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24 May – 18 August 2013
Following his involvement in the May Uprising in Dresden, Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883) spent nine years in exile in Zurich that were to prove crucial to his artistic development. While here, he wrote a number of essays on art and the treatise ‘A Theatre in Zurich,’ and also composed large parts of the ‘Ring of the Nibelung.’ At the Aktientheater he conducted works by Mozart, Weber and Beethoven as well as his own ‘Flying Dutchman’ and ‘Tannhäuser.’ The May concerts of 1853, which are seen as forerunners of the Bayreuth and Zurich festivals, drew international attention. Since then, performances of Wagner’s musical dramas have become an important tradition in Zurich that now dates back more than 150 years. Marking the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth, the exhibition of theatre photographs and set designs offers for the first time an overview of the productions at the Stadttheater / Opera House.
Supported by Festspiele Zürich,
Privatbank IHAG Zürich AG,
Ernst Göhner Foundation
and Goethe Stiftung für Kunst und Wissenschaft.
