12 Tremendous Composers 12 Composers    

Lesson 28: Tannhauser - Overture

by Richard Wagner

Performer: United States Marine Band

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the composer.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

The next tremendous composer for study is German opera composer Richard Wagner, and the title of his story is 'Wagner: The Story of the Boy Who Wrote Little Plays' by Thomas Tapper. This lesson features the overture to Wagner's 1845 opera, Tannhäuser. Tannhäuser's 1861 opening in Paris, France was a failure. However, the opera's popularity grew and it is still performed today. The opera Tannhäuser concerns finding redemption through the power of love. The opera's protagonist, also called Tannhäuser, is a poet and knight who leaves the mythological subterranean abode of the goddess Venus to pilgrimage back to Earth. Back in the mortal realm, Tannhäuser seeks absolution in Rome from the Pope. The Pope rebuffs Tannhäuser, saying it'd take a miracle for Tannhäuser to earn forgiveness. When all hope seems lost, is a miracle possible for Tannhäuser or will he return to the subterranean lair of Venus? As a fun side note - some may recognize the composition from the famous Looney Tunes episode, 'What's Opera, Doc?' This episode features Elmer Fudd serenading a bewigged Bugs Bunny and alludes to multiple Richard Wagner operas, including Tannhäuser.

Vocabulary

Saxon: Of or relating to Saxon, a historic realm and modern state of Germany.
Opera: A theatrical work, combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance.
Overture: A musical introduction to a piece of music.
Venus: The Roman goddess of love and beauty.
Absolution: A forgiving of sins from church-related penalties by an authority.

Composer

1. A very odd house used to stand in the quaint old Saxon City of Leipzig. This house was called the Red and White Lion. I suppose no one ever really saw a lion that was red and white, but nevertheless that was the name of the house. There was born Richard Wagner, who was one day to write the wonderful opera scenes of which we will soon read.

2. Richard Wagner's day of birth was May 22, 1813. That was more than two centuries ago! More than twenty-four hundred months!
3. Since that time, music has changed very greatly. When Wagner was born, much of the music that was being written had to follow certain patterns or models just as architects follow certain patterns in building a house. Now the composer when he writes music feels a great deal freer as he knows that he can make his own patterns. That he is not held in by any such hard laws as those which held back such composers as Mozart, Bach, Haydn and Handel. It was Wagner who did much to set music free from the old barriers. This does not mean that music today is better than music that was written by Haydn and Beethoven. Indeed, it often is not nearly so good, but it is freer, less held down by rule.
4. When Wagner wrote his first opera that had any success (Rienzi) he followed the models of composers of the day, but when he came to write operas that followed, such as Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, and Tannhäuser, he struck out in new and fresh paths which made him many enemies at first and many friends later.
5. Study the painting, 'Tannhäuser und Venus' by Otto Knille, featuring a scene from Wagner's opera, Tannhäuser. The painting depicts the German poet and knight, Tannhäuser, and Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

6. As we read of a great man, we must learn to see the world as it was in his day. Today we think of the world as the home of our parents, of ourselves and of our friends; as the world of modern science and technology. In the world of Wagner, there were no phones and no computers, but like today, there were live performances of music, dance, plays, and opera.
7. Who were the great musicians when he was a boy? Well, here are some of them. Do you remember any of them from our past lessons? Which ones?
8. Franz Liszt:

9. Robert Schumann:

10. Giuseppe Verdi:

11. Frédéric Chopin:

12. Wagner's father died when he was only six months old, and the boy was brought up by his mother and his stepfather, who was very kind to him. In one way, Wagner was unlike most of the other great composers. He did not show any talent for music until he was almost a man. All that he thought of was writing plays. When he did study, he was so bright and worked so hard that he learned in less than a year more than many learn in a lifetime. Here is a picture of Wagner's mother, who cared for him so tenderly.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite the Composition Information

• Recite the name of the composer and the composition.

Activity 2: Study the Music Timeline

Examine the music timeline to answer the following questions.

• What is the year of birth of the lesson composer?
• What is the year of death of the featured composer?
• How old was the composer upon death?
• Which composer (if any) directly precedes the studied composer by date of birth?
• Which composer (if any) directly succeeds the lesson composer by date of birth?
• Which other timeline composers were alive at the same time as the studied composer?

Activity 3: Map the Music

• Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.
• Find Germany on the map of Europe.

• Zoom in to find the city of Leipzig on the map of Germany.

Activity 4: Study Facts About Richard Wagner

• Richard Wagner wrote operas.
• He was born May 22nd, 1813.
• His operas, like the novels of Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, etc.), are full of wonderful characters.
• Besides people of every day kind there are gods and goddesses, and giants, and other strange beings in his operas.
• As a boy Richard Wagner went to a classical school.
• He was always fond of music.
• He could translate Greek when he was only thirteen years old.
• Even as a little boy he said: I intend to become a poet.
• He wrote plays and he read the plays of Shakespeare in English.
• As a boy he studied the piano and was fond of the music of Von Weber.
• Among the books that Richard Wagner read as a boy were the story of Die Meistersinger and the story of Tannhäuser.
• He always kept these stories in mind.
• When he became a composer, he wrote an opera upon each of these stories.
• Tell something about Wagner and animals.
• Richard Wagner died at Venice, Italy on Feb. 13, 1883.

Review

Question 1

What kind of music did Richard Wagner compose?

1 / 3

Answer 1

Richard Wagner composed operas.

1 / 3

Question 2

In which country was Richard Wagner born?

2 / 3

Answer 2

Richard Wagner was born in Germany.

2 / 3

Question 3

Can you name some of the musicians who lived when Richard Wagner was a boy?

3 / 3

Answer 3

Musicians who lived when Richard Wagner was a boy included Liszt, Schumann, Verdi, and Chopin.

3 / 3

❮ ❯

1. What kind of music did Richard Wagner compose? Richard Wagner composed operas.
2. In which country was Richard Wagner born? Richard Wagner was born in Germany.
3. Can you name some of the musicians who lived when Richard Wagner was a boy? Musicians who lived when Richard Wagner was a boy included Liszt, Schumann, Verdi, and Chopin.

References

Tapper, Thomas. Richard Wagner - Wagner: The Story of the Boy Who Wrote Little Plays. Philadelphia, PA. Theodore Presser Co., 1918.

'Tannhäuser (opera).' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'What's Opera, Doc?' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.