Fantasy, geography, Wagner, and opera

Wilhelm Richard Wagner fused fantasy based on epic and lore with seamless s cores, using landscapes and urban images to forge spatial order on stage. A s a footloose composer-conductor, Wagner was considered a globetrotter for his time, and from trans-European tours he drew inspiration for numerous st agings. Nine of his operas have rustic pastoral settings, with actors silho uetted against geological formations, forests, vistas of undulating terrain for pilgrimages, or raging seas, all visually believable scenery. Rienzi a nd Die Meistersinger yon Nurnberg are urban in setting, whereas Die Feen an d Das Liebesverbot are set in a castle-like format.