Editing Richard Wagner (section)

=== Return and resurgence (1862–1871) ===
The political ban that had been placed on Wagner in the [[North German Confederation]] after he had fled Dresden was fully lifted in 1862. The composer settled in [[Biebrich (Wiesbaden)|Biebrich]], on the Rhine near [[Wiesbaden]] in [[Hesse]].{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|pp=293–303}} Here Minna visited him for the last time: they parted irrevocably,{{sfn|Gutman|1990|pp=215–216}} though Wagner continued to give financial support to her while she lived in Dresden until her death in 1866.{{sfn|Burk|1950|pp=409–428}}

[[File:De 20 jarige Ludwig II in kroningsmantel door Ferdinand von Piloty 1865.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Portrait of [[Ludwig II of Bavaria]] about the time when he first met Wagner, by {{interlanguage link|Ferdinand von Piloty|de}}, 1865|alt=A young man in a dark military jacket, jodhpurs, long boots, and a voluminous ermine robe. He wears a sword at his side, a sash, a chain and a large star. Mainly hidden by his robe is a throne and behind that is a curtain with a crest with Ludwig's name and title in Latin. To one side a cushion holding a crown sits on a table.]]
In Biebrich, Wagner, at last, began work on ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', his only mature comedy. Wagner wrote a first draft of the libretto in 1845,{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=301}} and he had resolved to develop it during a visit he had made to Venice with the Wesendoncks in 1860, where he was inspired by [[Titian]]'s painting ''[[Assumption of the Virgin (Titian)|The Assumption of the Virgin]]''.{{sfn|Wagner|1992|p=667}} Throughout this period (1861–1864) Wagner sought to have ''Tristan und Isolde'' produced in Vienna.{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|pp=321–330}} Despite many rehearsals, the opera remained unperformed, and gained a reputation as being "impossible" to sing, which added to Wagner's financial problems.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=III, pp. 147–148}}

Wagner's fortunes took a dramatic upturn in 1864, when [[Ludwig II of Bavaria|King Ludwig II]] succeeded to the throne of [[Bavaria]] at the age of 18. The young king, an ardent admirer of Wagner's operas, had the composer brought to Munich.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=III, pp. 212–220}} The King, who was homosexual, expressed in his correspondence a passionate personal adoration for the composer,{{refn|E.g. "My dearest Beloved!", "My beloved, my most glorious Friend" and "O Holy One, I worship you".<ref>Cited in {{harvnb|Gregor-Dellin|1983|pp=337–338}}</ref>|group=n}} and Wagner in his responses had no scruples about feigning reciprocal feelings.{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|pp=336–338}}{{sfn|Gutman|1990|pp=231–232}}{{refn|Wagner excused himself in 1878, when discussing this correspondence with Cosima, by saying "The tone wasn't good, but I didn't set it."<ref>Cited in {{harvnb|Gregor-Dellin|1983|p=338}}</ref>|group=n}} Ludwig settled Wagner's considerable debts{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|p=339}} and proposed to stage ''Tristan'', ''Die Meistersinger'', the ''Ring'', and the other operas Wagner planned.{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|p=346}} Wagner also began to dictate his autobiography, ''Mein Leben'', at the King's request.{{sfn|Wagner|1992|p=741}} Wagner noted that his rescue by Ludwig coincided with news of the death of his earlier mentor (but later supposed enemy) [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]], and regretted that "this operatic master, who had done me so much harm, should not have lived to see this day."{{sfn|Wagner|1992|p=739}}

After grave difficulties in rehearsal, ''Tristan und Isolde'' premiered at the [[National Theatre Munich]] on 10 June 1865, the first Wagner opera premiere in almost 15 years. (The premiere had been scheduled for 15 May, but was delayed by bailiffs acting for Wagner's creditors,{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|p=354}} and also because the Isolde, [[Malvina Garrigues|Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld]], was hoarse and needed time to recover.) The conductor of this premiere was [[Hans von Bülow]], whose wife, [[Cosima Wagner|Cosima]], had given birth in April that year to a daughter, named [[Isolde Beidler|Isolde]], a child not of Bülow but of Wagner.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=III, p. 366}}

Cosima was 24 years younger than Wagner and was herself illegitimate, the daughter of the Countess [[Marie d'Agoult]], who had left her husband for [[Franz Liszt]].{{sfn|Millington|2001a|pp=32–33}} Liszt initially disapproved of his daughter's involvement with Wagner, though nevertheless the two men were friends.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=III, p. 530}} The indiscreet affair scandalised Munich, and Wagner also fell into disfavour with many leading members of the court, who were suspicious of his influence on the King.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=III, p. 496}} In December 1865, Ludwig was finally forced to ask the composer to leave Munich.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=III, pp. 499–501}} He apparently also toyed with the idea of abdicating to follow his hero into exile, but Wagner quickly dissuaded him.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=III, pp. 538–539}}

[[File:Fritz Luckhardt - Richard y Cosima Wagner (9 de mayo de 1872, Viena).jpg|thumb|upright|Richard and Cosima Wagner, photographed in 1872|alt=A couple is shown: On the left is a tall woman of about 30. She wears a voluminous dress and is sitting sideways in an upright chair, facing and looking up into the eyes of the man who is on the right. He is about 60, quite short, and balding at the temples. He is dressed in a suit with a tailcoat and wears a cravat. He faces and looks down at the woman. His hand rests on the back of the chair.]]
Ludwig installed Wagner at the [[Villa Tribschen]], beside Switzerland's [[Lake Lucerne]].{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=III, pp. 518–519}} ''Die Meistersinger'' was completed at Tribschen in 1867, and premiered in Munich on 21 June the following year.{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=301}} At Ludwig's insistence, "special previews" of the first two works of the ''Ring'', ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Die Walküre'', were performed at Munich in 1869 and 1870,{{sfn|Millington|2001a|pp=287, 290}} but Wagner retained his dream, first expressed in "A Communication to My Friends", to present the first complete cycle at a special festival with a new, dedicated, [[opera house]].<ref>{{harvnb|Wagner|1994c|loc=391 and n}}; {{harvnb|Spotts|1994|pp=37–40}}</ref>

Minna died of a heart attack on 25 January 1866 in Dresden. Wagner did not attend the funeral.{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|p=367}}{{refn|Wagner claimed to be unable to travel to the funeral due to an "inflamed finger".{{sfn|Gutman|1990|p=262}}|group=n}} Following Minna's death Cosima wrote to Hans von Bülow several times asking him to grant her a divorce, but Bülow refused to concede this. He consented only after she had two more children with Wagner: another daughter, named [[Eva Chamberlain|Eva]], after the heroine of ''Meistersinger'', and a son [[Siegfried Wagner|Siegfried]], named after the hero of the ''Ring''. The divorce was finally sanctioned, after delays in the legal process, by a Berlin court on 18 July 1870.{{sfn|Hilmes|2011|p=118}} Richard and Cosima's wedding took place on 25 August 1870.{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=17}} On Christmas Day of that year, Wagner arranged a surprise performance (its premiere) of the ''[[Siegfried Idyll]]'' for Cosima's birthday.{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=311}}{{refn|Cosima's birthday was 24 December, but she usually celebrated it on Christmas Day.|group=n}} The marriage to Cosima lasted to the end of Wagner's life.

Wagner, settled into his new-found domesticity, turned his energies towards completing the ''Ring'' cycle. He had not abandoned polemics: he republished his 1850 pamphlet "Judaism in Music", originally issued under a pseudonym, under his own name in 1869, extending the introduction and adding a lengthy final section. The publication led to several public protests at early performances of ''Die Meistersinger'' in Vienna and Mannheim.{{sfn|Weiner|1997|p=123}}