Richard Wagner (22 May 1813, Leipzig, Germany - 13 February 1883, Venice, Italy) in the opinion of Robert Ellis Crawford, founder of this site, joins Sophocles and Shakespeare as the top triumverate in the entire history of the Theater.   For those who respond to his Operas, attending performances of those works or listening to them provides the ultimate artistic experience.   They are of monumental proportions and today command a fervent following.   To attend the entire "Ring" cycle of four works within as six day period is to participate in the Super Bowl of the theater, provided one has one's mythic corpuscles and id properly attuned.   There are many who shy away for this sort of experience, but if they aspire to be knowledgeable about Music, Opera, or 19th Century Artistic history, they need to know about the basics of Richard Wagner.    The best thing to do is to read the following. -      Newman, Ernest, 1868–1959, English music critic.  Outstanding among his writings is his Life of Richard Wagner (4 vol., 1933–46, repr. 1976).  I  read this about 1952.   In 1956 I attended the entire "Ring"in Bayreuth produced by Wieland Wagner (grandson) with Hans Hotter as Wotan   I have attended three Seattle "Rings" the Met "Ring" in which Hildegard Behrens, after a fabulous performance, nearly was killed by falling Gibichung beams at the immolation.    I caught Birgit Nielsen both in Bayreuth and at the Met as Isolda, and have reveled in around eight "Die Meistersingers".  Although I have attended but one "Parsifal" and one "Tannheuser" and no "Lohengrin"or "Flying Dutchman, I think I can claim to be a dedicated Wagnerian.  For those who need a quick highlight of the Wagner bio, Wikipedia has a decent synopsis.