Das Liebesverbot

Das Liebesverbot (The Ban on Love) is an early comic opera by Richard Wagner in two acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. It was composed it 1834, and Wagner conducted the premiere in 1836 at Magdeburg. Poorly attended and with a lead singer who forgot the words and had to improvise, it was a resounding flop and its second performance had to be cancelled after a fist-fight between two cast members broke out backstage before the curtain had even risen. It was never performed again in Wagner's lifetime although it has occasionally been revived, most successfully in 1983 conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Related Topics:
Opera - Richard Wagner - Libretto - Shakespeare's - Measure for Measure - Magdeburg - Wolfgang Sawallisch

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A central theme in the work is a longing for unrestrained sexuality; this shows up again in Tannhäuser, Die Walküre, and Tristan und Isolde. In each opera, the self-abandonment to love brings the lovers into mortal combat with the surrounding social order. In Das Liebesverbot, because it is a comedy, the outcome is a happy one: unrestrained sexuality wins as the orgiastic carnival of the entire population goes rioting on after curtain-fall.

Related Topics:
Tannhäuser - Die Walküre - Tristan und Isolde

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Wagner's second opera, and his first to be performed, has many signs of an early work: it is far too long and it is straightforwardly inspired by Beethoven and especially Carl Maria von Weber.

Related Topics:
Beethoven - Carl Maria von Weber

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