There were
three early operas of Richard Wagner that display a diversity of style and
influence as well as hints of what was to come with the composer’s later
compositions, especially in terms of the musical-drama. Evidently, the operas
from early in the 19th century were beginning to wan on the public
and German opera was falling out of fashion. According to Barry Millington: “by
the time Wagner secured his first professional appointment in 1833, the genre
of German Romantic opera… had already begun to decline” Millington then goes on
to say that “saving” German opera was something of a quest for the young
Wagner.
Wagner’s
first opera; Die Feen (1834) is in the tradition of Weber and Marschner;
it follows the pattern of aria, recitative, ensembles… ect, are all present and
dealt with in a skillful manner. Die
Feen is another story of the supernatural and man’s dealings with it,
essentially it is the story of a man who travels to the underworld to see his
beloved who is a half-fairy, the two are permitted to marry so long as the main
character not ask a forbidden question for eight years. As is often the case
with these kinds of stories, the mortal gives in to impatience and his beloved
disappears along with her magical world.
It is pointed out in the book that this is pretty-much another retelling
of the Orpheus myth, except including local folklore instead of Greek models.
The second
opera written by Wagner was Das Liebesverbot (1836) and was the result
of a contemplative period during which Wagner wrote the essay “German Opera” in
1834. In this essay he praises the Italian lyricism in their operatic works.
Das Liebesverbot is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure
and features very Italian-style long finales as well as having a military band
on stage. Perhaps the most significant thing about Das Liebesverbot is the fact
that for first time there is “sustained use of what was later to be called the
‘leitmotif.’” A leitmotif is a melody, motif, timbre or even a complete piece
can be associated with a character or situation. The modern example I always
hear from music teachers is the Darth Vader theme from star wars. This is among
aspects of Wagner’s compositional style that were most quintessential and innovative
in his works.
The third opera was Rienzi
(1842) which had aims at being a profound commercial success by appealing to
Parisian ideals of large showy numbers with dramatic stage effects in the style
of Meyerbeer and Spontini. Rienzi was significant for the role of the
orchestra being something of an extra voice that could convey emotions and
situations outside of spoken language.
The completion of this piece, in some ways, represents the beginning of
Wagner’s mature period of writing operas where it seems as though he was able
to slough off some of the expectations for stage. It is interesting that
Meyerbeer was once someone admired by Wagner and later disdained for his
“Jewishness and cosmopolitan” approach to music.
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