Wagner
Ring cycle, Tristan und Isolde
The most consequential figure in the history of opera after Monteverdi. The Ring cycle reimagined opera as total artwork; Tristan's chromatic harmony dissolved tonality and pointed toward the twentieth century. No artist has ever provoked such extreme devotion and revulsion simultaneously.
Key works
- Der Ring des Nibelungen1876— Four operas, 15 hours, one myth
- Tristan und Isolde1865— The chord that dissolved tonality
- Parsifal1882— Sacred stage festival drama