32 Facts About Minna Planer

Christine Wilhelmine "Minna" Planer was a German actress and the first wife of composer Richard Wagner, to whom she was married for 30 years, although for the last 10 years they often lived apart.

Minna Planer shared in many of the escapades of Wagner's life, including a perilous sea voyage to London, poverty in Paris, and following him around Europe after his involvement in the Dresden uprising of 1849, which led to his banishment from Germany.

Minna Planer was born on 5 September 1809 to a former Army trumpeter, Gotthelf Planer, in Oederan, Kingdom of Saxony.

Minna Planer was brought up in poverty and then at the age of fifteen was seduced by Ernst Rudolf von Einsiedel, a captain in the King of Saxony's Guards, who abandoned her after making her pregnant.

Minna Planer was sent to her relatives in the country to conceal the pregnancy, and when her daughter, Nathalie, was born, she was brought up as Minna Planer's sister.

Minna Planer pursued a career as an actress, specialising in female juvenile lead roles in tragedies.

Minna Planer was in demand by many German theatre companies, and appeared in Dessau, Altenburg, Magdeburg and Dresden before she met Richard Wagner.

In 1834 Minna Planer was appearing as part of Heinrich Eduard Bethmann's Magdeburg Theatre Company during a summer season at Bad Lauchstadt, a spa resort near Halle.

However, by the time the company returned to Magdeburg to open the season in October 1834 the two were lovers, and by February 1835 Wagner wrote to his brother Alfred that he and Minna Planer were engaged, although to Wagner's fury Minna Planer continued to be pursued by other suitors.

Minna Planer eventually agreed to return, but stayed only to the end of the season in Magdeburg before heading to Konigsberg to join the local theatre company, while Wagner looked for work in Berlin.

Minna Planer married Wagner in Tragheim Church on 26 November 1836, where they argued even in front of the minister who was to marry them.

Minna Planer soon found that being Wagner's wife was not the route to respectability that she craved.

Wagner's position brought in little money and Minna Planer's continued popularity on stage meant that she was the main bread-winner, earning 700 reichsthaler in 1836.

Minna Planer continued to have admirers, and on 31 May 1837 Minna ran away from Wagner with a local businessman named Dietrich, taking Nathalie with her.

Minna Planer obtained a position at the Riga City Theater, and they lived in Riga for two years until Wagner lost his post in January 1839.

Minna Planer then decided on a wild scheme to evade his creditors: Minna Planer and Minna together with their dog Robber would flee across the nearby Russian border and board a ship bound for London and then travel on to Paris, where Wagner expected that his new opera Rienzi would make his fortune.

Nathalie later claimed that Minna Planer suffered a miscarriage as a result.

Wagner was imprisoned for debt, and Minna Planer had to beg their German friends in Paris for money to release him.

In Dresden Wagner became Royal Kapellmeister and achieved the stability and social status that Minna Planer had hoped for.

Minna Planer was furious with him and after this their relationship cooled irreparably.

Minna Planer considered Zurich a provincial town and lamented the loss of her social position as Frau Kapellmeister.

Minna Planer could understand his work as a conductor, but increasingly found his operatic works not to her liking.

Minna Planer began to show signs of heart disease, for which she was prescribed laudanum.

Minna Planer took the view that Wagner had been seduced by Mathilde, and in subsequent letters referred to her as "that hussy" and "that filthy woman".

Nevertheless, Wagner and Minna Planer parted, Wagner to travel to Venice and Minna Planer to take the waters at Brestenberg in an attempt to improve her worsening heart condition.

Minna Planer is happy, lives in Munich in the greatest luxury through the young King of Bavaria; he doesn't need me any more.

Minna Planer disapproved of his rewritten Tannhauser and thought that he could have secured a financial success with Rienzi.

In February 1862 when Wagner was living in Biebrich Minna Planer made a surprise visit to him, which started well but all the old troubles were stirred when a letter from Mathilde Wesendonck arrived.

In June 1862 he suggested they divorce; however, Minna Planer refused to consider this.

Minna Planer was financially supported by Wagner for the rest of her life.

Minna Planer Wagner died of a heart attack on 25 January 1866 in Dresden.

Much of the detail of Wagner's relationship with Minna Planer comes from the letters they wrote to each other.