One by one, candles are being replaced by paraffin lamps. More as 170 years ago Switzerland was the only country in Europe with a democratic constitution. After the failed German Revolution are more as 12000 refugees in Switzerland. Richard Wagner lived in Zurich from 1849 till august 1858, nine years. In Zürich, composer Wagner is working on his new opera: “Tristan and Isolde”. The Tristan chord as a description of the times. Mathilde Wesendonck and her husband, the silk-merchant Otto Wesendonck venerate Wagner. Mathilde is turning from a loving mother into a muse of the new music. The whole city is talking about this Zürich liaison. The beginning of modernity in Zurich.
(Swiss Films)