''Die Hochzeit'' (''The Wedding'', WWV 31) is an unfinished

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

which predates his completed works in the genre. Wagner completed the libretto, then started composing the music in the second half of 1832 when he was just nineteen. He abandoned the project and destroyed the libretto after his sister Rosalie, who was the main supporter and the spokesman of the family, expressed her disgust at the story. Today, only three pieces survive from the opera.

Synopsis

What is still known of the story is that it concerns the events surrounding the intended marriage of a young woman, Ada, to Arindal. This is a political marriage, not one of love. On the eve of the wedding, Ada's lover, Cadolt, comes to see her. She rejects his advances, preferring to defend her honour but, in the process, pushes him over the balcony to his death. Ada still loves Cadolt and collapses and dies at the funeral next to his body.

Score

The only printed version of the surviving musical score (Introduction, Chorus and Septet) is the edition by Michael Balling (1866–1925). Wagner (1912). Very little musicological study has been carried out relating to ''Die Hochzeit''. 'Ada' and 'Arindal' were later used as the names of the two principal characters in ''

Die Feen ''Die Feen'' (, ''The Fairies'') is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. The German libretto was written by the composer after Carlo Gozzi's '' La donna serpente''. ''Die Feen'' was Wagner's first completed opera, but remained unperformed in ...

'' (''The Fairies'') (1833), Wagner's first completed opera. As there appear to be some textual parallels with ''Die Feen'', it is possible that substantial parts of this unfinished work may have been reused there.

Notes and references

;Notes ;Sources * Wagner, Richard (1912)
''Die Hochzeit''
Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hochzeit, Die Operas by Richard Wagner German-language operas 1832 operas Unfinished operas Operas