Line #69 Music/RichardWagner


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7	->''"I am the most German of men; I am the most German of spirits. Question the incomparable enchantment of '''my''' works, compare them with all the rest: you can say nothing but -- this is '''German'''."''
8	-->-- '''Richard Wagner''', in his ''Brown Book'', being [[SarcasmMode characteristically modest]].
9
10	Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 -- 13 February 1883) was a UsefulNotes/{{German\|y}} [[UsefulNotes/DichterAndDenker composer, writer, stage director, and polemicist]] of the {{Romantic\|ism}} era. Best known for his {{opera}}s, though he also produced many other pieces of music such as a distinguished, [[TearJerker/{{Music}} melancholy]] song-cycle, the "''Wesendonck-Lieder''," as well as the "[[Music/SiegfriedIdyll Siegfried Idyll]]," a symphonic poem for chamber orchestra.
11
12	He was highly influential in the 19th and 20th centuries, promoting a great increase in full orchestration and chromaticism in musical language (leading to the typically "lush" Late Romantic sound), and the development of nationalistic styles. Wagner also developed and popularized the use of themes and motifs ({{Leitmotif}}) to represent ideas and characters musically. His copious writings also promoted developments in the stagecraft of his period, developing the concept of the ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' or "total art work" as a fusion of all elements of a performance, words, dance, music, staging, and so on, to form a single unified experience. Being a man of consequence, eventually he wrote, composed, stage-designed, directed, AND conducted his operas himself, most famously in the theater he had built in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth.
13
14	His principal "music-dramas" (he scorned the term "opera") include:
15	[[index]]
16	* ''[[Theatre/{{Rienzi}} Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes]]'' (''Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen'') - Written and composed between 1837 and 1840, premiered in 1842. Written in the Grand Opera style that was popular at the time, the work is usually regarded as outside Wagner's mature canon, though it is more often performed than his two earlier operas, ''Die Feen'' and ''Das Liebesverbot''.
17	* ''Theatre/TheFlyingDutchman'' (''Der fliegende Holländer'') - Written and composed between 1840 and 1841, premiered in 1843. Typically regarded as the first opera with elements of Wagner's mature compositional style.
18	* ''Theatre/{{Tannhaeuser}} and the Minnesingers' Contest at the Wartburg'' (''Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg'') - Written and composed in 1845, premiered in 1845.
19	* ''Theatre/{{Lohengrin}}'' - Written and composed between 1845 and 1848, premiered in 1850.
20	* ''[[Theatre/TristanUndIsoldeWagner Tristan and Isolde]]'' (''Tristan und Isolde'') - Written and composed between 1857 and 1859, premiered in 1865.
21	* ''Theatre/TheMastersingersOfNuremberg'' (''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'') - Composed between 1861 and 1867, premiered in 1868.
22	* ''Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung'' (''Der Ring Des Nibelungen''), composed between 1848 and 1874, premiered[[note]]This is for the Ring Cycle as a whole; ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Die Walküre'' first premiered in 1869 and 1870, respectively.[[/note]] in 1876, consisting of four parts:
23	** ''The Rhine Gold'' (''Das Rheingold'')
24	** ''The Valkyrie'' (''Die Walküre'') -- includes "Music/RideOfTheValkyries"
25	** ''Siegfried''
26	** ''Twilight of the Gods'' (''Götterdämmerung'')
27	* ''Theatre/{{Parsifal}}'' - Written and composed between 1857 and 1882, premiered in 1882.
28	[[/index]]
29
30	Besides serving as models for composers of dramatic music (such as Music/BernardHerrmann, Music/AlfredNewman, Music/ErichWolfgangKorngold, and Music/MaxSteiner) up to the present, these works have themselves been frequently adapted for use in dramatic productions -- as, for example, the Bridal Chorus „''Treulich geführt''‟ from ''Lohengrin'', which has become a StandardSnippet synonymous with weddings, and his "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" from ''Walküre'', ubiquitous in contexts of war and flying. Though Wagner was by no means incapable of delicacy, his compositions have typically been used in contexts of ''Sturm und Drang''.
31
32	His extreme nationalism caused him to be adopted very soon as a symbol of UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, particularly in its most [[UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}} militaristic and]] [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany imperialist modes]], and his virulent anti-Semitism (extreme even by the standards of his time) and the fact that UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler [[HitlerAteSugar loved his music]] has made Wagner the ideal musical symbol of the [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Third Reich]]: depictions of the downfall of Nazi Germany are almost automatically accompanied by "Siegfried's Funeral March" from (naturally) ''Götterdämmerung''.[[note]]It is highly unlikely that Wagner would have returned Hitler's admiration, not least because Wagner was a socialist for most of his life and befriended the Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin and participated in the Dresden May Uprising, which resulted in his exile by the Saxon government. Anyone actually familiar with the texts of his works will note that one of the major themes running through his work is "power is evil, love is good" - which is ''not'' a Nazi-friendly message in the slightest, and really much closer to anarchism.[[/note]] (Wagner's anti-Semitism may have been a case of [[BoomerangBigot Boomerang Bigotry]], as Ludwig Geyer, the man whom he suspected of being his biological father, was also (apparently incorrectly) reputed to be of Jewish ancestry.)
33
34	Due to the aforementioned points Wagner was semi-officially banned in Israel for a long time and even today playing Wagner in Israel is a major breach of taboo and guaranteed to cause controversy. On the flip side, Bayreuth has had a festival dedicated exclusively to his music that has basically made this town of some 80,000 souls a major scene in the world of classical music. Tickets sell out ten years in advance and frequent attendees include Angela Merkel and a Who's Who of German celebrities. (Thus, while one will get into trouble for saying something positive about Wagner in Israel, one will equally get into trouble for saying something negative about him in Bayreuth.)
35
36	Wagner was once close friends with Creator/FriedrichNietzsche before [[WeUsedToBeFriends they had a huge falling out]].
37
38	The composer was the subject of a 1954 {{Biopic}}, ''Magic Fire'' (in which he was portrayed by Alan Badel), and of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiDe_HruhlY Wagner]]'', a 1983 TV mini-series starring Creator/RichardBurton. Creator/TrevorHoward played him in Creator/LuchinoVisconti's ''Ludwig'' (1972).
39	----
40	!!Tropes present in Wagner's life and work include:
41	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Common in Wagner, as in these lines from ''Tannhäuser'':„''Wenn wir den grimmen Welfen widerstanden,/Und den verderbenvollen Zwiespalt wehrten...''‟[[note]]"If we withstood the grim Guelphs, and warded off disastrous division...[[/note]] This is likely based on the fact that alliteration was the standard verse-form in Germanic poetry.
42	* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Beckmesser's serenade in ''Meistersinger'' is faulted for this by „''Merker Hans Sachs''‟, as with „''die MIR wohl [=GE=]fall'n THUT''."
43	* ArtsyBeret: The composer's characteristic large, slouched beret (see pic, above) is actually called a ''Wagnerkappe'' in German.
44	* AtTheOperaTonight: Wagner's operas are among the favorites for characters to attend, as in the 1931 ''{{Dracula}}'' film (''Meistersinger'') or in Nicholas Meyers' Literature/SherlockHolmes novel, ''The Seven Per Cent Solution'' (''Siegfried'').
45	* AuteurLicense: All of Wagner's later pieces of "''Gesamtkunstwerk''", most famously ''Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung'', featured words, music, orchestration, set design, choreography, direction, and conducting, created by Wagner himself-- in a concert hall that he designed and built for the purpose.
46	* BadToTheBone: Wagner is very popular as an ominous cue in film; the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes series is very fond particularly of the Nibelung and Giant [[{{Leitmotif}} motifs]] in heralding any sinister doings.
47	* BSODSong: Usually, for some reason, sung by a bass-baritone.
48	* BrawnHilda: The character, in his adaptation of ''{{Literature/Nibelungenlied}}'', is the TropeMaker.
49	* CelibateHero: Parsifal, in his eponymous opera (though he does, of course, eventually father Lohengrin).
50	* TheChosenOne: Parsifal, „''der reine Tor, den [Gott] erkor' ''‟
51	* CombatByChampion: When Elsa is accused by murder, Lohengrin shows up to serve as her champion and defeat her accuser Telramund in single combat and thereby establish her innocence.
52	* CommonTime: For example, the Festival March from ''Tannhäuser''.
53	* CoolSword:
54	** As Lohengrin tells Elsa of the blade he gives her for Gottfried, „''In wildem Kampf, dies' Schwert ihm Sieg verleit.''‟
55	** Siegmund's sword Notung, shattered by Wotan and [[ForgingScene reforged]] by Siegfried.
56	* CurbStompBattle: The combat between Lohengrin and Telramund lasts perhaps two minutes, and is set to rather perfunctory music.
57	* DarkAgeEurope / TheLowMiddleAges: ''Parsifal, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde''
58	* EngagementChallenge: In ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', Walther must win the song contest at the feast of St. John before he gets the hand of Eva.
59	* TheEpic:
60	** ''Parsifal''. All four hours of it.
61	** ''Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen''.
62	* EverybodyDiesEnding: Played out to a very literal and final conclusion in Götterdämmerung. The world is destroyed and literally everyone except the Rhine Maidens (yes, even the Gods) are killed. Alberich also survives.
63	* EvilSorcerer: Ortrud in ''Lohengrin''; Klingsor in ''Parsifal''.
64	%% * EvilSoundsDeep: As with Telramund, Klingsor (even in his... er... ''condition'', which should have him singing soprano), Alberich, and Hagen.
65	%% ** Also often averted, in that Landgrave Hermann, Henry the Fowler, Hans Sachs, Gurnemanz, and Titurel are all deep-voiced goodies; in ''Parsifal'' Gurnemanz stands out as one of the few instances in opera where the bass has nearly as many measures to sing as the lead tenor.
66	%% ** On the ''other'' other hand, Ortrud is a mezzosoprano/soprano.
67	* {{Fanfare}}: Several of Wagner's [[{{Leitmotif}} Leitmotifs]] (''e.g.'', Lohengrin's motif) have the character of fanfares; more conventional examples introduce the Overture to ''Rienzi'' and the Festival March from ''Tannhäuser''. At Bayreuth, certain motifs are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQW8oYVMt1U played as fanfares]] from the balcony of the ''Festspielhaus'' to announce the beginning of an act.
68	* FemmeFatale: Kundry from ''Parsifal''.
69	* FlyingDutchman:
70	** Wagner's is the definitive version.
71	** His land-bound DistaffCounterpart is Kundry in ''Parsifal''.
72	* GenreBusting:
73	** The whole point of the ''Gesamtkunstwerk.''
74	** ''Tristan und Isolde'', and its prelude especially, is often cited as the UrExample of the modernist departure from {{tonality}}. While the work is still rooted in the traditions of German music, Wagner stretched the tonal system well beyond the limits of many listeners and critics in his day - often delaying the resolutions to dominants or not giving them at all.
75	* GhostShip: Wagner's interpretation of the Flying Dutchman legend had the ship filled with a phantom crew.
76	* HeartBeatSoundtrack: Wagner often used kettledrums this way in his music dramas.
77	* TheHighMiddleAges: ''Rienzi'' and ''Tannhäuser''
78	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Real people continually show up in the operas: Cola Rienzi; Herman, Landgrave of Thuringia; Walter von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach, and the title-character himself in ''Tannhäuser''; King Henry the Fowler in ''Lohengrin''; Hans Sachs and the other Mastersingers in ''Meistersinger''.
79	* HotBlooded: Walther in ''Meistersinger'' „''flammt auf''‟ when Sachs suggests that Beckmesser may be his rival for Eva's hand.
80	* IdiotHero: Parsifal, „''der reine Tor''‟ ("the pure fool"). Also Siegfried, who is too stupid to learn what fear is.
81	* InsistentTerminology: The later works are "music-dramas," not operas (though Wagner himself was dissatisfied even with that term, which had been coined by his followers).
82	%%* LadyMacbeth: Ortrud
83	* {{Leitmotif}}: The Leitmotif technique, if not invented by Wagner, was certainly perfected by him. In his operas, not only would every character have his/her own motif, but also objects, places, and even abstract ideas, all of which would be woven into a complex symphonic whole, in which the variations of the motifs have a psychological effect far more significant than a mere announcement of a character's presence.
84	* LightIsGood: For a Romantic like Wagner, light was associated with the order, reason, and civilization of the previous century's Classicism, while Romanticism invoked chaos, emotions, nature or savagery, and darkness. This is seen in ''Tristan und Isolde'', where the eponymous lovers meet in dark forests to proclaim their irrational love for each other, while Isolde's husband King Marke is associated with the light, civilization, and reason.
85	* ''[[LohengrinAndMendelssohn Lohengrin]]'' [[LohengrinAndMendelssohn and Mendelssohn]]: The Master [[TropeNamer provided]] half the trope name; he wouldn't [[BerserkButton have been pleased]] with the other half.
86	* LoveAtFirstSight: Plenty of examples in Wagner's operas.
87	** In ''Lohengrin,'' our hero asks Elsa to marry him immediately after arriving in Brabant on a swan-led boat.
88	** Isolde plans to kill Tristan with a sword, but instead she falls in love with him after viewing his piteous glance.
89	* LovePotion: Shows up in ''Tristan und Isolde'' -- with [[SeriousBusiness portentous consequences]].
90	* MaliciousSlander: In ''Lohengrin'', Elsa is falsely accused of killing her little brother Gottfried, the child-Duke of Brabant [[spoiler: (who had actually been turned into a swan by the [[EvilSorcerer Evil Sorceress]] Ortrud.]] Then the eponymous KnightInShiningArmor comes to her rescue.
91	* MeaningfulName: Wagner makes a big deal out of Parsifal's name being Persian for "pure fool." It isn't, really.
92	* TheMiddleAges: The setting for most of his music-dramas.
93	* MoodMotif: One of the basic functions of the ''[[{{Leitmotif}} Leitmotiv]]''.
94	* MrExposition:
95	** Gurnemanz in ''Parsifal''. Almost all of Act I consists of Gurnemanz explaining the back story.
96	** The Herald in Act I of ''Lohengrin''. Which, when you think about it, is one of the things a King's Herald is supposed to do, make announcements and tell everybody what is going on.
97	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Besides Elisabeth in ''Tannhäuser'', who is modeled on (but not identified with) the historical St. Elisabeth of Thuringia, it is said that the character of Beckmesser in ''Meistersinger'' was meant as a caricature of the Viennese music critic, Eduard Hanslick.
98	* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: It has been asserted that when composing the ''Ring'', Wagner at one point intended for the operas to be performed three times in a purpose-built opera house. Afterward, all copies of the score and all the props were to be burned, along with the ''entire opera house''. Obviously this did not happen.
99	* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: The sword in the ash tree, which can be only pulled out by Siegmund, as he does in ''Die Walküre'' Act I.
100	* {{Opera}}: Uh... yeah. Wagner did compose a few other works, such as the ''Wesendonck-Lieder'' and the ''Siegfried-Idyll'' -- but the music-dramas constitute the composer's most extensive and important achievement.
101	* OrchestralBombing: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOQlG8YRxEQ Prelude to Act III]] of ''Lohengrin'' has become something of a StandardSnippet for air raids (as well, of course, as the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V92OBNsQgxU Walkürenritt]]'').
102	* PimpedOutDress: Quite a few performances of his operas will dress the female leads in one when appropriate.
103	** In 2011, a performance of ''Lohengrin'' dressed Elsa and Ortrud in mostly matching dresses with bell-shaped skirts [[FluffyFashionFeathers covered with feathers]]. Elsa's was her FairytaleWeddingDress, and Ortrud's was [[EvilWearsBlack all black]].
104	* PopCulturalOsmosis: An astonishing number of Wagnerians have been attracted to his music ''via Film/ApocalypseNow'' and WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons.
105	* ThePowerOfLove: Invoked in Wagner's earlier works, this trope is more often [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in his later ones.
106	** In ''Holländer'' Vanderdecken is saved from eternal maritime damnation by Senta's faithful love.
107	** In ''Tannhäuser'', Heinrich is saved from eternal intramontane damnation by Elisabeth's faithful love.
108	** On the other hand, in ''Lohengrin'' Elsa's love for the eponymous swan-knight brings causes her to ask the fateful question which drives him away.
109	** Though Walther and Eva love each other, of course, it is rather The Power of Art than ThePowerOfLove that brings about the happy ending in ''Meistersinger''.
110	** Tristan and Isolde's love brings destruction upon them.
111	** Parsifal actually ''rejects'' the love (if one can call it that) of the Flower Maidens and Kundry to become the hero.
112	* {{Prequel}}:
113	** ''Parsifal'' can be thought of as a prequel to ''Lohengrin'', since the latter is the former's son.
114	** Wagner's greatest spate of Prequelitis came during the crafting of ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. Originally, he'd envisioned only a single opera, ''Siegfrieds Tod'' (the Death of Siegfried), but realized while writing the text that there was too much back-story he needed to get out of the way, so he wrote the libretto for a prequel named ''Siegfried''. Then he realized that ''this'' opera also had a large amount of back-story, so he began writing a prequel to it named ''Die Walküre''. Finally, he realized that this, too, had too much back-story the audience needed to know, so he started in on a prequel to it named ''Das Rheingold''. Decades later, ''Siegfrieds Tod'' had become ''Goetterdämmerung'', and he had a four-opera mega-epic on his hands.
115	** Ortrud from ''Lohengrin'' invokes the old Germanic gods Wotan and Freya, so one can think of ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' as a prequel of sorts as well.
116	* PublicDomainArtifact: The Grail in ''Lohengrin'' and ''Parsifal''; the Holy Spear in ''Parsifal''. (The Ring (or rather, any of its prototypes) was not a well-known artifact before Wagner.)
117	* RecycledTrailerMusic: Long even before ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', Wagner's works were popular musical "fillers" for as yet uncomposed scores.
118	* SadlyMythtaken: Or sometimes Willfully Mythtaken. Wagner has enraged folklorists from his own time to the present for adapting ancient myths and legends with abandon, and in the process, ousting the originals from the minds of most of the public.
119	* SerialEscalation: Where Wagner took opera -- we mean, ''Bühnenfestspiel''.
120	* ShowStopper: Averted. Wagner did away almost completely with the separate, self-contained numbers that had been a part of opera for centuries, and had the music running continuously throughout each act, with no breaks for applause.
121	* SpaceJews: Klingsor from ''Parsifal'' is generally considered to be one of these. Some would also include the Nibelungs from the ''Ring'', especially Mime, and the villainous Beckmesser from ''Meistersinger,'' though those cases are more debated. Considering Wagner's own distasteful [[GreedyJew antisemitic views]], this interpretation can have serious problematic associations, especially since Wagner [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotDidactic never actually said]] that any of his characters were meant to reflect Jewish people.
122	* SparedByTheAdaptation: Some stagings of ''Parsifal'' have Kundry alive at the end.
123	* StandardSnippet: Besides the obvious ''Lohengrin'' wedding and ''Walküre'' bombing examples, storms at sea have very commonly invoked the Overture to ''Der fliegende Holländer''.
124	* StarCrossedLovers: Senta and The Dutchman die (but go to Heaven); Elisabeth and Heinrich die (and probably go to Heaven); Elsa and Lohengrin are parted forever (until they meet in heaven?); Tristan is mortally wounded, Isolde falls dead onto his body (Liebestod). Falling in love is generally not a good idea in a Wagner opera.
125	* StylisticSuck: As with Beckmesser's ludicrous serenade in ''Meistersinger''.
126	* TakeThat:
127	** Sixtus Beckmesser in ''Die Meistersinger'' was reputed to be a thinly-veiled caricature of Viennese [[TakeThatCritics music critic Eduard Hanslick]]. More directly, Wagner mocked rival composers such as Meyerbeer and Rossini in his prose works.
128	** During the [[UsefulNotes/FrancoPrussianWar Franco-German War]] of 1870/71, Wagner wrote a "satirical" play in which he mocked Creator/VictorHugo and Music/JacquesOffenbach.
129	* TenorBoy: Erik, Lohengrin, Walther, Siegfried and Parsifal -- the more "boyish" Wagnerian rôles. Perhaps subverted in ''Tannhäuser,'' in which the more sensual Heinrich is a tenor, the more innocent Wolfram a baritone.
130	* ThemeSongReveal: One of the basic uses of the {{Leitmotif}}.
131	* ThrowingOutTheScript: In ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', when Walther starts singing his prize song at the contest (after Beckmesser made a travesty out of it), Kothner unconsciously drops the music sheet. Walther sees this and turns his song into a more elaborate one than what he had set down earlier.
132	* TrialByCombat: Lohengrin fights a judicial combat for Elsa of Brabant in his eponymous opera.
133	* [[{{Ubermensch}} Übermensch]]: Nietzsche saw Siegfried as the type of the new man who would transcend outworn moralities.
134	* {{Valkyries}}: It is Wagner's version that most people think of when imagining these mythological "Gatherers of the Slain" -- however, it is worth noting that unlike the popular conception, Wagner's original Valkyries did '''not''' wear horned helmets but ''winged'' ones; did '''not''' ride winged horses, though they were aerial ones; and, though intended to be rather manly, ungentle women, were intended to be statuesque in the 19th century manner, rather than obese.
135	* WhatTheHellHero: ''Parsifal'' actually introduces its eponymous hero this way, with him being reprimanded for senselessly killing a swan. Of course, he's TheFool and has a lot to learn -- he doesn't even know his name at this point.
136	* WomanScorned: Kundry's reaction, when Parsifal rejects her allurements, is not understanding.
137	* WorldOfHam: "Wagnerian" has become practically a synonym for this.
138	----
139	!!Notable Works which cite Wagner or his works:
140
141	[[foldercontrol]]
142
143	[[folder:Animated Film]]
144	* One of the planned sequences for Creator/WaltDisney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'' was the "Music/RideOfTheValkyries."
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
148	%%* ''Anime/GiantRobo''
149	%%How? This is completely zero-context as written.
150	* ''Manga/TheLegendOfKoizumi'' features a [[StupidJetpackHitler reincarnated cyborg Wagner]] as one of ThoseWackyNazis whom our heroes battle, complete with [[CallingYourAttacks attacks]] based on his operas. Later in the arc, Hitler's seconds are named Tristan and Isolde.
151	* The evil character Dietrich von Lohengrin in the anime and manga of ''Literature/TrinityBlood'' presumably derives his surname from Wagner's operatic hero.
152	* In ''Anime/ShinMazinger'', Tristan and Isolde turn out to be [[spoiler: the two halves of Baron Ashura.]]
153	* Episode 61 of ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' features a character sitting at a performance of ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''. The series has a completely classical music soundtrack, and Wagner is among the many composers whose music are used in the BackgroundMusic. Other Wagner works frequently used in the series include Siegfried Idyll and the Symphony in C major.
154	* In Season 2 of ''Classicaloid'', Wagner appears as the main antagonist who is intent on creating a revolution in the modern world which he sees as stagnant.
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder:Film]]
158	* ''Film/ApocalypseNow'': In which, of course, the ''Walkürenritt'' provides a [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Crowning Music of Awesome]] for the "Music/RideOfTheValkyries".
159	* ''Film/BladeRunner'': Roy Batty mentions the Tannhauser Gate in his dying speech, though it is not clear whether this is a ShoutOut to Wagner or to the actual [[TheHighMiddleAges thirteenth century]] Minnesinger. He pronounced it "Tann-howz-er".
160	* The film ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' makes use of the Preludes to ''Tristan'' and ''Parsifal'', as well as the Siegfried's Funeral March from ''Götterdämmerung''.
161	* ''Film/TheGreatDictator'' is a spoof of Hitler, so naturally it includes Hitler's favorite composer. The dreamy overture to ''Lohengrin'' plays as Creator/CharlieChaplin dances with a balloon painted like the Earth.
162	* In Creator/WoodyAllen's film ''Film/ManhattanMurderMystery'', his character Larry Lipton takes several digs at Wagner, such as: "I can't listen to that much Wagner, ya know? I start to get the urge to conquer Poland."
163	** Wagner is also mentioned briefly in ''Film/AnnieHall'', when Alvy is worried that the record store owner was making an anti-Semitic joke by mentioning that he was having a sale on Wagner.
164	* ''Film/{{Moloch}}'', which depicts a few days of the life of the life of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler in 1942, opens with "Siegfried's Funeral March" from ''Götterdämmerung''.
165	* ''Film/{{Valkyrie}}'': Tom Cruise makes the [[{{Anvilicious}} obvious]] invocation.
166	* In ''Film/OneTwoThree'', the German doctor is a big fan of him and sadly missed the 3rd act of ''Die Walküre / The Valkyrie''.
167	* The overture from ''Das Rheingold'' is used in the opening scene of '''Film/{{The New World\|2005}}''
168	* Tristan und Isolde is played in the opening sequence of Lars Von Trier's ''Film/{{Melancholia}}''.
169	* Wagner has a prominent role in the German film ''Ludwig II'', as the titular king was a huge fan of his and sponsored him during a rough period in his career.
170	[[/folder]]
171
172	[[folder:Literature]]
173	* In Creator/JamesHerriot's ''All Creatures Great and Small'' books, Siegfried and Tristan Farnon got these names because their father was a fan of Wagner.
174	* In George C. Chesbro's ''The Beasts of Valhalla'', EvilutionaryBiologist Siegmund Loge (ha ha) is a fanatical Wagner fan.
175	* The main character of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/TheCatWhoWalksThroughWalls'' also admits to cribbing the plot for one of his books from ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''.
176	* Creator/FriedrichNietzsche: Originally a fan and friend of Wagner, who later broke bitterly with him and wrote a TakeThat [[AuthorFilibuster essay]] against him called ''Der Fall Wagner'' ("The Case of Wagner"); he later had a collection of essays entitled ''Nietzsche contra Wagner'' to prove that this wasn't a one-time thing.
177	* ''Flying Dutch'' by Creator/TomHolt has the original FlyingDutchman as the protagonist. It turns out he told his story to Wagner, who never fully recovered and was prone to peals of demented laughter when a specific historical king was mentioned. (The same author's first work, ''Expecting Someone Taller'', is a LighterAndSofter sequel to the ''Ring'', in which the titular McGuffin falls into the hands of a naive and well-meaning Englishman. Notable among other things for the fact that, unlike Siegfried, he has to be ''bullied'' into drinking dragon's blood so as to learn the language of the birds, and when he does, it absolutely ruins the countryside for him, since the birds just ''won't shut up'' and have nothing very interesting to say.)
178	* Stephen R. Donaldson's ''The Gap'' series is literally a SpaceOpera, being an adaptation of the ''Ring'' InSpace.
179	* In Creator/HarukiMurakami's short story "The Second Bakery Attack," the narrator recalls a bakery robbery he and a friend had committed in college, in which the baker had allowed them to take as much as they wanted as long as they agreed to listen to listen to a full Wagner record.
180	* In Nicholas Meyer's Literature/SherlockHolmes {{Pastiche}} ''The Seven Per Cent Solution'', Holmes (who adores Wagner), Dr. Watson, and Sigmund Freud all attend a performance of ''Siegfried''; Watson and Freud fall asleep.
181	[[/folder]]
182
183	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
184	%%* On an episode of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': Rebecca's wealthy boyfriend promises her a wonderful gift and references a "ring." She gets a desk. Convinced that there's an engagement ring hidden inside, she literally tears the desk apart to find it. Then Sam finds the packing slip, explaining that it's the very valuable and historic desk at which Wagner composed ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''.
185	* In the ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'' episode "Trick or Threat", when Larry whistles a tune from Wagner, a man accuses him of being a "self-loathing Jew", as Wagner was a notorious anti-Semite. At the end of the episode, Larry takes revenge on him by hiring an orchestra and conducting them to play Wagner in front of the guy's house.
186	* On ''Series/KirRoyal'', the protagonists use the aliases [[Music/RichardWagner "Siegfried" and "Wieland"]], the names of Richard's son and grandson (while posing as the nephews of a Jewish composer, of all things).
187	* ''Series/RumpoleOfTheBailey'' makes Claude Erskine-Brown's love of Wagner something of a RunningGag (and {{Flanderization}}, as he started out being just a general opera buff). He even names his kids Tristan and Isolde.
188	* In an episode of the short lived series ''Veritas: The Quest'', the protagonists find Albert Speer's secret bunker. One of them starts going through a record collection in the corner: "[[BillBillJunkBill Wagner...Wagner...Wagner...Best Of Wagner...]]"
189	[[/folder]]
190
191	[[folder:Music]]
192	* Jim Steinman coined the term "Wagnerian rock" to describe the music he wrote (for an example, listen to any track from the first two ''[[Music/MeatLoaf Bat Out of Hell]]'' albums).
193	* Music/GraveDigger's ''Rheingold'' a ConceptAlbum which is based on ''The Ring of the Nibelung''.
194	* He is mentioned as being dead in the song "Decomposing Composers" by Creator/MichaelPalin sang on Creator/MontyPython's ''Audioplay/MontyPythonsContractualObligationAlbum''.
195	[[/folder]]
196
197	[[folder:Theater]]
198	* The great Creator/AnnaRussell hilariously parodied Wagnerian operas in routines like "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve7wH-k8LgQ The Ring of the Nibelungs: An Analysis]]" [''sic''] and the PoirotSpeak-based "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPhFBE4UGvA Schreechenrauf]]."
199	[[/folder]]
200
201	[[folder:Video Games]]
202	* ''VideoGame/GabrielKnight'': In the second game of the series, Wagner appears with King Ludwig of Bavaria in a BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy plot in which one of his music-dramas is a LiteraryWorkOfMagic.
203	* In the ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam & Max]]'' episode ''The Tomb of Sammun-Mak'', we know that [[LittleMissBadass little]] [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Amelia Earhart]] listens to "The Ride of the Valkyries" as a lullaby.
204	* The ActionRPG ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' is riddled through with Wagnerian references thanks to its roots in Myth/NorseMythology. The [[MacGuffinGuardian dragon]] Wagner is even named after him.
205	[[/folder]]
206
207	[[folder:Western Animation]]
208	* In ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', the music played when the Le-Matoran are preparing to attack the Nui-Rama Hive is the "Music/RideOfTheValkyries".
209	* The Master himself, with Cosima and ''Kinder'' appear as animated characters (directed by Creator/FrizFreleng) in the otherwise live-action 1943 film ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWOU6PmkgXA Hi Diddle Diddle]]''.
210	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Mr. Burns gets to fight in a tank ("I've been waiting 25 years for this"), and he plays "Music/TheRideOfTheValkyries" as the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Crowning Music Of Awesome]]. Too bad Smithers taped over it with "[[Music/{{ABBA}} Waterloo]]".
211	* Classic WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons seem particularly addicted to [[PublicDomainSoundtrack Wagner's music]].
212	** ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'' (and its 1945 precursor, ''WesternAnimation/HerrMeetsHare'') both have Bugs dressing up as a rather petite Brünnhilde while his opponent is dressed like Siegfried.
213	** For a time, [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner Wile E. Coyote]] had the heroic leitmotif of Siegfried when he tried to catch other preys than the Road Runner, usually Bug Bunny.
214	* "WesternAnimation/DerFuehrersFace" opens with the fanfare from the ''Meistersinger'' Overture, probably intended satirically as it was a WartimeCartoon from a time when Wagner's music was unfortunately associated more with the "[[ThoseWackyNazis Nutzi Land]]" where WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck dreams himself to be.
215	* Faffy, the pet dragon of WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian, is almost certainly named after the giant-turned-dragon Fafner in ''Siegfried''.
216	[[/folder]]

Context Music / RichardWagner