Flying Dutchman	—
Notable work	Tristan und Isolde	—
Notable work	Tannhäuser	—
Notable work	Das Rheingold	—
Notable work	Lohengrin	—
Notable work	Der Ring des Nibelungen	—

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%92%E3%83%A3%E3%83%AB%E3%83%88%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B0%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC

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