Biography and filmography

Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner (/ˈvɑːɡnər/; German: [ˈʁiçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ] (About this sound listen); 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his later works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works.

He described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). His compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex textures, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs—musical phrases associated with individual characters, places, ideas, or plot elements. His advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, greatly influenced the development of classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music.

Famously, he is known for Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied.

The four parts that constitute the Ring cycle are, in sequence: Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold) Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) Siegfried Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)

Wagner had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which embodied many novel design features. The Ring and Parsifal were premiered here and his most important stage works continue to be performed at the annual Bayreuth Festival, run by his descendants. His thoughts on the relative contributions of music and drama in opera were to change again, and he reintroduced some traditional forms into his last few stage works, including Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg).

Photos

Movies (230)

The Metropolitan Opera 2026/27: Parsifal

2027 · Writer

Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold @ Salzburg Easter Festival, Felsenreitschule 2026

2026 · Opera, Music

Die Macht des Rings

2026 · Music

Rienzi - Bayreuther Festspiele

2026 · Original Music Composer, Writer

Daniele Gatti & Gautier Capuçon Wagner, Saint-Saëns, and Debussy

2026 · Original Music Composer

Der fliegende Holländer - Wiener Staatsoper

2026 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Richard Wagner: Lohengrin @ Baden-Baden Easter Festival 2026

2026 · Original Music Composer, Opera

Wagner: Siegfried - Royal Ballet House

2026 · Original Music Composer, Writer

The Metropolitan Opera: Tristan und Isolde

2026 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Concerto di Pasqua dal Duomo di Orvieto 2026

2026 · Original Music Composer

La Folle Journée de Nantes 2026

2026 · Original Music Composer

Tabita Berglund and Julian Steckel

2025 · Original Music Composer

Planet Arium

2025 · Writer

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Bayreuth Festival 2025

2025 · Writer

Tannhäuser - Wiener Staatsoper

2025 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Wagner: Die Walküre - Royal Opera House

2025 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Götterdämmerung

2025 · Original Music Composer, Writer

Vienna Opera Gala With Elina Garança, Sonya Yoncheva, Benjamin Bernheim and Jonas Kaufmann

2025 · Original Music Composer

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Pyongyang Great moments in music

2025 · Original Music Composer

Klaus Florian Vogt sings Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss @ Château de Neuschwanstein 2025

2025 · Original Music Composer

Wagner: La Valchiria

2025 · Original Music Composer

Elīna Garanča - My Playlist

2025 · Original Music Composer

Tristan und Isolde

2024 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Götterdämmerung

2024 · Writer

Siegfried

2024 · Writer

Die Walküre

2024 · Writer

Das Rheingold

2024 · Writer

Tristan und Isolde

2024 · Writer

A Royal Overture Festival international de Colmar

2024 · Original Music Composer

Concerto di Pasqua dal Duomo di Orvieto 2024

2024 · Original Music Composer

Echo Sonata

2023 · Music

Wagner: Das Rheingold

2023 · Writer

Wagner's Ring Without Words Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra

2023 · Compositor

Wagner: Das Rheingold - Royal Opera House

2023 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Richard Wagner: Götterdämmerung - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin

2023 · Writer

Richard Wagner: Siegfried - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin

2023 · Original Music Composer

Richard Wagner: Die Walküre - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin

2023 · Writer

Richard Wagner: "Parsifal" Bayreuther Festspiele 2023

2023 · Music

Tristan und Isolde

2023 · Music, Writer

Maledictis

2023 · Music

Die Walküre

2022 · Writer

Das Rheingold

2022 · Writer

Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin

2022 · Writer

Playing with Gods

2022 · Music

Siegfried (Longborough Opera Festival 2022)

2022 · Music

Richard Wagner - Die Götterdämmerung - Bayreuther Festspiele 2022

2022 · Music

First Last Man

2022 · Adaptation

New Year's Concert 2022 from the Teatro La Fenice

2022 · Music

Parsifal

2021 · Writer

Wagner - Das Rheingold (Deutsche Oper Berlin)

2021 · Music, Lyricist

Yo, Diablo

2021 · Music

Der fliegende Holländer

2021 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Radio France Choir and Orchestra Poulenc, Wagner, Debussy & Fauré

2021 · Original Music Composer

Lohengrin

2020 · Writer

The Infinite Confinement

2020 · Music

The Metropolitan Opera: The Flying Dutchman

2020 · Original Music Composer, Writer

Tannhäuser

2019 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Die Walküre - Metropolitan Opera

2019 · Original Music Composer, Writer

Götterdämmerung - Wiener Staatsoper

2019 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

2018 · Original Music Composer, Writer

The Binocle

2018 · Original Music Composer

Lohengrin

2018 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Parsifal - Bayerische Staatsoper

2018 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Lohengrin

2018 · Original Music Composer

Tristan und Isolde

2018 · Writer, Original Music Composer

The Flying Dutchman: Teatro Real Madrid

2018 · Music, Writer

The Opera House

2017 · Music

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Bayreuther Festspiele

2017 · Original Music Composer, Writer

Götterdämmerung - Wiener Staatsoper

2017 · Original Music Composer, Writer

Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg - Bayerische Staatsoper

2017 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Parsifal - Wiener Staatsoper

2017 · Writer, Original Music Composer

Wagner: Die Walküre

2017 · Original Music Composer

La Petite mort

2017 · Music

Gott liebt ein menschliches Weib

2016 · Idea