feen

The dreamy action begins to intrude on reality; this evening is as much about discovering “Die Feen” as performing it.

Mozart especially looms over “Die Feen,” composed when Wagner was 20 years old.

Doomed to exclusion and obscurity were his three earlier efforts, which in addition to “Rienzi” include “Die Feen,” a work never performed in Wagner’s lifetime, and “Das Liebesverbot,” from 1836.

“Die Feen” didn’t premiere until 1888, five years after Wagner’s death.

“Die Feen” is a number opera — far from the “endless melody” Wagner would describe in his 1860s essay “Music of the Future.”