Wagner was a German composer known for his operas. He wrote the libretto and music for his productions. He reimagined opera as a less rigid and more theatrical art form. He wrote the opera Tannhauser, the German legend of a poet who was seduced by Venus. This opera features unendliche melodie ("endless melody", through composed with continuity) and reminiscence motif (a motif that accumulates meaning throughout the work). He believed in gesamtkunstwerk, that all art forms needed to be brought together as equals to revitalize society. He designed the opera house Bayreuth Festspielhaus after greek amphitheatres and premieres his Ring Cycle there. He was famously anti semitic.
