The famous German composer Richard Wagner was an atheist, but very superstitious. He was very afraid of black cats, but he always let pussies of a different color into the house (just in case). But he was horrified by the number 13 - this "damn dozen" simply pursued the creator throughout his life.
Reasons for fear of number 13
The composer considered himself a failure, he was convinced that the reason for this was his birth in 1813 (Leipzig, Germany). He also counted the number of letters in the first and last name - again 13 (Richard Wagner).
Wagner never tired of repeating that if he had not been pursued by a damn dozen from birth, he would have conquered the whole world with his music by the age of 30.
A rebel by nature and a reformer, to his deep regret, he was right. In an incomprehensible way his whole life was haunted by the number 13. It was on these dates that there were ups and downs.
So, birth in 1813, which, when added, will give: 1 + 8 + 1 + 3 = 13.
Promotional video:
Richard Wagner passed away on 13 February.
When he was thirteen years old, his idol, the composer Karl Weber (1826-1813 = 13), died. Young Richard heard his famous opera "Free Shooter" on 13.10.1824.
Later, on 13 September 1837, R. Wagner was appointed conductor of the opera house in Riga.
By the way, Wagner wrote thirteen operas.
So, the opera "Tannhäuser", which glorified the composer, he finished on April 13, 1844. In Paris on 1861-13-03, she suffered a complete fiasco, and when he was gone, she was rehabilitated again on 1895-13-05.
Thanks to his revolutionary activities, Wagner spent 13 years in exile.
The triumph of his career was the opening of his theater in Bayreuth, of course, on 13 August.
The mystery opera "Parsifal" was also completed on July 13, 1882.
Wagner left for Venice on 13.09.1982, where he died of a heart attack on 13.02.1883.
Recognition of the talent of composer R. Wagner
It is difficult to conclude: what was more in Wagner's bright life - positive or negative, thanks to the number thirteen.
All critics recognized the phenomenal talent of the nineteenth-century reformer composer.
R. Wagner made a significant contribution:
- to enrich the harmonic and melodic language of music;
- discovered unprecedented orchestral and vocal colors.
Both the creator and his music have a difficult fate, which is inextricably linked with the damn dozen. It is believed that it was she who did not allow the author-reformer to remain within the usual framework, but pushed to unravel the secrets of the universe.
Wagner seemed to have eternally fled from the "damn" number, having learned its depth, and left his works of genius as adventurous journeys with risky turns between Good and Evil. Wagner's operatic reform had a great influence on the music of Europe, including Russian.
Wagner himself viewed his work as a synthesis and a way of expressing his philosophical concept. He believed that musical drama should be understood as the unity of word and sound. A rare case among composers when he himself wrote the libretto.
The struggle between good and evil is especially clearly visible in the operas:
- "Valkyrie";
- Tristan and Isolde;
- "Death of gods";
- "Siegfried";
- symphonic work "Faust", etc.
He is put on a par with F. Nietzsche and S. Freud, who discovered an impartial analysis of the abyss of the human subconscious.
Zhanna Lyubarskaya
