Person
Richard Wagner
Leipzig, Germany
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 c…
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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).
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2027
The Metropolitan Opera 2026/27: Parsifal
Movie Writer
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2026
Die Macht des Rings
Movie Music
- 2026
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2026
Rienzi - Bayreuther Festspiele
Movie Original Music Composer
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2026
Daniele Gatti & Gautier Capuçon Wagner, Saint-Saëns, and Debussy
Movie Original Music Composer
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2026
Der fliegende Holländer - Wiener Staatsoper
Movie Writer
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2026
Richard Wagner: Lohengrin @ Baden-Baden Easter Festival 2026
Movie Original Music Composer
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2026
Siegfried - Royal Ballet & Opera House
Movie Original Music Composer
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2026
The Metropolitan Opera: Tristan und Isolde
Movie Writer
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2026
Concerto di Pasqua dal Duomo di Orvieto 2026
Movie Original Music Composer
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2026
La Folle Journée de Nantes 2026
Movie Original Music Composer
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2025
Tabita Berglund and Julian Steckel
Movie Original Music Composer
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2025
Planet Arium
Movie Writer
- 2025
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2025
Tannhäuser - Wiener Staatsoper
Movie Writer
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2025
Die Walküre - Royal Opera House
Movie Writer
More credits
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2025
Götterdämmerung
Movie Original Music Composer
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2025
Wagner: La Valchiria
Movie Original Music Composer
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2025
Vienna Opera Gala With Elina Garança, Sonya Yoncheva, Benjamin Bernheim and Jonas Kaufmann
Movie Original Music Composer
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2025
Klaus Florian Vogt sings Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss @ Château de Neuschwanstein 2025
Movie Original Music Composer
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2025
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Pyongyang Great moments in music
Movie Original Music Composer
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2025
Elīna Garanča - My Playlist
Movie Original Music Composer
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2024
Tristan und Isolde
Movie Writer
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2024
Götterdämmerung
Movie Writer
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2024
Siegfried
Movie Writer
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2024
Die Walküre
Movie Writer
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2024
Das Rheingold
Movie Writer
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2024
Der Ring des Nibelungen
TV show Creator
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2024
Tristan und Isolde
Movie Writer
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2024
Concerto di Pasqua dal Duomo di Orvieto 2024
Movie Original Music Composer
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2024
A Royal Overture Festival international de Colmar
Movie Original Music Composer
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2023
Echo Sonata
Movie Music
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2023
Wagner: Das Rheingold
Movie Writer
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2023
Wagner's Ring Without Words Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra
Movie Compositor
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2023
Das Rheingold - Royal Opera House
Movie Writer
- 2023
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2023
Richard Wagner: Siegfried - Aus der Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Movie Original Music Composer
- 2023
- 2023
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2023
Tristan und Isolde
Movie Writer
