Richard Wagner was, and still is today, arguably the most controversial figure in classical music. A self-appointed deity and hyperdriven genius, Wagner is often considered the ultimate megalomaniac.

Performances in N.Y.C. Advertisement Supported by Rian Johnson, Patti Smith, Alex Ross and others offer favorite highlights of a composer best known for his sprawling length. In the past we’ve chosen ...

In Germany, every crop-haired infant Siegfried, every pig-tailed little Brünnhilde counts Richard Wagner one of Nazidom’s special heroes. Composer Wagner not only glorified pagan German gods and ...

DSO Music Director and Grammy winner Fabio Luisi (shown) will lead the performances of Wagner’s epic “Ring” cycle, kicking off this May at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. No one dominated ...

Nearly a hundred fifty years after his death, German composer Richard Wagner remains an intimidating force in Western music. His operas are notoriously difficult to stage: he intended for them to ...

To France’s Claude Debussy, Germany’s Richard Wagner was “that old poisoner” of the pure wells of music. In the 1890’s, fuming at the “grandiloquent hysteria” of the Wagnerian heroes—and calling his ...

A survey at Oper Leipzig provides an opportunity to reassess the youthful efforts that have been excluded from the composer’s canon. By Joshua Barone LEIPZIG, Germany — How quickly Richard Wagner ...