Büste von Richard Wagner, ca. 15 bzw. 30 cm hoch.

Der Komponist wurde am 22. Mai 1813 in Leipzig als neuntes Kind des Polizeiaktuars Carl Friedrich Wagner (1770-1813) und der Bäckerstochter Johanna Rosine Wagner geb. Pötz (1774-1848) geboren. Sechs Monate nach seiner Geburt, am 23. November 1813 starb der Vater an Typhus. Im August 1814 heiratete Wagners Mutter den Schauspieler und Dichter Ludwig Geyer, der sich der Familie nach dem Tod des Vaters angenommen hatte. Spekulationen, wonach Geyer der leibliche Vater Richard Wagners gewesen sei, sind weder bewiesen noch klar widerlegt. Noch 1814 übersiedelte die Familie nach Dresden.

Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813, Leipzig, Germany - 13 February 1883, Venice, Italy) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, director, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or "music dramas", as they were later called). Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote the scenario and libretto for his works. Wagner's compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for contrapuntal texture, rich chromaticism, harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate use of leitmotifs: musical themes associated with particular characters, locales or plot elements. Wagner pioneered advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, which greatly influenced the development of European classical music. He transformed musical thought through his idea of Gesamtkunstwerk ("total artwork"), the synthesis of all the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, epitomized by his monumental four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (1876). To try to stage these works as he imagined them, Wagner built his own opera house. Wikipedia 2007