Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen's voice has been called one-in-a-million. James Hole /Decca Records hide caption
Richard Wagner Richard Wagner artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
Richard Wagner
Jeremy Denk's c.1300-c.2000 comes out Feb. 8 on Nonesuch. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Osmo Vänskä conducts the Minnesota Orchestra in Havana, Cuba in May 2015. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld and his wife Malwina were Wagner's original Tristan and Isolde in 1865. Joseph Albert/Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Gods, monsters and Rhinemaidens populate Richard Wagner's 16-hour epic Ring cycle. Marco Secchi/Getty Images hide caption
Sarah Joy Miller as Anna Nicole Smith in Anna Nicole by Mark-Anthony Turnage, the final production from the New York City Opera, which closed its doors for good this fall. Stephanie Berger hide caption
It was a big year for extravagant classical box sets. Denise DeBelius/NPR hide caption
Richard Wagner was a larger than life figure, and his innovations as a composer changed Western music forever. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
The Self-Help Guide To Wagner
The Valkyries, led by Brunnhilde (soprano Debra Voigt, lower left), are the warrior maidens of Richard Wagner's epic Ring cycle. Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera hide caption
Rudolph Cronau's drawing of Wagner's opera house, Bayreuth, flanked by his birthplace (left) and place of death. Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Tenor Jonas Kaufmann. Petra Stadler/courtesy of the artist hide caption
Turkish-born pianist Fazil Say, who has been indicted for "insulting religious values." courtesy of the artist hide caption
In a production of Verdi's opera Rigoletto at the Sydney Opera House, the title character (baritone Jonathan Summers) reels at the discovery of his dead daughter. Patrick Riviere/Getty Images hide caption
Lorin Maazel conducting Mozart's Symphony No. 40 — with no score — live at Carnegie Hall on March 3, 2012. Melanie Burford for NPR hide caption
A caricature of composer Richard Wagner. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
Ted Libbey And Fred Child Recommend Wagner's Overtures
Seismic singing from the bottommost voices: Know your basso buffo from your basso profondo. iStock hide caption