Editing Tristan und Isolde (section)

==Composition history==
[[File:Wagner Bruxelles 1860.jpg|thumb|upright|Photo of Wagner in Brussels, 1860]]
Wagner was forced to abandon his position as conductor of the [[Semperoper|Dresden Opera]] in 1849, as there was a warrant posted for his arrest for his participation in the unsuccessful [[May Uprising in Dresden|May Revolution]]. He left his wife, [[Minna Planer|Minna]], in Dresden, and fled to [[Zurich]]. There, in 1852, he met the wealthy silk trader Otto Wesendonck. Wesendonck became a supporter of Wagner and bankrolled the composer for several years. Wesendonck's wife, [[Mathilde Wesendonck|Mathilde]], became enamoured of the composer.<ref>For a nuanced view of the connection between the Wesendonck affair and ''Tristan und Isolde'' see [[Andreas Dorschel]], "Reflex, Vision, Gegenbild. Konstellationen zwischen Kunst und Leben", in: ''Weimarer Beiträge'' 64 (2018), no. 2, p. 286–298; ''idem'', "Life′s Work. Wagner′s Tristan and the Critique of Biographism", in: ''Life as an Aesthetic Idea of Music'', ed. Manos Perrakis, Vienna/London/New York: Universal Edition 2019, p. 63–78.</ref> Though Wagner was working on his epic ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'', he found himself intrigued by the legend of [[Tristan and Isolde]].

The re-discovery of [[medieval]] Germanic poetry, including [[Gottfried von Strassburg]]'s version of {{ill|Tristan (Gottfried von Straßburg)|de|lt=Tristan}}, the {{lang|de|[[Nibelungenlied]]}} and [[Wolfram von Eschenbach]]'s ''[[Parzival]]'', left a large impact on the German [[German Romanticism|Romantic]] movements during the mid-19th century. The story of Tristan and Isolde is a quintessential romance of the Middle Ages and the [[Renaissance]]. Several versions of the story exist, the earliest dating to the middle of the 12th century. Gottfried's version, part of the "courtly" branch of the legend, had a huge influence on later German literature.{{sfn|Classen|2003}}

According to his [[autobiography]], ''[[Mein Leben (Wagner)|Mein Leben]]'', Wagner decided to dramatise the Tristan legend after his friend, Karl Ritter, attempted to do so, writing that:

<blockquote>He had, in fact, made a point of giving prominence to the lighter phases of the romance, whereas it was its all-pervading tragedy that impressed me so deeply that I felt convinced it should stand out in bold relief, regardless of minor details.{{sfn|Wagner|1911|loc=vol. 2, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2OUsAAAAYAAJ&q=%22He%20had%2C%20in%20fact%2C%20made%20a%20point%22&pg=PA617 p. 617a]}}</blockquote>

This influence, together with his discovery of the philosophy of [[Arthur Schopenhauer]] in October 1854, led Wagner to find himself in a "serious mood created by Schopenhauer, which was trying to find ecstatic expression. It was some such mood that inspired the conception of a ''Tristan und Isolde''."{{sfn|Wagner|1911|loc=vol. 2, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2OUsAAAAYAAJ&q=%22It%20was%20some%20such%20mood%20that%20inspired%20the%20conception%20of%20a%20Tristan%20und%20Isolde.%22&pg=PA617 p. 617b]}}

Wagner wrote of his preoccupations with Schopenhauer and ''Tristan'' in a letter to [[Franz Liszt]] (16 December 1854): <blockquote>Never in my life having enjoyed the true happiness of love I shall erect a memorial to this loveliest of all dreams in which, from the first to the last, love shall, for once, find utter repletion. I have devised in my mind a ''Tristan und Isolde'', the simplest, yet most full-blooded musical conception imaginable, and with the 'black flag' that waves at the end I shall cover myself over – to die.{{sfn|Gutman|1990|p=163}}</blockquote>

[[File:Mathilde Wesendonck by Karl Ferdinand Sohn, 1850.jpg|thumb|upright|Painting of [[Mathilde Wesendonck]] (1850) by [[Karl Ferdinand Sohn]]]]
By the end of 1854, Wagner had sketched out all three acts of an opera on the Tristan theme, based on Gottfried von Strassburg's telling of the story. While the earliest extant sketches date from December 1856, it was not until August 1857 that Wagner began devoting his attention entirely to the opera, putting aside the composition of ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'' to do so. On 20 August he began the prose sketch for the opera, and the [[libretto]] (or ''poem'', as Wagner preferred to call it) was completed by 18 September.{{sfn|Millington|1992|p=300}} Wagner, at this time, had moved into a cottage built in the grounds of Wesendonck's villa, where, during his work on ''Tristan und Isolde'', he became passionately involved with Mathilde Wesendonck. Whether or not this relationship was [[Platonic love|platonic]] remains uncertain. One evening in September of that year, Wagner read the finished poem of "Tristan" to an audience including his wife, Minna, his current [[muse]], Mathilde, and his future [[mistress (lover)|mistress]] (and later wife), [[Cosima Wagner|Cosima von Bülow]].

By October 1857, Wagner had begun the composition sketch of the first act. During November, however, he set five of Mathilde's poems to music known today as the ''[[Wesendonck Lieder]]''. This was an unusual move by Wagner, who almost never set to music poetic texts other than his own. Wagner described two of the songs – "Im Treibhaus" and "Träume" – as "Studies for Tristan und Isolde": "Träume" uses a motif that forms the love duet in act 2 of ''Tristan'', while "Im Treibhaus" introduces a theme that later became the prelude to act 3.{{sfn|Millington|1992|p=318}} But Wagner resolved to write ''Tristan'' only after he had secured a publishing deal with the Leipzig-based firm [[Breitkopf & Härtel]], in January 1858. From this point on, Wagner finished each act and sent it off for engraving before he started on the next – a remarkable feat given the unprecedented length and complexity of the score.{{sfn|Deathridge|2008|loc=ch. "Public and Private Life", pp. 117–132}}

In April 1858 Wagner's wife Minna intercepted a note from Wagner to Mathilde and, despite Wagner's protests that she was putting a "vulgar interpretation" on the note, she accused first Wagner and then Mathilde of unfaithfulness.{{sfn|Gutman|1990|pp=180–182}} After enduring much misery, Wagner persuaded Minna, who had a heart condition, to rest at a [[spa]] while Otto Wesendonck took Mathilde to Italy. It was during the absence of the two women that Wagner began the composition sketch of the second act of ''Tristan''. However, Minna's return in July 1858 did not clear the air, and on 17 August, Wagner was forced to leave both Minna and Mathilde and move to [[Venice]].

Wagner would later describe his last days in Zurich as "a veritable Hell". Minna wrote to Mathilde before departing for Dresden: <blockquote>I must tell you with a bleeding heart that you have succeeded in separating my husband from me after nearly twenty-two years of marriage. May this noble deed contribute to your peace of mind, to your happiness.{{sfn|Gutman|1990|p=182}}</blockquote>

Wagner finished the second act of ''Tristan'' during his eight-month exile in Venice, where he lived in the [[Palazzo Giustinian (Dorsoduro)|Palazzo Giustinian]]. In March 1859, fearing [[extradition]] to [[Saxony]], where he was still considered a [[fugitive]], Wagner moved to [[Lucerne]] where he composed the last act, completing it in August 1859.

===Premiere===
''Tristan und Isolde'' proved to be a difficult opera to stage, and Wagner considered various possibilities for the venue. In 1857 he was invited by a representative of [[Pedro II of Brazil|Pedro II]], [[Empire of Brazil|Emperor of Brazil]], to stage his operas in [[Rio de Janeiro]] (in Italian, the language of the Imperial Opera); he told Liszt he was considering settling in Rio, and that that city would be given the honour of premiering ''Tristan''. Wagner sent the Emperor bound copies of his earlier operas in expression of his interest, but nothing more came of the plan.<ref name=bassett /> He then proposed that the premiere take place in [[Strasbourg]], following interest in the project shown by the Grand Duchess of Baden. Again, the project failed to eventuate.<ref name=bassett>Peter Bassett, "Richard Wagner's ''Tristan und Isolde''". Retrieved 25 September 2016 {{full citation needed|date=November 2017}}</ref> His thoughts then turned to Paris, the centre of the operatic world in the middle of the 19th century. However, after a disastrous staging of [[Tannhäuser (opera)|''Tannhäuser'']] at the [[Paris Opéra]], Wagner offered the work to the [[Karlsruhe]] opera in 1861.

[[File:Hans von buelow.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Photo of [[Hans von Bülow]], who conducted the premiere]]
When Wagner visited the [[Vienna Court Opera]] to rehearse possible singers for this production, the management at Vienna suggested staging the opera there. Originally, the tenor [[Alois Ander]] was employed to sing the part of Tristan, but later proved incapable of learning the role. Parallel attempts to stage the opera in Dresden, Weimar and Prague failed. Despite over 70 rehearsals between 1862 and 1864, ''Tristan und Isolde'' was unable to be staged in Vienna, winning the opera a reputation as unperformable.

It was only after [[Ludwig II of Bavaria|King Ludwig II of Bavaria]] became a sponsor of Wagner (he granted the composer a generous stipend and supported Wagner's artistic endeavours in other ways) that enough resources could be found to mount the premiere of ''Tristan und Isolde''. [[Hans von Bülow]] was chosen to conduct the production at the Nationaltheater in Munich, despite the fact that Wagner was having an affair with his wife, [[Cosima Wagner|Cosima von Bülow]]. Even then, the planned [[premiere]] on 15 May 1865 had to be postponed until the Isolde, [[Malvina Garrigues|Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld]], had recovered from [[Hoarse voice|hoarseness]]. The work finally premiered on 10 June 1865, with Malvina's husband [[Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld|Ludwig]] partnering her as Tristan.

On 21 July 1865, having sung the role only four times, Ludwig died suddenly – prompting speculation that the exertion involved in singing the part of Tristan had killed him. (The stress of performing ''Tristan'' has also claimed the lives of conductors [[Felix Mottl]] in 1911 and [[Joseph Keilberth]] in 1968. Both men died after collapsing while conducting the second act of the opera.) Malvina sank into a deep depression over her husband's death, and never sang again, although she lived for another 38 years.

For some years thereafter, the only performers of the roles were another husband–wife team, [[Heinrich Vogl]] and [[Therese Vogl]].<ref>Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., Vol. IX, p. 37</ref>