Richard Wagner: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"''I am the most German of men; I am the most German of spirits. Question the incomparable enchantment of '''my''' works, compare them with all the rest: you can say nothing but -- this is '''German'''.''"|'''Richard Wagner''', in his ''Brown Book'', being characteristically moderate.}}

'''Wilhelm Richard Wagner''' (1813-1883), [[Dichter and Denker|German composer]] of the [[Romanticism]] era, primarily of [[Opera]] (though he also produced a distinguished, [[Tear Jerker (Music)|melancholy]] song-cycle, the ''Wesendonck-Lieder''). Wagner was highly influential in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, promoting a great increase in full orchestration and chromaticism in musical language (leading to the typically "lush" Late Romantic sound), the development of nationalistic styles, and the popularizing the use of themes and motifs ([[Leitmotif]]) to represent ideas and characters. His copious writings also promoted developments in the stagecraft of his period, developing the concept of the ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' or "total art work" as a fusion of all elements of a performance, words, dance, music, staging, and so on, to form a single unified experience. Being a man of consequences, eventually he wrote, composed, stage-designed, directed AND conducted his operas himself.

'''Wilhelm Richard Wagner''' (1813-1883), [[Dichter and Denker|German composer]] of the [[Romanticism]] era, primarily of [[Opera]] (though he also produced a distinguished, [[Tear Jerker/Music|melancholy]] song-cycle, the ''Wesendonck-Lieder''). Wagner was highly influential in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, promoting a great increase in full orchestration and chromaticism in musical language (leading to the typically "lush" Late Romantic sound), the development of nationalistic styles, and the popularizing the use of themes and motifs ([[Leitmotif]]) to represent ideas and characters. His copious writings also promoted developments in the stagecraft of his period, developing the concept of the ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' or "total art work" as a fusion of all elements of a performance, words, dance, music, staging, and so on, to form a single unified experience. Being a man of consequences, eventually he wrote, composed, stage-designed, directed AND conducted his operas himself.

His principal "music-dramas" (he scorned the term "opera") include

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* ''Lohengrin''

* ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (''The Mastersingers of Nuremberg'')

* ''[[~~Der~~ Ring ~~Des~~ ~~Nibelungen~~ ~~(Theatre)~~|Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]'' (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), consisting of four parts:

* ''[[The Ring of the Nibelung|Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]'' (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), consisting of four parts:

** ''Das Rheingold'' (''The Rhine Gold'')

** ''Die Walküre'' (''The Valkyrie'')

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* ''Parsifal''

Besides serving as models for composers of dramatic music (such as [[Bernard Herrmann]], [[Alfred Newman]], [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]], and [[Max Steiner]]) up to the present, these works have themselves been frequently adapted for use in dramatic productions—as, for example, the Bridal Chorus „''Treulich geführt''‟ from ''Lohengrin'', which has become a [[Standard Snippet]] synonymous with weddings, and his "[[~~Ride of the Valkyries (Music)|~~Ride of the Valkyries]]" from ''Walküre'', ubiquitous in contexts of war and flying. Though Wagner was by no means incapable of delicacy, his compositions have typically been used in contexts of ''Sturm und Drang''. Classic [[Looney Tunes]] cartoons seem particularly addicted to [[Public Domain Soundtrack|Wagner's music]]—and two of the composer's greatest works were gloriously parodied in the famous short "[[What's Opera, Doc? ~~(Film)~~|What's Opera Doc]]".

Besides serving as models for composers of dramatic music (such as [[Bernard Herrmann]], [[Alfred Newman]], [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]], and [[Max Steiner]]) up to the present, these works have themselves been frequently adapted for use in dramatic productions—as, for example, the Bridal Chorus „''Treulich geführt''‟ from ''Lohengrin'', which has become a [[Standard Snippet]] synonymous with weddings, and his "[[Ride of the Valkyries]]" from ''Walküre'', ubiquitous in contexts of war and flying. Though Wagner was by no means incapable of delicacy, his compositions have typically been used in contexts of ''Sturm und Drang''. Classic [[Looney Tunes]] cartoons seem particularly addicted to [[Public Domain Soundtrack|Wagner's music]]—and two of the composer's greatest works were gloriously parodied in the famous short "[[What's Opera, Doc?|What's Opera Doc]]".

His extreme nationalism caused him to be adopted very soon as a symbol of [[Useful Notes/Germany|Germany]], particularly in its most [[Prussia|militaristic and]] [[Imperial Germany|imperialist modes]], and his virulent anti-Semitism and the fact that [[Adolf Hitler]] [[Hitler Ate Sugar|loved his music]] has made Wagner the ideal musical symbol of the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi Reich]]: depictions of the downfall of Nazi Germany are almost automatically accompanied by "Siegfried's Funeral March" from (naturally) ''Götterdämmerung''. (Wagner's anti-Semitism may have been a case of [[Boomerang Bigot]]ry, as Ludwig Geyer, the man whom he suspected of being his biological father, was also (apparently incorrectly) reputed to be of Jewish ancestry.) Was once [[Heterosexual Life Partners]] with [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] before [[We Used to Be Friends|they had a huge falling out.]]

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=== Works by Richard Wagner with their own trope pages include ===

* ''[[~~Der~~ Ring ~~Des~~ ~~Nibelungen~~ ~~(Theatre)~~|Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]''

* ''[[The Ring of the Nibelung|Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]''

* ''[[Tannhaeuser|Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg]]''

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* [[AcCENT Upon the Wrong SylLABle]]: Beckmesser's serenade in ''Meistersinger'' is faulted for this by „''Merker Hans Sachs''‟, as with „''die MIR wohl GEfall'n THUT''."

* [[At the Opera Tonight]]: Wagner's operas are among the favorites for characters to attend, as in the 1931 ''[[Dracula]]'' film (''Meistersinger'') or in Nicholas Meyers' [[Sherlock Holmes]] novel, ''The Seven Per Cent Solution'' (''Siegfried'').

* [[Bad to ~~The~~ Bone]]: Wagner is very popular as an ominous cue in film; the [[Looney Tunes]] series is very fond particularly of the Nibelung and Giant [[Leitmotif|motifs]] in heralding any sinister doings.

* [[Bad to the Bone]]: Wagner is very popular as an ominous cue in film; the [[Looney Tunes]] series is very fond particularly of the Nibelung and Giant [[Leitmotif|motifs]] in heralding any sinister doings.

* [[Banned in China]]: Owing to the associations with Nazi Germany and Wagner's notorious anti-Semitism, Wagner's music is more or less ''[[Yiddish As a Second Language|farbotn]]'' in Israel.

* [[Banned in China]]: Owing to the associations with Nazi Germany and Wagner's notorious anti-Semitism, Wagner's music is more or less ''[[Yiddish as a Second Language|farbotn]]'' in Israel.

** This is starting to change; his music has been performed in Israel, to a mixed reception. Half the crowd loved it, the other half hated it.

** [[Irony|Ironically]], Theodor Herzl, founder of Zionism and a major figure in the creation of Israel, was a Wagner fan. To the point of using Wagnerian imagery at the First Zionist Congress. Which is really just one of those things...

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* [[Celibate Hero]]: Parsifal, in his eponymous opera (though he does, of course, eventually father Lohengrin).

* [[The Chosen One]]: Parsifal, „''der reine Thor, den [Gott] erkor' ''‟

* [[Combat By Champion]]: When Elsa is accused by murder, Lohengrin shows up to serve as her champion and defeat her accuser Telramund in single combat and thereby establish her innocence.

* [[Combat by Champion]]: When Elsa is accused by murder, Lohengrin shows up to serve as her champion and defeat her accuser Telramund in single combat and thereby establish her innocence.

* [[Common Time]]: For example, the Festival March from ''Tannhäuser''.

* [[Completely Different Title]]: Most European nations translate the title of ''Der fliegende Holländer'' directly. The French always thought this sounded silly, and so gave it the title ''Le Bateau Fantôme'' (The Ghost Ship) or ''Le Vaisseau Fantôme'' (The Ghost Vessel).

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* [[Engagement Challenge]]: In ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' by Richard Wagner, Walther must win the <s> Nuremberg's Got Talent</s> song contest at the feast of St. John before he gets the hand of Eva.

* [[The Epic]]: ''Parsifal''. All six hours of it.

** ''[[~~Der~~ Ring ~~Des~~ ~~Nibelungen~~ ~~(Theatre)~~|Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]''.

** ''[[The Ring of the Nibelung|Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]''.

* [[Evil Sorcerer]]: Ortrud in ''Lohengrin''; Klingsor in ''Parsifal''.

* [[Evil Sounds Deep]]: As with Telramund and Klingsor (even in his...er...''condition'', which should have him singing soprano).

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* [[Hot-Blooded]]: Walther in ''Meistersinger'' „''flammt auf''‟ when Sachs suggests that Beckmesser may be his rival for Eva's hand.

* [[Idiot Hero]]: Parsifal, „''der reine Thor''‟ ("the pure fool").

* [[Kill~~'Em All|Kill~~ 'Em All]]: Wagner started on the path of Everyone Dies early. His boyhood tragedy ''Leubald'' featured twenty-four deaths; by the last act, he had killed off so many that he had to bring some characters back as ghosts.

* [[Kill'Em All]]: Wagner started on the path of Everyone Dies early. His boyhood tragedy ''Leubald'' featured twenty-four deaths; by the last act, he had killed off so many that he had to bring some characters back as ghosts.

** Played out to a very literal and final conclusion in Götterdämmerung. The world is destroyed and literally everyone except the Rhine Maidens (Yes even the Gods) is killed.

* [[King Arthur]]: ''Parsifal'' is somewhat loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Arthurian romance ''Parzival''. Wagner's earlier ''Lohengrin'' also tangentially touches the Grail myth. Note that Wagner moves the action from the 5th to the 10th century A.D.

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** [[The High Middle Ages]]: ''Rienzi'' and ''Tannhäuser''

* [[Mood Motif]]: One of the basic functions of the ''[[Leitmotif|Leitmotiv]]''.

* [[Music of Note]]: Even more famous than the "[[~~Ride of the Valkyries (Music)|~~Ride of the Valkyries]]" is the [[Standard Snippet]] „''Treulich geführt''‟ (AKA "Here Comes the Bride") from ''Lohengrin''—but Wagner works are stuffed so full of [[Music of Note]] that it would be easier to list his "American Centennial March" right away.

* [[Music of Note]]: Even more famous than the "[[Ride of the Valkyries]]" is the [[Standard Snippet]] „''Treulich geführt''‟ (AKA "Here Comes the Bride") from ''Lohengrin''—but Wagner works are stuffed so full of [[Music of Note]] that it would be easier to list his "American Centennial March" right away.

* [[Nice Hat]]: Besides popularizing winged (and [[Horny Vikings|horned]]) helmets, the composer's own characteristic large, slouched beret (see pic, above) is actually called a ''Wagnerkappe'' in German.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Besides Elisabeth in ''Tannhäuser'', who is modeled on (but not identified with) the historical St. Elisabeth of Thuringia, it is said that the character of Beckmesser in ''Meistersinger'' was meant as a caricature of the Viennese music critic, Eduard Hanslick.

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* [[Recycled Trailer Music]]: Long even before ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'', Wagner's works were popular musical "fillers" for as yet uncomposed scores.

* [[The Renaissance]]: The setting for ''Meistersinger''.

* "[[~~Ride of the Valkyries (Music)|~~Ride of the Valkyries]]": The [[Trope Namer]] comes from ''Die Walküre''.

* "[[Ride of the Valkyries]]": The [[Trope Namer]] comes from ''Die Walküre''.

* [[Sadly Mythtaken]]: Or sometimes [[They Just Didn't Care|Willfully Mythtaken]]. Wagner has enraged folklorists from his own time to the present for adapting ancient myths and legends with abandon, and in the process, ousting the originals from the minds of most of the public.

* [[Serial Escalation]]: Where Wagner took opera—I mean, ''Bühnenfestspiel''.

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* [[Those Wacky Nazis]]: Hitler loved the music of Wagner (he wasn't his favorite composer, though, contrary to popular misconception - that was Anton Bruckner). He was also, as transmitted through Wagner's English son-in-law, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, one of his favorite racial theorists. Ironically, Hitler's attempts to inculcate Wagnerian obsession into his thuggish followers were ''not'' particularly successful.

* Transvestite: He liked to wear ladies' underwear so much that an entire room in his house was dedicated to storing lingerie.

* [[Trial By Combat]]: Lohengrin fights a judicial combat for Elsa of Brabant in his eponymous opera.

* [[Trial by Combat]]: Lohengrin fights a judicial combat for Elsa of Brabant in his eponymous opera.

* [[Ubermensch|Übermensch]]: Nietzsche saw Siegfried (and, indeed, Wagner himself) as the type of the new man who would transcend outworn moralities. Then he and Wagner quarreled, and (on the basis of ''Parsifal'') he accused the composer of being a ''Christian''.

* [[Valkyries]]: It is Wagner's version that most people think of when imagining these mythological "Gatherers of the Slain"—however, it is worth noting that unlike the popular conception, Wagner's original Valkyries did '''not''' wear horned helmets, but winged ones; did '''not''' ride winged horses, though they were aerial ones; and, though intended to be rather manly, ungentle women, were intended to be statuesque in the 19th century manner, rather than grossly obese.

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** On the subject of ''Parsifal'', he planned to rewrite Klingsor for the castrato Domenico Mustafa.

** Also, Wagner once planned a music drama on the life of Buddha.

* [[What the ~~Hell, Hero?|What The~~ Hell, Hero?]]: ''Parsifal'' actually introduces its eponymous hero this way, with him being reprimanded for senselessly killing a swan. Of course, he's [[The Fool]] and has a lot to learn—he doesn't even know his name at this point.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: ''Parsifal'' actually introduces its eponymous hero this way, with him being reprimanded for senselessly killing a swan. Of course, he's [[The Fool]] and has a lot to learn—he doesn't even know his name at this point.

* [[Woman Scorned]]: Kundry's reaction, when Parsifal rejects her allurements, is not understanding.

* [[World of Ham]]: "Wagnerian" has become practically a synonym for this.

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== Animated Film ==

* One of the planned sequences for [[Walt Disney]]'s ''[[Fantasia]]'' was the "[[~~Ride of the Valkyries (Music)|~~Ride of the Valkyries]]."

* One of the planned sequences for [[Walt Disney]]'s ''[[Fantasia]]'' was the "[[Ride of the Valkyries]]."

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== Film ==

* ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'': In which, of course, the ''Walkürenritt'' provides a [[~~Crowning~~ Music ~~of Awesome~~ (Sugar Wiki)|Crowning Music of Awesome]] for the "[[~~Ride of the Valkyries (Music)|~~Ride of the Valkyries]]".

* ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'': In which, of course, the ''Walkürenritt'' provides a [[Awesome Music (Sugar Wiki)|Crowning Music of Awesome]] for the "[[Ride of the Valkyries]]".

* ''[[Blade Runner]]'': Roy Batty mentions the Tannhauser Gate in his dying speech, though it is not clear whether this is a [[Shout-Out]] to Wagner or to the actual [[The High Middle Ages|thirteenth century]] Minnesinger. He pronounced it "Tann-howz-er".

* The film ''[[Excalibur (~~Film~~)|Excalibur]]'' makes use of the Preludes to ''Tristan'' and ''Parsifal'', as well as the Siegfried's Funeral March from ''Götterdämmerung''.

* The film ''[[Excalibur (film)|Excalibur]]'' makes use of the Preludes to ''Tristan'' and ''Parsifal'', as well as the Siegfried's Funeral March from ''Götterdämmerung''.

* In [[Woody Allen]]'s film ''[[Manhattan Murder Mystery]]'', his character says: "I can't listen to that much Wagner, ya know? I start to get the urge to conquer Poland."

** Wagner is also mentioned briefly in ''[[~~Annie Hall (Film)|~~Annie Hall]]'', when Alvy is worried that the record store owner was making an anti-Semitic joke by mentioning that he was having a sale on Wagner.

** Wagner is also mentioned briefly in ''[[Annie Hall]]'', when Alvy is worried that the record store owner was making an anti-Semitic joke by mentioning that he was having a sale on Wagner.

* ''[[~~Valkyrie (Film)|~~Valkyrie]]'': Tom Cruise makes the [[Anvilicious|obvious]] invocation.

* ''[[Valkyrie]]'': Tom Cruise makes the [[Anvilicious|obvious]] invocation.

* In ''[[One Two Three]]'', the German doctor is a big fan of him and sadly missed the 3rd act of ''Die Walküre / The Valkyrie''.

* In ''[[One, Two, Three]]'', the German doctor is a big fan of him and sadly missed the 3rd act of ''Die Walküre / The Valkyrie''.

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* In [[James Herriot]]'s ''All Creatures Great and Small'' books, Siegfried and Tristan Farnon got these names because their father was a fan of Wagner.

* In George C. Chesbro's ''The Beasts of Valhalla'', [[Evilutionary Biologist]] Siegmund Loge (ha ha) is a fanatical Wagner fan.

* The main character of [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[~~The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (Literature)|~~The Cat Who Walks Through Walls]]'' also admits to cribbing the plot for one of his books from ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''.

* The main character of [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[The Cat Who Walks Through Walls]]'' also admits to cribbing the plot for one of his books from ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''.

* [[Friedrich Nietzsche]]: Originally a fan and friend of Wagner, who later broke bitterly with him and wrote a [[Take That]] [[Author Filibuster|essay]] against him called ''Der Fall Wagner'' ("The Case of Wagner"); he later had a collection of essays entitled ''Nietzsche contra Wagner'' to prove that this wasn't a one-time thing.

* ''Flying Dutch'' by [[Tom Holt]] has the original [[Flying Dutchman]] as the protagonist. It turns out he told his story to Wagner, who never fully recovered and was prone to peals of demented laughter when a specific historical king was mentioned.

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* On an episode of ''[[Cheers]]'': Rebecca's wealthy boyfriend promises her a wonderful gift and references a "ring." She gets a desk. Convinced that there's an engagement ring hidden inside, she literally tears the desk apart to find it. Then Sam finds the packing slip, explaining that it's the very valuable and historic desk at which Wagner composed ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''.

* In the ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' episode "Trick or Threat", when Larry whistles a tune from Wagner, a man accuses him of being a "self-hating Jew", as Wagner was a notorious anti-Semite. At the end of the episode, Larry takes revenge on him by hiring an orchestra and conducting them to play Wagner in front of the guy's house.

* On ''[[~~Kir Royal (TV)|~~Kir Royal]]'', the protagonists use the aliases "Siegfried" and "Wieland", the names of Richard's son and grandson (while posing as the nephews of a Jewish composer, of all things).

* On ''[[Kir Royal]]'', the protagonists use the aliases "Siegfried" and "Wieland", the names of Richard's son and grandson (while posing as the nephews of a Jewish composer, of all things).

* ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]'' makes Claude Erskine-Brown's love of Wagner something of a [[Running Gag]] (and [[Flanderization]], as he started out being just a general opera buff). He even names his kids Tristan and Isolde.

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== Music ==

* Jim Steinman coined the term "Wagnerian rock" to describe the music he wrote (for an example, listen to any track from the first two ''[[Meat Loaf|Bat Out of Hell]]'' albums).

* [[~~Grave Digger (Music)|~~Grave Digger]]'s ''Rheingold'' a [[Concept Album]] which is based on ''The Ring of the Nibelung''.

* [[Grave Digger]]'s ''Rheingold'' a [[Concept Album]] which is based on ''The Ring of the Nibelung''.

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== Video Games ==

* ''[[~~Gabriel Knight (Video Game)|~~Gabriel Knight]]'': In the second game of the series, Wagner appears with King Ludwig of Bavaria in a [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy]] plot in which one of his music-dramas is a [[Literary Work of Magic]].

* ''[[Gabriel Knight]]'': In the second game of the series, Wagner appears with King Ludwig of Bavaria in a [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy]] plot in which one of his music-dramas is a [[Literary Work of Magic]].

* In the ''[[Sam and Max]]'' episode ''The Tomb of Sammun-Mak'', we know that [[Little Miss Badass|little]] [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy|Amelia Earhart]] listens to "The Ride of the Valkyries" as a lullaby.

* The [[Action RPG]] ''[[Odin Sphere]]'' is riddled through with Wagnerian references.

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== Western Animation ==

* In ''[[Bionicle]]'', the music played when the Le-Matoran are preparing to attack the Nui-Rama Hive is the "[[~~Ride of the Valkyries (Music)|~~Ride of the Valkyries]]".

* In ''[[Bionicle]]'', the music played when the Le-Matoran are preparing to attack the Nui-Rama Hive is the "[[Ride of the Valkyries]]".

* A brief snippet of the ''Meistersinger'' overature introduces the [[Classic Disney Short]], "[[Der ~~Fuehrers~~ Face ~~(Disney)~~|Der Fuehrers Face]]".

* A brief snippet of the ''Meistersinger'' overature introduces the [[Classic Disney Short]], "[[Der Fuehrer's Face|Der Fuehrers Face]]".

* The Master himself, with Cosima and ''Kinder'' appear as animated characters (directed by Friz Freleng) in the otherwise live-action 1943 film ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWOU6PmkgXA Hi Diddle Diddle]''.

* In an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Mr. Burns gets to fight in a tank ("I've been waiting 25 years for this"), and he plays "[[~~The~~ Ride of the Valkyries ~~(Music)~~|The Ride of the Valkyries]]" as the [[Crowning Music of Awesome]]. He gets [[Rickroll]]ed.

* In an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Mr. Burns gets to fight in a tank ("I've been waiting 25 years for this"), and he plays "[[Ride of the Valkyries|The Ride of the Valkyries]]" as the [[Crowning Music of Awesome]]. He gets [[Rickroll]]ed.

* The [[Looney Tunes]] short, "[[What's Opera, Doc? ~~(Film)~~|What's Opera Doc]]" (and its 1945 precursor, ''Herr Meets Hare'').

* The [[Looney Tunes]] short, "[[What's Opera, Doc?|What's Opera Doc]]" (and its 1945 precursor, ''Herr Meets Hare'').