Active Years: 1813-1883

Position: Opera Composer

Career Highlights: Der Fliegande Hollander, Tannhauser, Lohengrin, The Ring Cycle, Tristan und Isolde, Der Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Parsifal.

Career Totals: 13 operas

Scouting Report: Among the top composers of all time, Wagner strove to create a German myth in opera. Writing his own libretti, he extensively utilized the ‘lietmotiv’ (re occurring themes for characters, emotions, or events) and wrote in an ‘orchestral style’ of limited melodic interest for the singer. He strove to unify all works of art — music, poetry, drama, and design — in his concept of Gesamtkunstwerk and built the Bayreuth Theater for this end. The influence on Western culture of his works and writings are substantial.

Teammates and Contemporaries: Family members: wife Cosima (daughter of Liszt), niece Johanna (sang first Elisabeth in Tannhauser), son Siegfried (composer and director at Bayreuth); Composers: Donizetti, Verdi, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Tchaikovsky.

Fun Statistic: With the exception of Jesus of Nazareth, Wagner is the most written about individual in human history.