First performance of Wagner's opera Das Liebesverbot in Magdeburg
- When
- 1836
- Where
- Stadttheater Magdeburg (named venue; exact site within Magdeburg not corroborated)
- Episodes
- 1
Richard Wagner's early comic opera Das Liebesverbot received its premiere in Magdeburg in 1836. Wagner, then 22, conducted the performance at the Stadttheater. The production closed before a second performance, contributing to financial difficulties for the theatre company and the composer.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. Das Liebesverbot is an early comic opera in two acts by Richard Wagner, with a libretto based on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. Composed in early 1836, it was Wagner's second opera but the first to be performed. Wagner held a brief appointment as musical director at the opera house in Magdeburg during this period.
Premiere. The opera was staged at Magdeburg in 1836. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Stadttheater Magdeburg. The production closed before the second performance, which left the composer in bankruptcy due to the financial collapse of the theatre company employing him.
Outcome. Das Liebesverbot was withdrawn after its first performance. The failure of the production contributed to the financial collapse of the theatre company employing Wagner, leaving the composer in bankruptcy.
People involved
- Richard Wagner · Composer and Conductor
Sources
- Das Liebesverbot Wikipedia, revision of 2025-08-20
- Richard Wagner Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.