Editing Richard Wagner (section)

==== "Romantic operas" (1843–1851) ====
[[File:Der fliegende Holländer.jpg|thumb|upright|Opening of overture to ''Der fliegende Holländer'' in Wagner's hand and with his notes to the publisher|alt=Six bars of music are written across 19 pre-printed staves. The page is headed "Overture". Below the heading to the right is Wagner's name. The tempo indication is ''allegro con brio''. Several lines are written diagonally in lighter handwriting.]]
Wagner's middle stage output began with ''[[Der fliegende Holländer]]'' (''The Flying Dutchman'', 1843), followed by ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' (1845) and ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' (1850). These three operas are sometimes referred to as Wagner's "romantic operas".<ref>e.g. in {{harvnb|Spencer|2008|pp=67–73}} and {{harvnb|Dahlhaus|1995|pp=125–129}}</ref> They reinforced the reputation, among the public in Germany and beyond, that Wagner had begun to establish with ''Rienzi''. Although distancing himself from the style of these operas from 1849 onwards, he nevertheless reworked both ''Der fliegende Holländer'' and ''Tannhäuser'' on several occasions.{{refn|For the reworking of ''Der fliegende Holländer'', see {{harvnb|Deathridge|1982|pp=13, 25}}; for that of ''Tannhäuser'', see {{harvnb|Millington|2001a|pp=280–282}} which further cites Wagner's comment to Cosima three weeks before his death that he "still owes the world ''Tannhäuser''."{{sfn|Cosima Wagner|1978|loc=II, p. 996}} See also the articles on these operas in Wikipedia.|group=n}} These three operas are considered to represent a significant developmental stage in Wagner's musical and operatic maturity as regards thematic handling, portrayal of emotions and orchestration.{{sfn|von Westernhagen|1980|pp=106–107}} They are the earliest works included in the [[Bayreuth canon]], the mature operas that Cosima staged at the Bayreuth Festival after Wagner's death in accordance with his wishes.{{sfn|Skelton|2002}} All three (including the differing versions of ''Der fliegende Holländer'' and ''Tannhäuser'') continue to be regularly performed throughout the world and have been frequently recorded.{{refn|1=See performance listings by opera in [http://www.operabase.com/index.cgi?lang=en Operabase], and the Wikipedia articles [[Der fliegende Holländer discography]], [[Tannhäuser discography]] and [[Lohengrin discography]].|group=n}} They were also the operas by which his fame spread during his lifetime.{{refn|For example, ''Der fliegende Holländer'' (''Dutchman'') was first performed in London in 1870 and in the US (Philadelphia) in 1876; ''Tannhäuser'' in New York in 1859 and in London in 1876; ''Lohengrin'' in New York in 1871 and London in 1875.{{sfn|Millington|2001a|pp=276, 279, 282–283}} For detailed performance histories including other countries, see [http://opera.stanford.edu/Wagner/ Stanford University Wagner site], under each opera.|group=n}}