Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, and conductor primarily known for his operas—or "music dramas" as he called his mature works. He revolutionized opera by creating epic works such as the Ring Cycle (Der Ring des Nibelungen), Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal, in which the music, drama, and poetry are unified into a single Gesamtkunstwerk ("total artwork"). His innovations in harmony and orchestration had a profound influence on the subsequent development of Western classical music.