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June 30

Wagner's weird idea: burning the opera house

There is a myth claiming that Wagner has planned that the Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle would be performed only three times, then the opera house specifically built for the cycle would be burnt, together with all written copies of the music. (According to malicious interpretations, Wagner would play the fiddle as he watched the opera house burn.) Is there any proof that Wagner has ever thought of this?

(This question is cross-post from the reference desk of Hungarian Wikipedia, where I got no answer.) – b_jonas 09:19, 30 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It sounds made up to me, and I've found no source that even comments on such a claim, even to refute it. There's certainly a lot of fire symbolism in the Ring, such as the Magic Fire Music and Brünnhilde's Immolation, through to the burning of Valhalla and the death of the gods. Wagner spent like 30 years of his life working on the Ring, and designed and built the Bayreuth Festspielhaus himself - massive undertakings in anyone's language. To see it all go up in smoke after only 3 performances would seem a monstrous denial of this timeless cultural jewel to the rest of humanity who couldn't manage to be alive in 1876 or make it to Bayreuth. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 09:46, 30 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a source: Excerpts from Wagner's correspondence on his idea for a festival saying “When everything has been properly organized, I shall then arrange for three performances of Siegfried to take place within a week: at the end of the third performance the theatre will be torn down and my score burnt.” supposedly written by Wagner.

As a secondary source, (WARNING, ADDICTIVE SITE) tvtropes claims “It has been asserted that when composing the Ring, Wagner at one point intended for the operas to be performed three times in a purpose-built opera house. Afterward, all copies of the score and all the props were to be burned, along with the entire opera house.”

– b_jonas 10:07, 30 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Here's another mention of the myth: a report about a performance claims “Richard Wagner once said the theatre should burn down after staging the Ring, taking his score with it.” – b_jonas 10:26, 30 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Presumably he didn't actually do it. Maybe he was thinking of an advertising gimmick. Or maybe he just thought it was a funny idea. Germans are rumored to have a sense of humor. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:24, 30 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

He wasn't rich enough to do it. And I think he would have changed his mind even if he had enough money. – b_jonas 19:13, 30 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Even if he definitely said it, which is not beyond question given the above, surely he was being just a little ironic. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 19:50, 30 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What's the German equivalent of "brought down the house"? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:37, 2 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have cross-posted this question to Music Fans Stack Exchange in 2016-05, but forgot to link from here. – b_jonas 00:52, 4 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]