Editing Richard Wagner (section)

=== Dresden (1842–1849) ===
[[File:Richard Wagner c.1840.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Wagner {{circa|1840}}, by Ernest Benedikt Kietz|alt=The head and upper body of a young white man with dark hair receding where it is parted on the left. Sideburns run the full length of his face. He wears a cravat and his right hand is tucked between the buttons of his coat.]]
Wagner had completed ''Rienzi'' in 1840. With the strong support of [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]],{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=I, p. 316}} it was accepted for performance by the Dresden [[Semperoper#History|Court Theatre]] (''Hofoper'') in the [[Kingdom of Saxony]], and in 1842 Wagner moved to Dresden. His relief at returning to Germany was recorded in his "[[Autobiographic Sketch (Wagner)|Autobiographic Sketch]]" of 1842, where he wrote that, en route from Paris, "For the first time I saw the [[Rhine]]—with hot tears in my eyes, I, poor artist, swore eternal fidelity to my German fatherland."{{sfn|Wagner|1994c|p=19}} ''Rienzi'' was staged to considerable acclaim on 20 October.{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=274}}

Wagner lived in Dresden for the next six years, eventually being appointed the Royal Saxon Court Conductor.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=I, pp. 325–509}} During this period, he staged there ''Der fliegende Holländer'' (2 January 1843){{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=276}} and [[Tannhäuser (opera)|''Tannhäuser'']] (19 October 1845),{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=279}} the first two of his three middle-period operas. Wagner also mixed with artistic circles in Dresden, including the composer [[Ferdinand Hiller]] and the architect [[Gottfried Semper]].{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=31}}{{sfn|Conway|2012|pp=192–193}}

Wagner's involvement in [[left-wing politics]] abruptly ended his welcome in Dresden. Wagner was active among [[socialist]] German nationalists there, regularly receiving such guests as the conductor and radical editor [[August Röckel]] and the Russian [[Anarchism|anarchist]] [[Mikhail Bakunin]].{{sfn|Gutman|1990|p=118}} He was also influenced by the ideas of [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]] and [[Ludwig Feuerbach]].{{sfn|Millington|2001a|pp=140–144}} Widespread discontent came to a head in 1849, when the unsuccessful [[May Uprising in Dresden]] broke out, in which Wagner played a [[May Uprising in Dresden#Prominent figures amongst the revolutionaries|minor supporting role]]. Warrants were issued for the revolutionaries' arrest. Wagner had to flee, first visiting Paris and then settling in [[Zürich]]{{sfn|Wagner|1992|pp=417–420}}{{refn|Röckel and Bakunin failed to escape and endured long terms of imprisonment.|group=n}} where he at first took refuge with a friend, [[Alexander Müller (composer)|Alexander Müller]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Wagner |first=Richard |translator-last=Ellis |translator-first=William Ashton |year=1911 |title=Family Letters of Richard Wagner |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924017758073 |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924017758073/page/n173 154] }}</ref>