Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/438

 418 WAGNER friends of art," calling for their cooperation in the work. The summer of 1873 was the time at which he expected to bring out his works ; but though the answer to his appeal was gen- erous, the fulfilment of his wishes was post- poned until the summer of 1876. The corner stone of the proposed theatre was laid on May 22, 1872. The pianoforte rehearsals of the operas in question were had in July, 1875, and the orchestral rehearsals in August. Wagner's so-called "festival stage play" consists of the following operas: 1, Das Rheingold, in the na- ture of an introduction to the other three op- eras or trilogy ; 2, Die Walkure ; 3, Siegfried ; 4, Die Gotterdammerung. An evening is to be devoted to each of these operas, and the entire series is to be performed three times, with intervals of about four days for rest be- tween the several performances of the entire work. Wagner's theories of operatic compo- sition have occasioned wide discussion. They are extended, subtle, and metaphysical, and can- not readily be summarized; but the salient points of his musical creed may be stated in his own words : " The error in the opera as a spe- cies of art has consisted in the fact that a mere means of expression that is, music has been made the end, while the end of expression, the drama, has been made the means ; and thus the actual lyric drama has been made to rest upon the basis of absolute music." In other words, in the modern Italian opera the play itself, its incident, progress, and climax, has no interest for the audience ; they go simply to hear certain arias, duets, and concerted pieces. In Wagner's opinion, the drama itself should be the centre of interest ; it should be founded upon some poetical and legendary subject, identified with the history of the peo- ple for whom the opera is written, such for example as the myths of the Nibelungen poet- ry. To the illustration of this drama the arts of music, painting, and architecture should lend their aid, all combining with intent to give expression to the poet's thought. Of course the artificially constructed arias of the Italian opera, where the whole interest of the drama is suspended and the attention concen- trated upon the musical setting of some mean- ingless verses, are done away with. Wagner believes that the music should spring directly from the requirements of the text; that in- stead of having here and there melodies with intervening recitative, the whole opera should be melody ; and he has given to his substitute for the ordinary forms the name of melos. It is his effort to redeem the stage, which, as he contends, is now " insincere and trivial, its music lacking in pertinence to the verbal text, its forms dictated by a desire to conciliate the vanity of singers or the interests of music dealers, and its verbal text itself of low poeti- cal merit." The orchestra also, in his system, is exalted to great importance, taking its large share as a means of heightening the interest and giving vitality and color to the whole work ; it cease's to be a mere instrument of accompaniment, and becomes as closely identified with the purpose of the play as the actors themselves, entering into and reflecting and as it were commenting on and enforcing the text. The experiment at Baireuth is re- lied upon by him to vindicate these theories. He has expressed his ideas at great length in his various literary works, which have been col- lected and published in 9 vols., under the title Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen (Leip- sic, 1871). The principal works contained in this edition are his Autobiographische Skizze, Ein Deutscher Musiker in Paris (7 novelleri), Das Judenthum in der Musik (1852), Oper und Drama (1852), Die Kunst und die Re- volution (1849), Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft (1850), Ueber Schauspieler und Sdnger, and Beethoven (1870) ; also the poetical text of his principal operas. The publishing house of J. Gutmann in Vienna purchased in 1876 the copyright of his contemplated new opera Par- cival. Wagner has also composed a portion of the music to be performed at the opening of the American centennial exhibition of 1876. See Richard Wagner und die neuere Musik (Halle, 1854) ; " Richard Wagner and the Music of the Future," by Franz Heuffner (London. 1874) ; and " Art Life and Theories of Richard Wagner," by E. L. Burlingame (New York, 1875). II. Johanna, a niece of the preceding, born Oct. 13, 1828. Her father, Albert (born in Leipsic in 1799, died in Berlin, Oct. 31, 1874), began life as a tenor singer, and in 1857-'9 was manager of the royal opera at Berlin, and brought out Tannhauser and Lo- hengrin. The daughter appeared in comedy in 1843, and a little later in opera, chiefly at Dresden, which city she quitted in 1849 with her uncle. Subsequently she performed at Hamburg and Vienna, and in Berlin from 1853 to 1859, when she married Herr Jachmann, a councillor in the Prussian service, and accept- ed an engagement for the drama at the royal theatre. She excelled in her uncle's operas, and in those of Gluck and Meyerbeer, and especially as Fides in Le prophete, and proved to be an accomplished tragedienne. WAGNER. I. Rudolph, a German physiologist, born in Baireuth, June 30, 1805, died in G6t- tingen, May 13, 1864. He graduated in medi- cine at Wttrzburg in 1826, studied under Cuvier in Paris, and made geological explorations in France and Sardinia. He was tutor and pro- fessor of zoology at the university of Erlangen from 1829 to 1840, when he succeeded Blumen- bach at Gottingen. Ho was distinguished in physiology, comparative anatomy, and anthro- pology. His works include Lehrbuch der ver- gleichenden Anatomic (2 parts, Leipsic, 1834- '5; 2d ed., entitled Lehrbuch der Zootomie, 1843-'7); Icones Physiologic (1839-'40; new ed. by Ecker, 1852-'4) ; Lehrbuch der Physio- logic (1839 ; 4th ed. by Funke, 1854-'7) ; Hand- worterbuch der Physiologic (4 vols., Bruns- wick, 1842-'53); Neurologische Untersuchungen