Vienna Opera Tickets

A romantic opera in three acts with music and libretto by Richard Wagner. He based the opera on two German medieval legends – the legend of the knight Tannhäuser and the legend of the song contest of Wartburg Castle – as well as on Saint Elisabeth, daughter-in-law of the Landgrave Hermann.

It was premiered in Dresden on 19 October 1845 with the original title of Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg (Tannhäuser and the Poetic Tournament of Song at Wartburg). This opera, Wagner’s fifth, did not achieve the level of success that was anticipated at its premiere, a disappointment which was due to the singers (it is worth mentioning that the title role is one of the most difficult in the opera repertoire), to the duration (a little over 3 hours), and to the level of dramatic complexity.
 

For a subsequent performance in Paris (in March 1861), Wagner made a series of modifications. This ‘Paris version’ would in turn be modified in 1875 for a ‘Vienna version’.

In Tannhäuser we find the classic Wagnerian theme of redemption through love, as well as the fight between sacred and profane love. The opera’s plot revolves around the song contest at Wartburg Castle and Tannhäuser’s participation there.