Das Liebesverbot

Das Liebesverbot (The Ban on Love) is an early opera by Richard Wagner. Composed in 1834, the overture was fairly impressive as an emulation of the style of Carl Maria von Weber.

Based on Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure, it received its premiere in Magdeburg in 1836 under Wagner's baton. Poorly attended and with a lead singer who forgot the words and had to improvise, it was a resounding flop and its second performance had to be cancelled after a fist-fight between two cast members broke out backstage before the curtain had even risen. It was never performed again in Wagner's lifetime although it has occassionally been revived, most successfully in 1983 conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch.