Composer
Richard Wagner (1813–83) was the controversial creator of music-drama masterpieces that stand at the center of today’s operatic repertory. An artistic revolutionary who reimagined every supposition about theater, Wagner insisted that words and music were equals in his works.
Performers
Donald Runnicles
Conductor
Elza van den Heever
Elisabeth
Ekaterina Gubanova
Venus
Andreas Schager
Tannhäuser
Christian Gerhaher
Wolfram
Georg Zeppenfeld
Landgraf Hermann
Location
Metropolitan Opera House
30 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY
About The Performance
History, myth, and invention come together in Tannhäuser to create a unique and powerful drama. The title character was a real 13th-century Minnesinger who inspired a legend that Wagner used as the basis for the opera. He notably added the character of Elisabeth, based on the historical Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, wife of the Landgrave of Thuringia. The opera’s score went through several revisions after the original performances, most importantly when Wagner added the Venusberg ballet for the 1861 French premiere.
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Image: courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera