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Technical Notice
| Classical Composer: | Wagner, Richard |
|---|---|
| Lyricist: | Wagner, Richard |
| Work: | Tannhäuser |
| Year Composed: | 1845 |
| Instrumentation: | 3, 2, 2+1, 2 - 4, 3, 3, 1 timp, perc, hp, str, soli (14), chor, banda |
| Publishers: |
C.F. Peters Frankfurt Edwin F. Kalmus Schott Music Edition Eulenburg Edition Peters Furstner, Ltd. |
| Duration: | 02:32:00 |
| Period: | Romantic |
| Work Category: | Opera |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
While traveling to Dresden, Richard Wagner passed the mountain of the Wartburg, and in 1842, during a stay in Teplitz he sketched the libretto of his new opera. Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg, described as a grand romantic opera, was staged for the first time in Dresden in October, 1845. The story of the opera is derived from a 14th century legend about a 13th century Minnesinger, the aristocratic poet-composer and crusader Tannhäuser. He is found first in the Venusberg, singing the praise of the goddess of love, but his invocation of the name of the Mother of Christ brings him back to the human world and the valley of the Wartburg, where he hears a band of pilgrims pass and is greeted by the nobles. At a song contest in the Wartburg Castle, Tannhäuser's impassioned praise of Venus is defended by Elisabeth, niece of the Landgrave, and the hero is despatched to Rome to seek forgiveness, to be denied him by the Pope. On his return, he finds Elisabeth dead of a broken heart, but pilgrims enter bearing a staff from the Pope that has sprouted leaves, a sign of papal pardon.
The Prelude to Tannhäuser includes a number of themes and motifs that have later importance in the score. The sound of the Pilgrims' Chorus is heard and a motif of repentance, contrasted with the Venusberg music and the Hymn to Venus. The Dresden version of the overture ended with a return to the Pilgrims' Chorus, while for Paris Wagner led straight into the Bacchanal, a pagan celebration of love. This is the Venusberg music of the first act. The entrance of the nobility in the second act is accompanied by a festal march, followed by the entrance of the contestants in the song contest on the subject of love. The introduction to the third act gives a musical account of Tannhäuser's pilgrimage to Rome, in search of absolution.
Writer: Keith Anderson
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