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Wagner's Tannhäuser

Wagner's Tannhäuser, recorded at the Royal Opera House, London, starring tenor Norbert Ernst, soprano Lise Davidsen and baritone Gerald Finley, conducted by Sebastian Weigle.

Wagner's Tannhäuser, recorded at the Royal Opera House, London, starring tenor Norbert Ernst, soprano Lise Davidsen and baritone Gerald Finley, conducted by Sebastian Weigle.

A medieval minstrel, ensnared by the chains of concupiscence and lust, awakens from a miasmic trance of sensual pleasure and desire and yearns for salvation. He re-joins the chaste community of poet-musicians in which he had previously reigned supreme. In a song competition on the theme of love and its true essence, he reveals the unrestrained hedonism of his previous life. The outraged nobles expel him and he joins a pilgrimage to Rome to seek absolution from the Pope in atonement for his sins. A heady brew of sex and religion, lust and love, sensuality and spirituality which was to obsess Wagner throughout his life is treated with bold, garish colours in this grandest of grand operas. The thrilling score calls for a whole battery of off-stage brass and singers; and the opera is packed with thumping good tunes and moments of high dramatic tension and release.

Andrew McGregor presents in conversation with opera expert Nigel Simeone

Tannhäuser ..... Norbert Ernst (tenor)
Elizabeth ..... Lise Davidsen (soprano)
Wolfram ..... Gerald Finley (baritone)
Venus ..... Ekaterina Gubanova (mezzo-soprano)
Hermann ..... Mika Kares (bass)
Biterolf ..... Michael Kraus (baritone)
Walther ..... Egor Zhuravskii (tenor)
Heinrich der Schreiber ..... Michael Gibson (tenor)
Reinmar ..... Jeremy White (bass)
A young shepherd ..... Sarah Dufresne (soprano)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Sebastian Weigle (conductor)

*1835 Act 1
*1955 Act 2
*2120 Act 3

Read the full synopsis on the Royal Opera House website: https://bit.ly/3IzZWSZ

3 hours, 59 minutes

Last on

Sat 4 Mar 2023 18:30

Music Played

  • Richard Wagner

    Tannhauser - Act 1

    Performer: Egor Zhuravskii. Performer: Heinrich Der Schreiber. Performer: Sarah Dufresne. Singer: Norbert Ernst. Singer: Lise Davidsen. Singer: Gerald Finley. Singer: Ekaterina Gubanova. Singer: Mika Kares. Singer: Michael Kraus. Singer: Jeremy White. Choir: Royal Opera House Chorus. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Conductor: Sebastian Weigle.
  • Richard Wagner

    Tannhauser - Act 2

    Performer: Egor Zhuravskii. Performer: Heinrich Der Schreiber. Performer: Sarah Dufresne. Singer: Norbert Ernst. Singer: Lise Davidsen. Singer: Gerald Finley. Singer: Ekaterina Gubanova. Singer: Mika Kares. Singer: Michael Kraus. Singer: Jeremy White. Choir: Royal Opera House Chorus. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Conductor: Sebastian Weigle.
  • Richard Wagner

    Tannhauser - Act 3

    Performer: Egor Zhuravskii. Performer: Heinrich Der Schreiber. Performer: Sarah Dufresne. Singer: Norbert Ernst. Singer: Lise Davidsen. Singer: Gerald Finley. Singer: Ekaterina Gubanova. Singer: Mika Kares. Singer: Michael Kraus. Singer: Jeremy White. Choir: Royal Opera House Chorus. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Conductor: Sebastian Weigle.
  • Franz Schubert

    Moments musicaux, D.780 - No.6 in A flat major

    Performer: Sir András Schiff.
    • Great Pianist of the 20th Century: Andras Schiff.
    • Philips.
    • 12.

Broadcast

  • Sat 4 Mar 2023 18:30