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→Biography
==Biography==
==Biography==
Having relatively little formal musical training, Wagner was very well-read and wrote the [[libretto|libretti]] for all of his mature operas. In his early career, Wagner moved to [[Paris]], where he unsuccessfully tried to make his mark composing grand operas, a scene dominated by the now mostly forgotten composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. Wagner moved to Dresden, where he was involved in the failed 1849 revolution, having written political tracts in its support, and was forced to flee his native Germany for [[Switzerland]] for 10 years. After spending a short while in [[Vienna]] where his extravagant financial habits forced him to flee yet again, he luckily found an ardent patron in King [[Ludwig II]] of [[Bavaria]]. Ludwig, who was obsessed with Wagner's music and likely with Wagner himself, paid off the composer's debts and eventually built an opera house at Bayreuth specially designed for performances of Wagner's operas.
Having relatively little formal musical training, Wagner was very well-read and wrote the [[libretto|libretti]] for all of his mature operas. In his early career, Wagner moved to [[Paris]], where he unsuccessfully tried to make his mark composing grand operas, a scene dominated by the now mostly forgotten composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. Wagner moved to Dresden, where he was involved in the failed [[leftist]] 1849 revolution, having written political tracts in its support, and was forced to flee his native Germany for [[Switzerland]] for 10 years. After spending a short while in [[Vienna]] where his extravagant financial habits forced him to flee yet again, he luckily found an ardent patron in King [[Ludwig II]] of [[Bavaria]]. Ludwig, who was obsessed with Wagner's music and likely with Wagner himself, paid off the composer's debts and eventually built an opera house at Bayreuth specially designed for performances of Wagner's operas.
Unique among the world's opera houses, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus has several special acoustic features designed by Wagner himself, including a hooded orchestra pit (to allow the large [[orchestra]] required in his operas to be able to play at full volume without overwhelming the singers). Since its opening in 1876, the Festspielhaus has hosted an annual festival of Wagner's operas, especially the ''Ring'' cycle, a massive undertaking of four interconnected operas traditionally performed over four evenings.
Unique among the world's opera houses, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus has several special acoustic features designed by Wagner himself, including a hooded orchestra pit (to allow the large [[orchestra]] required in his operas to be able to play at full volume without overwhelming the singers). Since its opening in 1876, the Festspielhaus has hosted an annual festival of Wagner's operas, especially the ''Ring'' cycle, a massive undertaking of four interconnected operas traditionally performed over four evenings.