Composer Profile - Activefolio

104 Chapter 9
music drama as “a total work of art.” Wagner directed every detail of the production,
from writing the music and the libretto, to costuming, set design, and even
the pyrotechnics that were employed in the productions for special effects. He
dreamed of the ultimate performance venue to properly produce the works, and
began work in earnest doing conceptual design work for the facility. After many
years of promoting his idea, the opera house at Bayreuth was finally opened.
The first works performed at Bayreuth were the four music dramas of the Ring,
during August of 1876. The opera house was truly a marvel of engineering, and
is still in use today.
During the period that the Ring was gestating, Wagner also composed two
other important works. One music drama, Tristan and Isolde (1859), was a masterpiece
of his principles of endless melody and music drama technique. Another,
Die Meistersinger (1867), is actually a delightful comic opera, devoid of
Wagner’s usual darkness and symbolism. Later, Wagner’s final music drama,
Parsifal, was completed in 1882.
Late in Wagner’s life, his friendship with Franz Liszt was re-established. By
that time, Cosima and Wagner had been married for many years, and the relationship
had produced four children. Wagner died in Venice on February 13,
1883. For over forty years after Wagner’s death, Cosima ran the Bayreuth opera
house with great success, and “Wagnerianism” spread steadily across the Western
world.
Not everyone was a fan of the Wagnerian approach to opera. In fact, many great
musicians, most notably Brahms, were vehemently opposed to the music drama philosophy.
In the view of Brahms and others, one cheapens music by forcing it into a
subordinate role as Wagner did in his music dramas. Music should live for its own sake,
and the poetic qualities that make music a unique art form are lost in Wagner’s integrated
approach to the arts, according to critics. In any event, Wagner’s impact on the
music world was huge; music would never be the same.
In spite of Wagner’s great influence on music, undoubtedly the most popular and
beloved of opera composers in the late nineteenth century was Guiseppi Verdi (1813–
1901). Verdi embraced the bel canto style of writing in most of his operas, though he did
try his hand at Wagner’s endless melody approach in one or two of his later works, particularly
Otello. In all, Verdi was one of the most beloved composers in history. In addition
to his success as a composer, he was also successful as a statesman and a farmer.
Composer Profile
Giuseppi Verdi (1813–1901)
B orn in Le Roncole, Italy on October 10, 1813, Giuseppe Verdi was considered
the last Italian opera master, in the line that started with Monteverdi in
the early seventeenth century. His operas are still often performed today, and
considered a part of the standard repertoire of any opera house. His melodic
arias are well known even to non-musicians, and used for background music in
many televised and cinematic productions. Knowing that the small town of Le
Roncole held no one qualified to teach his gifted son, Giuseppe’s father sent him
to the neighboring town of Busseto to get the education he needed. Verdi learned
a great deal studying with Vincenzy Lavigna, after being turned down for