Wagner's Letters
Correspondence by, to, and around Richard Wagner
Wagner’s letters form one of the great documentary records of nineteenth-century artistic life. They reveal the practical, intellectual, emotional, and ideological world behind the works: artistic plans, financial crises, theatrical battles, friendships, quarrels, patronage, exile, revolution, Bayreuth, family life, philosophical reflection, and the shifting circle of figures who helped shape Wagner’s public and private destiny.
This archive is organized chronologically, but it is also designed as a map of Wagner’s relationships. The letters may be browsed by year and month, by sender and recipient, or by major correspondents such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Theodor Uhlig, and Franz Liszt.
Letters from Wagner should be read beside letters sent to him. The outgoing letters often show Wagner fashioning his own cause, defending his works, pleading for help, or advancing his vision of art. The incoming letters reveal how that vision was received, resisted, misunderstood, supported, or transformed by those around him.
Because the collection contains thousands of letters, the table below is intended as a finding aid rather than a replacement for the individual letter pages. Use the filters to narrow the archive by year, month, correspondent, or direction, then open a letter to read the full text.
Note: An asterisk (*) next to the date indicates an exact date for the letter was unavailable and a date has been interpolated from context and ordering.
| Date | From | To | Place | Words | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1836 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Berlin | 1,093 |
From Berlin, Wagner sends Schumann an anonymous article for his journal, explaining that he will continue contributing under the name Wilhelm Drach and reflecting ruefully on German composers being forced into criticism and speculation. He outlines a possible temporary post at the Königstadt opera where he hopes to mount Das Liebesverbot, asks for notice in the paper, and seeks paid work while apologizing for leaving Leipzig without farewell.
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| May 12, 1843 | Richard Wagner | Robert Schumann | Dresden | 999,999 |
Wagner tells Schumann that after eighteen months without composing he is preparing a large choral work for the Dresden men's choir festival, The Love-Feast of the Apostles. He also plans to shorten Rienzi for provincial theatres and says he has completed the three-act libretto for a new opera combining the Tannhäuser legend with the Wartburg song contest, to be composed that summer.
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| No letters found. | |||||