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# Richard Wagner

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A German theater-type, Richard Wagner, was influenced by Schopenhauer and developed a new form of musical? he dubbed, "[A Total Work of Art]?." He combined music, drama?, literature, staging?, and lighting? to create an overwhelming spectacle. He wrote his stories from the [German myths and folklore]? because, in them, he saw a deeper truth that the people had lost. He believed that when these myth?s were packaged in his "[Total Works of Art]?," they could rejuvenate the German soul. He revolutionized opera into a huge [morality play]?, where love and materialism were incompatible and the gaining of all power had a price of the loss of love. His music carried the opera and dominated everything. His huge orchestra?s created an ocean of sound that overwhelmed the audience. His "leitmotiv?s" - leading themes defining characters and events - would be present throughout a work, reappearing interwoven with other melodies whenever characters appeared on stage. From the awesome stage effects of "[The Ride of the Valkyries]?" to the lovers, "[Tristan and Isolde]?", dying tragically, the love and death scenes were predominate. For Wagner, losing one's self in the grand passion of love was a redemptive force over the corruption of power and wealth. For the symbolist?s, Wagner was the epitome of German art because he their problems and concerns into moral themes.

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Last edited March 25, 2001 8:16 pm (diff)
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