Wagner's Life and Style

Question 1

Date of Birth/Death

Answer 1

1813-1883

Question 2

Location of Birth/Death

Answer 2

Leipzig, Germany; Venice, Italy

Question 3

Raised in an artistic environment with mother ___ and stepfather ___, an __ and ___

Answer 3

Johanna, Ludwig Geyer, Actor, Painter

Question 4

Studied at __ ___ ___ in Leipzig and attended ____ University under ___ ___ ___, but considers himself ___ in music

Answer 4

St. Thomas School, Leipzig, Christian Theodor Weinlig, Self-taught

Question 5

Name of 4 periods and dates

Answer 5

Early Years (1833-1842), Dresden (1843-1849), Years of Exile (1849-1863), Munich, Bayreuth, Final Years (1864-1883)

Question 6

First professional position was as ___ ___ for a theater in ____. Later became ___ ___ for a ___ ___ company gaining valuable ____ experience but also heavy ____

Answer 6

Choral master, Wurzburg, Music director, Travelling theatre, Conducting, Debt

Question 7

18__: First opera _____ (___) completed, but:

Answer 7

1834, Die Feen (The Fairies), Never performed in his lifetime

Question 8

18__: Married ___ and ___ ___ (___) ___, and stayed married until her death in ___, but also had numerous ___ ___

Answer 8

1836, Singer, Actress, Wilhelmine (Minna) Planer, 1866, Romantic affairs

Question 9

Accepted a ____ post in ___ (in ___). Later escaped from his creditors and traveled via London to ____ hoping for success as a ____. Continued writing ___, but survived by working as a music ____ and ___, with articles and essays even being published in ___’s ___

Answer 9

Conducting, Riga, Latvia, Paris, Composer, Opera, Arranger, Journalist, Schumann’s Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik

Question 10

18__: His grand opera ___ accepted by ___ ___ and was a success at the premiere

Answer 10

1842, Rienzi, Dresden Hoftheater

Question 11

Was a ____ at the court of ___ in ___, duties included conducting ___ and ___ performances, and composing pieces for ___

Answer 11

Conductor, Saxony, Dresden, Orchestral, Opera, Special court occasions

Question 12

His opera ____ (___), and ___ marked and dramatic departure from ____, heralding the evolution of a new style. Also begin formulating the ideas that would become ___ (___)

Answer 12

Der Fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman), Tannhauser, Operatic tradition, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)

Question 13

Forced to flee from ____ as a result of his political ____ and ____ activities. Escaped to ___ (in ___) with the help of ___ ___

Answer 13

Dresden, Activism, Revolutionary, Zurich (in Switzerland), Franz Liszt

Question 14

In Switzerland, shifted his creative focus to ____ and articulated his ___ ___ in essays such as ___, ___ and ___

Answer 14

Literary works, Artistic philosophy, Art and Revolution, Artwork of the Future, Opera and Drama

Question 15

Became ____ involved with Liszt’s daughter ___ who was still married to conductor ___ __ ___. Had __ children before she divorced the conductor

Answer 15

Romantically, Cosima, Hans von Bulow, 3

Question 16

18__: Moved to ___ at the request of admirer; the teenage ___. ____ Premiered there the same year conducted by ___. Then married ___ in 18__

Answer 16

1865, Munich, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Tristan und Isolde, Hans von Bulow, Cosima, 1870

Question 17

Dream of a permanent ___ for performance of ___ realized when the new ___ ___ at ___ was built in 18__

Answer 17

Festival, His operas, Festival theater at Bayreuth, 1872

Question 18

18__: first ___ ___ held with premier performance of the complete ___. Audience members included ___, ___, and ___

Answer 18

1876, Bayreuth Festival, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Edvard Grieg, Camille Saint-saens, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky

Question 19

Composed ___ in 18__ in hopes of benefiting the heavily ___ theater. Died February 3rd in 18__ in ___ with his body returned by train to ___ for interment

Answer 19

Parsifal, 1882, Indebted, 1883, Venice, Bayreuth

Question 20

Advocate for the “___” involving principle of ___ (“___”), where:

Answer 20

Music of the Future, Gesamtkunstwerk (“Total Art Work”), All elements of a production (music, choreography, story) are given equal status

Question 21

Championed works by ___ and ___ and drew inspiration from ___ mythology, ___ legends, and ___ epic poems, all with ___ subject matter

Answer 21

Berlioz, Liszt, Norse, Celtic, Medieval, Symbolic

Question 22

One of few opera composers to write ___. Paid careful attention to ___ with a goal to integrate ___ and __ creating what he called “___ ___”. Shows fondness for ____ in texts

Answer 22

Libretto, Language, Text and Music, “Poetic Speech”, Alliteration

Question 23

Influenced by ___ ___ dramatic practice: the construction of __, __ scenes with one character confronting another, and by ___: whose ___ inspired him to infuse his ___ with a more ___ approach to writing, such as closely weaving the ___ and___ strands into a complex musical fabric

Answer 23

Ancient Greek, Long, Protracted, Beethoven, Symphonies, Operas, Symphonic, Vocal and Orchestral

Question 24

Required an ___ orchestra, often over ___ players, inventing the ___ ___ in the process

Answer 24

Expanded, 100, Wagner Tuba

Question 25

Replaced the “___” approach used in ___ operas (X then Y then Z then X), with a more seamless ___-___ type of opera where distinction between ___ and___ was blurred

Answer 25

Number, Italian, Through-composed, Recitative and Aria

Question 26

___ technique central to his opera, and moved away from ___ phrases to a more ___ melodic flow referred to as “___ ___”

Answer 26

Leitmotif, Periodic, Continuous, Endless melody

Question 27

Employed a sophisticated ___ harmony and had a significant influence on next generation of composers such as ___ ___, ___ ___, and ___ ___

Answer 27

Chromatic, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schoenberg