Richard to Minna Wagner
Letters to his First Wife

This 1909 English translation of 270 letters from Wagner to his long-suffering first wife contains a wealth of biographical detail.

Richard Wagner (Author), William Ashton Ellis (Edited and translated by)

9781108078511, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 October 2014

424 pages, 1 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.4 cm, 0.54 kg

The German actress Minna Planer (1809–66) was Wagner's first wife. Though it lasted until her death, their marriage, never an easy one, was punctuated by long periods of separation, and during its early years Minna was the main breadwinner. William Ashton Ellis (1852–1919) abandoned his medical career to devote himself to his Wagner studies. Best known for his translations of Wagner's prose works, he published in 1909 this collection of letters from the composer, translated from the originals in Baron Hans von Wolzogen's Richard Wagner an Minna Wagner (1908). Concerned predominantly with domestic and business affairs, many of them complaining at Minna's lack of support, the letters offer an intriguing and intimate view of this larger-than-life composer. Spanning 1842–58, Volume 1 covers the couple's period in Dresden, Wagner's hurried departure after the 1849 uprising, and the years in Zurich culminating in the relationship with Mathilde Wesendonck.

Translator's preface
The letters.

Subject Areas: Classical music [c 1750 to c 1830 AVGC4]