Composer

:

Richard Wagner

Genre

:

Opera

Style

:

Opera

Compose Date

:

1834 - 1835

Average_duration

:

120:14

Movement_count

:

11

Movement ....

Das Liebesverbot, WWV 38, is an opera composed by Richard Wagner in 1836. The plot of the opera is based on Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. The story is set in Palermo, Italy, where the Duke has left the city in the hands of the strict and puritanical Angelo. Angelo enforces the laws against fornication and adultery with great zeal, but he himself is tempted by the beautiful Isabella, who has come to plead for her brother's life. Angelo offers to spare her brother if she will sleep with him, but Isabella refuses. The Duke, disguised as a friar, intervenes and sets things right. The opera was composed when Wagner was just 23 years old, and it shows the influence of his early studies of Italian opera. The music is lively and energetic, with a strong sense of rhythm and melody. The opera also features some of Wagner's early experiments with leitmotifs, or recurring musical themes associated with particular characters or ideas. Das Liebesverbot premiered on March 29, 1836, at the Stadttheater in Magdeburg, Germany. The premiere was not a success, and the opera was only performed a few times before being forgotten. It was not until many years later, after Wagner had become famous for his later works, that Das Liebesverbot was rediscovered and revived. Despite its early failure, Das Liebesverbot is an important work in Wagner's development as a composer. It shows his early interest in combining music and drama, and his willingness to experiment with new forms and techniques. The opera also foreshadows some of the themes and ideas that would later become central to Wagner's mature works, such as the conflict between passion and duty, and the struggle for redemption and forgiveness.

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