Opera

Richard Wagner: TANNHÄUSER

After nearly 65 years, the romantic opera by Richard Wagner is returning to the stage of the NDKE Opera, whose full title is "Tannhäuser and the Minnesängers' Contest at Wartburg". Wagner composed this opera during his Dresden period, where he worked as a conductor, and it premiered in 1845. He was inspired by the folk ballad of Tannhäuser, the mythical Venusberg, and the goddess Venus, who sometimes appeared as Frau Holda in medieval legend, a Nordic goddess of the underworld Hel.

The opera features historical figures such as Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Hermann I of Thuringia, minnesänger Tannhäuser, and German medieval poets Wolfram von Eschenbach and Walther von der Vogelweide. The character of Saint Elizabeth is particularly associated with Slovakia, as some sources suggest she was born in Bratislava, where she spent the first four years of her life, and in Košice, the largest cathedral in Slovakia is dedicated to her, St. Elizabeth's Cathedral. Richard Wagner intertwined these legends and historical figures with the legend of the singing competition at Wartburg Castle (known as the Sängerkrieg in German, meaning the War of the Singers), but historical accuracy was not his primary concern. The theme of his opera revolves around the conflict between sensual and spiritual love, represented on one side by Venus and on the other by Elizabeth, as well as the ambivalence of the modern individual torn between contradictions and unable to make a choice.

"Tannhäuser" is the only opera by Richard Wagner that exists in multiple versions (Dresden, Paris, Vienna). He was preoccupied with it throughout his life and was never entirely satisfied with its form (on the eve of his death in Venice, he said, "I still owe the world Tannhäuser"). Our production will be a "Mischfassung" – a mixed version from several, where the large ballet music of the bacchanalia will dominate at the beginning. The theme will be the "Wagnerian cult" after the composer's death, as well as the life and fate of his only son, Siegfried, who was himself a composer, conductor, director, and intendant of the Bayreuth Festival.