This is Wagner's secluded land.

Text/photo Tang Ruofu

Wagner likes to travel around the mountains as much as the ancient literati in China. In the era when transportation basically depended on horse-drawn carriages, he traveled extensively in Italy, Switzerland and France, not only finding creative inspiration, but also harvesting love and conducting invitations. Among them, Switzerland, especially Lucerne, witnessed the most prosperous chapter in Wagner's life. There, Wagner's career and family had a double harvest.

Switzerland begins its exile

Switzerland is the best in lakes and mountains, and the French-speaking, German-speaking and Italian-speaking areas meet with idealists from neighboring countries, forming a treasure trove surrounded by France, Germany, Austria and Italy.

Many people stop because of the scenery in Switzerland, but Wagner's original intention of visiting Switzerland may not be so romantic. In 1848, the revolution that swept the European continent broke out, and the bonfire burned for a long time. Wagner in Dresden sided with the revolutionaries and took part in the uprising in May 1849. After the failure of the uprising, Wagner was also wanted and became a "court criminal" in Saxony, which belonged to Dresden. Under the mediation of his good friend and predecessor Liszt, Wagner took a fake passport to Switzerland and started his exile.

In Switzerland, Wagner and his wife, Mina, stayed in Zurich for a while, wrote articles reviewing the revolutionary experience, and wrote monographs such as Art and Revolution, Future Works of Art and Opera and Drama. In addition, he also made friends with a wealthy businessman, Otto Wesendonk. Out of admiration for Wagner, Otto carved out a piece of land in his garden in 1852 and built a country house for Wagner's family to use.

During those intimate days with the Weisendonk family, Wagner became the teacher of Otto's wife mathilde. The ardent love for mathilde (also called unrequited love) is so strong that the composer temporarily put aside the writing of the four-part play The Ring of Nibelungen and devoted himself to the creation of Tristan and isolde, which is an epoch-making eulogy of love. For that vigorous feeling, Wagner also specially wrote the song of Wesendonk, a suite composed of five songs, as a pocket watch.

in 1858, Wagner moved to Venice, Italy. Although the composer's love for Mediterranean sunshine and enthusiasm was reflected in his nine trips to Italy before and after, during which he briefly transited to Paris and returned to Germany, Switzerland, which is rich in armour, was still his place to live. Soon he returned to Switzerland.

diligent creation by the lake of Lucerne

In March 1859, Wagner came to Lucerne and lived by the lake of Lucerne, next to the Schweizerhof, which is now the central railway station and the pier, in order to complete his long-devoted love opera Tristan and isolde. For the first two months, he lived in the balcony suite on the third floor of the main building, but because the carriages and pedestrians on the main street under the balcony were too noisy, he moved to Room 27 of the South Building. The room on the second floor is much smaller than the suite, but it is also quieter. With the help of the waiter, Wagner decorated the room to his liking.

Swiss Palace Hotel is a five-star luxury hotel with a long history. It was renovated in 28, but it still retains the antique atmosphere. Now it is one of the designated reception hotels for big-name musicians in Lucerne Music Festival. The location of the hotel is superior, and it is close to the transportation hub, pedestrian street and church bridge. Even if you don't stay in the hotel, you can enjoy a cup of fragrant handmade coffee in the luxurious lobby for less than a cup of Starbucks on weekdays. By the way, sit on the spacious sofa and imagine the cultural celebrities who stopped in the hotel.

In the summer of 1878, Mark Twain, an American writer, stayed here for ten days. The scenery outside his window is as follows: "Lucerne is a fascinating place. The city began at the end of the water, and the hotels lined up and extended to two or three hills. It was full of people, seemingly chaotic but pleasant scenery. What emerged in the eyes were the deep walls of the house, red bricks, sloping windows, towering spires, scattered ancient arches, built along the wall, and the old town square reinforced with hard stones. " In addition, Mark Twain also mentioned that there are two rows of low street trees in front of the hotel. Behind the trees is the beautiful Lake Lucerne, and the snow crowns of the mountains are faintly visible in the distance.

if you want to further experience Wagner's life experience, you might as well stay in a hotel. In January 218, I stayed here for a few nights. In the main building facing the lake view room of Lucerne Lake, open the window, there are lakes and mountains in the distance and traffic under it. The scene is exactly the same as that described by American writers. In order to emphasize the deep relationship between hotel and music, the electronic keyhole of the room is made into the shape of a note, and the prompt sound when swiping the card to open the door is also a world-famous song.

I believe that the fans who stay in the hotel care more about its proud history. In August 1859, Wagner completed the creation of Tristan and isolde in the hotel. The hotel archives vividly record the whole creative process: "In order to maintain a quiet creative environment, the hotel doorman blocked the side door leading to the next room with a mattress, and the hotel prohibited children from playing on the second floor. In the nearby peaks such as Mount Reggie and Mount Pilatus, Wagner drew inspiration from nature, and in the hotel garden, he also enjoyed the landscape paintings exhibited by the painter Jacob Joseph Zerg. Liszt sent a 24-year-old young composer, Felix Dresek, to accompany Wagner, and they walked, rode horses and talked together. One morning in August, the two had an appointment to go to Pilatus Mountain, but Wagner sat in front of the piano for six hours. At this time, there was a knock at Dresek's door. Wagner said that he would soon finish writing the opera, and Dresek, dressed in a riding suit, sat by and witnessed history. At 4: 3 in the afternoon, Wagner finished Tristan and isolde. " In June, 1865, King Ludwig II of Bavaria contributed to the premiere of the play in Munich, and the conductor was Hans von Poirot. Wagner's creation and family entered a new era with this play.

Merging mountains and rivers into music

Wagner's "Siegfried Pastoral" is an extremely rare chamber music work, with a peaceful melody and a quiet atmosphere, and it is unique among many of his works famous for its large-scale orchestras. The full name of the work is "Tribschen Pastoral with birdsong and golden sunrise, as a gift from Wagner of Cosima as a symphony birthday greeting", which shows the huge amount of information.

Wagner met Liszt's daughter, Kosima, as early as Zurich, when her husband was a conductor. In April 1866, Wagner returned to Lucerne and moved to Tribschen, which is half an hour away from Lucerne by bus, and stayed in a three-story country house. The villa is surrounded by mountains and waters and falls on a hill. Behind it is a huge hydrophilic lawn facing the lake, with a total area of 3, square meters. After living here for six years, Cosima visited many times, and finally decided to move to married with children and settle down. After Wagner gave birth to his son Siegfried, they got married. The married church St. Matthew's Church is next to the Swiss Palace Hotel.

Siegfried Pastoral is Wagner's piece for the birth of his beloved son. In the early morning of December 25, 187, this piece of music was played by 13 musicians scattered on the stairs of the villa, and Kosima enjoyed the premiere of this piece on the platform of the stairs.

Nowadays, visitors can "personally" the scene more than a hundred years ago on the stair corner platform like Kosima. Wagner's former residence, where he lived for six years, was converted into Wagner Museum. Take several buses from Lucerne Central Railway Station and get off at Valtag Station, and walk along the signs all the way for about ten minutes. On the downhill road, the first thing you see is a white villa and a lively coffee teahouse under the main entrance, with a huge stone carving of Wagner's head on one side.

The exhibition hall on the first floor is a regular exhibition, displaying the French special Ellad grand piano played by Wagner in those days. On this piano, he finished the creation of "The Famous Singer of Nuremberg" on October 24th, 1867, as well as several brass instruments related to Wagner, manuscripts or photocopies of the above-mentioned series of German works written by him in Zurich, and many oil paintings showing his life. Climb up the stairs with red carpet for the first performance of "Pastoral". The second floor is a special exhibition area, and the theme will be changed every year.

I have visited Tribschen many times, and my favorite special exhibition is the "Wagner Animation" special exhibition launched in 217-218. The curator presents the eccentric side of the composer's life in an animation way, and condenses his life into a 4-page comic book Wagner. Written by Andreas Warig, the comic books drawn by Flaviat Scuderi provide an interesting perspective on the life of Wazir. In addition, coloring cards and drawing boards specially prepared for children, as well as ten-step picture books for drawing Wagner's head, have turned the heavy topic of music into an interactive game between parents and children.

From 1866 to 1872, Wagner lived in Tribschen, where flowers and birds were blooming, and finished the Siegfried Pastoral, which was followed by many melodies in the four plays. In addition, he also started to write Twilight of the Gods. Like wotan, he swam among the mountains and rivers of Lucerne, and there is reason to believe that Mount Pilatus turned into the Valkyria Mountain and Varhala in the "Ring", while the lush shade of Lucerne turned into the forest in Siegfried.

He lives under the same roof with his ex-wife's children, the children of Cosima and Poirot, and the children born to him and Cosima. The two separated extended families are happy, which attracts Ludwig II, Nietzsche and Liszt, the father-in-law.

Switzerland is not only Wagner's seclusion, but also witnessed the heyday of composer's creation. In 1872, with a firm ideal and incomparable belief in his own theater, Wagner's family moved back to Germany from Switzerland, opening the glory of Bayreuth.