Die Hochzeit is an unfinished opera by Richard Wagner. From this opera, only the libretto was completed. Wagner started composing the first number of the opera in fall of 1832 but then gave up. It was not unusal for a composer to set aside a project from losing interest, but in this case it was probably because of his sister Rosalie, who was the main supporter and the spokesman of the family. She was very disgusted about the story. Wagner not only discontinued the composition, he even destroyed the libretto.

What is still known of the story is that a maid named Ada was going to marry a young man called Arindal. (Ada and Arindal are the two most important persons in the later opera Die Feen). This was not a marriage of love, but one of political convenience. At the eve of the wedding Cadolt tried to enter the brides room to have a last one night stand with his love Ada. Ada successfully defended herself against seduction and rape by pushing the intruder over the balcony, so no moral offense was committed. But Ada must have had some kind of close relationship to Cadolt--At his funeral she collapsed next to Cadolt's body and died.

The story is anything but a glorification of marriage and of bourgeois life. For that Wagner probably encountered this hard resistance from his family, to whom he had close ties in those days.

Today, only a Septet from the opera remains.

Reference

Orfeo GmbH, Munich; Recording and Textbook "Die Feen" 1984