Wagner: Das Frühwerk

This release presents a selection of Richard Wagner’s early operas performed with a magnificent cast under the direction of Sebastian Weigle. The album opens with the three-act opera Die Feen (The Fairies). Die Feen was Wagner’s first completed opera, but was never performed in the composer’s lifetime. It has never established itself in the operatic repertoire, although it occasionally receives performances in Germany. The music shows the influences of Carl Maria von Weber, while at the same time alludes to the future compositions of Wagner’s maturity. Next is Das Liebesverbot (The Ban on Love). This early opera is a two act comic opera with the libretto taken after Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. The premiere was a grand failure, and it was never performed again during the composer’s lifetime. The themes of the opera, however, are themes that recur throughout Wagner’s output- namely restrained sexuality versus eroticism. The final inclusion on this release is Rienzi. The five act opera is taken from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel of the same name. It was written between July 1838 and November 1840, and was the composer’s first success.