Person biography:
Richard Wagner was a German composer, born Wilhelm Richard Wagner on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig, Germany. He was the ninth child in the family of Carl Wagner, a police clerk. His father died when Richard was just six months old, and he was brought up by his mother Johanna and stepfather Ludwig Geyer, an actor and playwright.
Wagner studied piano from the age of 7 and developed an ability to play by ear and improvise. At age 15, he wrote piano transcriptions of Ludwig van Beethoven's "9th Symphony" and orchestral overtures. He studied at the University of Leipzig and took composition and conducting lessons with the cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig.
Wagner's early operas did not meet with success, leaving him in serious financial difficulties. He worked as a music director in Riga Opera and later in London and Paris, where he arranged music for other composers.
Eventually, Wagner's third opera, "Rienzi", was performed to considerable acclaim, and he was appointed the Royal Saxon Court Conductor. He completed and staged "Der fliegende Hollander" (aka "The Flying Dutchman") and "Tannhauser".
Wagner's personal life was marked by turmoil, including a troubled marriage to Minna Planer and an affair with Cosima von Bulow, the wife of the conductor Hans von Bulow. Their illegitimate daughter, Isolde, was born in 1865.
Wagner's later years were marked by financial struggles and personal turmoil. However, he continued to compose and eventually completed his four-opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen". He died of a heart attack on February 13, 1883, while wintering in Venice.
