Wagner

RICHARD, (vahg'nur,) a popular German composer, B. at Leipzig, in 1813, became chapel-master at Dresden in 1843, and later took up his residence at Münich, upon the invitation of his admirer and patron the king of Bavaria. His well-known operas Rienzi, Tannhäuser, and Lohengrin, have elicited great,but comparatively undeserved praise. W. has written his own librettos, and his æsthetic theories on music and dramatic art have involved him in much critical controversy. [s. 946]