What is Richard Wagner?
{{redirect|Wagner}} {{Infobox person | name = Richard Wagner | image = RichardWagner.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Wagner in 1871 | pronunciation = <!--add pronunciation in IPA with template {{IPA-xx|...|lang}}, and replace 'xx' with the ISO639-1 code for the language. If pronunciation is in English and this will be obvious, {{IPA-en|...|}} should be used.--> | birth_place = 22 May 1813 | baptised = [[Leipzig]] | death_date = 13 February 1883 (aged 69) | death_place = [[Venice]] | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | monuments = | residence = | nationality = | ethnicity = <!-- Ethnicity should be supported with a citation from a reliable source --> | citizenship = | occupation = Composer of operas | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | home_town = | parents = | signature = Richard Wagner Signature.svg | signature_alt = | signature_size = }} '''Richard Wagner''' (22 May 1813 in [[Leipzig]] – 13 February 1883 in Venice) was a [[Germans|German]] [[opera]] [[composer]]. He was one of the most important opera composers in Germany during the [[Romantic music|Romantic period]]. Apart from some music that he wrote as a student he wrote ten operas which are all performed regularly in [[opera house]]s today. Most of his operas are about stories from German [[mythology]]. He always wrote the words himself. Wagner changed people's ideas of what operas should be. He thought that the [[drama]] (the story that is being told with all its tensions) was very important, and he chose the singers for his operas himself, so that he could