When Richard Wagner died on the 13th of February, 1883 in the arms of his wife Cosima, not only the life of one of the greatest musical geniuses of all times ended, but also a biography of fraud, evasion, adultery, anti-Semitism and a bizarre relationship with King Ludwig II. Who was Richard Wagner?

The interactive Graphic Novel ‘Wagner Files – The App’ approaches this question on a completely new level. Wagner’s life is told in the manner of a Graphic Novel, spread out over 41 pages with 240 animated images. Around 40 historical documents such as pictures, letters etc. are embedded in the narrative which the user can access via interactive points. The user decides how he wants to experience the story: reading it by swiping through the pages – or listening by activating the voices of the well-known actors Pegah Ferydoni and Samuel Finzi. Additionally, the narrative is accompanied by 60 minutes of original Wagner music.

Credits

Concept: Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Sonja Schmidt
Creative Director: Uwe Flade
Interaction Design: Grit Schuster
Animation and Technical Implementation: Kids interactive
Author Graphic Novel: Andreas Völlinger
Illustration Graphic Novel: Flavia Scuderi
Screendesign and Illustration: Albert Hulm
Sounddesign: Speak Low
Speaker: Pegah Ferydoni, Samuel Finzi, Alexander Radszun
Musikvisualisierung: Stephen Malinowski
Counseling: Ralf Pleger, Andreas Völlinger
Production Manager: Kathrin Isberner
Production Supervisor: Sandra Zentgraf
Project Assistant: Hannah Kappes
Project Manager: Tanja Schmoller
Executive Producer: Christian Beetz