The Richard Wagner Museum is a cultural site in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, Switzerland, situated on the shore of

Lake Lucerne Lake Lucerne (, literally 'Lake of the four Waldstätte, forested settlements' (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), , ) is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country. Geography The lake has a compli ...

in the district of

Tribschen Tribschen (also seen as ''Triebschen'') is a district of the city of Lucerne, in the Canton of Lucerne in central Switzerland. Tribschen is best known today as the home of the German composer Richard Wagner from 30 March 1866 to 22 April 1872. ...

. The composer

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

lived here from 1866 to 1872; in 1933 it was opened as a museum.

History

The building, originally of the 15th century, was purchased by the Am Rhyn family in the 18th century. The external appearance dates from about 1800."Country manor"
Richard Wagner Museum. Retrieved 17 October 2022. Wagner lived in the villa from April 1866, leasing it from Colonel Walter am Rhyn. He completed here the operas ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'' and ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'', and worked on ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). I ...

''."Life in Lucerne"
Richard Wagner Museum. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

's daughter Cosima joined him, and Eva and Siegfried, children of Wagner and Cosima, were born here. After Cosima's divorce from

Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (; 8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for establishi ...

, she and Wagner were married in Lucerne in 1870. On 25 December of that year Wagner's composition ''

Siegfried Idyll The ', WWV 103, by Richard Wagner is a symphonic poem for chamber orchestra. Background Wagner composed the ''Siegfried Idyll'' as a birthday present to his second wife, Cosima, after the birth of their son Siegfried in 1869. It was first ...

'' was first performed on the stairs of the villa."Portrait"
Richard Wagner Museum. Retrieved 17 October 2022. Wagner moved to

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

in 1872, planning to build a theatre. Apart from occasionally being rented during the summer, the house afterwards stood empty. In 1931 the house and surrounding parkland were purchased from the Am Rhyn family by the City of Lucerne. The villa was opened as a museum in 1933. In 1938, the first

Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it curr ...

began with a concert in the gardens of the villa, conducted by

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

. It included music by Wagner.

Description

In five rooms of the ground floor there is an exhibition about the life and works of the composer, showing historical photographs, paintings, memorabilia and original manuscripts. There is the bronze bust of Wagner by

Fritz Schaper Fritz (Friedrich) Schaper (31 July 1841, Alsleben – 29 November 1919, Berlin) was a German sculptor. Life He was orphaned at an early age, and was sent to Halle (Saale), Halle to receive instruction at the Francke Foundations. After being ap ...

, and the composer's Erard grand piano, made in 1858. Cultural events may take place in the salon on the ground floor, such as chamber concerts in which Wagner's grand piano is played."Your event"
Richard Wagner Museum. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

References

{{Richard Wagner Richard Wagner Biographical museums in Switzerland Music museums in Switzerland Museums in Lucerne

History

Description

See also

References