''Wagner Dream'' is 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 libr ...

by Jonathan Harvey, premiered in 2007, to a libretto by

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorary ...

, which intertwines events on the last day of the life of

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 ...

with elements from a fragmentary opera sketch by Wagner himself, '' Die Sieger'' (''The Victors'').

Background

''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 ...

. It is 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''. Wagner planned a production of this work for 1870 in his programme 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 ...

but 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 ...

''). Harvey described some of the processes he used in creating ''Wagner Dream''. These include the use of a

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

and a

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

playing deep notes at the opera's commencement, representing boat

siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wiscon ...

s on the Grand Canal. The composer also visited

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

to sample a

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

clap, used to preface an argument between Wagner and his wife.

Narrative structure and scoring

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 ''Caṇḍā ...

Prakriti for the monk Ananda. Although both are ostracized by the other monks,

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a 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 born in L ...

permits their chaste union and allows Prakriti to join the monastic community. ''Wagner Dream'' intersperses the Prakriti/Ananda story with the events surrounding Wagner's death in

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 ...

. As Wagner dies from a heart attack, he recalls the opera he never completed. Whilst the "Indian" roles are all sung, the members of the Wagner household, including his wife Cosima and the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

Carrie Pringle Carrie Pringle (Caroline Mary Isabelle Pringle; 19 March 1859 – 12 November 1930) was an Austrian-born British soprano singer. She performed the role of one of the Flowermaidens in the 1882 premiere of Richard Wagner's ''Parsifal'' at the Bayr ...

(with whom it has been alleged that Wagner had his last love affair) are spoken roles. The score uses

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

as well as an ensemble of 24 musicians.

Premiere and performance history

The opera was premiered at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg in April 2007, prior to a run at the

Westergasfabriek The Westergasfabriek is a former gasworks in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, now used as a cultural venue. History In the 19th century the Imperial Continental Gas Association (ICGA) built four coal gas plants in Amsterdam: the Eastern Gas Factory ...

, Amsterdam, in a production by Pierre Audi for De Nederlandse Opera, which commissioned the work. Its British premiere took place at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

as a concert performance in London on 29 January 2012. The first British staged performance was given on 6 June 2013 in the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

, directed by Pierre Audi. In this production, German was used for the spoken text while the Buddhist characters sang in

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

. In a programme note, WNO's artistic director,

David Pountney Sir David Willoughby Pountney (born 10 September 1947) is a British-Polish theatre and opera director and librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works. He has directed over ...

, stated that this change was discussed with Jonathan Harvey with the aim of "seeking to enhance and clarify the cultural dialogue which is the centrepiece of (Harvey's) opera"."A note about language", in ''Wagner Dream'' programme book, p.52.

Roles

Notes

Sources

"Acclaim for Harvey’s ''Wagner Dream''"
''Faber Music News'', Autumn 2007 * Harvey, Jonathan, (2008)
How do I compose? (Reflections on ''Wagner Dream'')
, in ''Circuit: musiques contemporaines'', vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 38–43.

External links

*
Wagner Dream
' - trailer by De Nederlandse Opera (2009) *
Wagner Dream
' –

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

by Barbican Music, including extracts and interviews with conductor and cast. (2012) {{Richard Wagner, state=collapsed Compositions by Jonathan Harvey Operas 2007 operas Operas set in Italy Operas based on real people Cultural depictions of Richard Wagner English-language operas Operas set in the 19th century