The Richard Wagner Museum is a cultural site in Lucerne, Switzerland, situated on the shore of

Lake Lucerne __NOTOC__ Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central S ...

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. W ...

. The composer Richard Wagner 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'' and '' Siegfried'', and worked on ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as ...

''."Life in Lucerne"
Richard Wagner Museum. Retrieved 17 October 2022. Franz Liszt'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, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...

, 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 perf ...

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

began with a concert in the gardens of the villa, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. 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 to receive instruction at the Francke Foundations. After being apprenticed as ...

, 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