''Die Sieger'' (''The Victors''; WWV 89), is a draft sketch for an

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 ...

text by

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 ...

. ''Die Sieger'' was drafted between 1856 and 1858, at a period when Wagner had become greatly interested in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. The fragmentary prose sketch which survives shows that it was based on legends which Wagner discovered in

Eugène Burnouf Eugène Burnouf (; April 8, 1801May 28, 1852) was a French scholar, an Indologist and orientalist. His notable works include a study of Sanskrit literature, translation of the Hindu text ''Bhagavata Purana'' and Buddhist text ''Lotus Sutra''. He ...

's 1844 ''Introduction to the History of Buddhism''. The story tells of the love of the outcast

chandala Chandala ( sa, चांडाल, caṇḍāla) is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, traditionally considered to be untouchable. A female member of this caste is known as a ''Caṇḍ� ...

Prakriti for the monk

Ānanda Ānanda (5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist '' Sutta-Piṭ ...

. Although both are ostracised by the other monks,

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

permits their chaste union, and allows Prakriti to join the monastic community. Writing to Marie Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1857, Wagner refers to the girl as 'Savitri' and suggests a three-act structure. He further wrote about the project to

Mathilde Wesendonck Agnes Mathilde Wesendonck (née Luckemeyer; 23 December 182831 August 1902) was a German poet and author. The words of five of her verses were the basis of Richard Wagner's ''Wesendonck Lieder''; the composer was infatuated with her, and his w ...

from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in 1858, comparing himself and Mathilde to Ananda and Savitri. No musical sketches for this work are known to have been undertaken. Although Wagner planned a production of ''Die Sieger'' for 1870 in his 1865 programme of proposals for King

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

, he never progressed it; however elements of the story persist in his opera ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...

''.Millington (1992), 322 Elements of ''Die Sieger'' were used by the British composer Jonathan Harvey in his own opera, ''

Wagner Dream ''Wagner Dream'' is an opera by Jonathan Harvey, premiered in 2007, to a libretto by Jean-Claude Carrière, which intertwines events on the last day of the life of Richard Wagner with elements from a fragmentary opera sketch by Wagner himself, ...

'' (2007).

References

;Notes ;Sources *Barry Millington (ed.),(1992) ''The Wagner Companion'', London: Thames and Hudson. *Richard Wagner, tr. and ed. S. Spencer and B. Millington, (1982) ''Selected Letters of Richard Wagner'', London: Dent. *Richard Wagner, tr. W. A. Ellis, (1995), ''Jesus of Nazareth and other writings''. Lincoln NE and London: University of Nebraska Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sieger, Die Parsifal Libretti by Richard Wagner Unfinished operas