Start of »Tannhäuser« rehearsals

Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser, first performed in 1845, tells of a divided man - and of love. This is what the title character is looking for: he finds almost endless lust with Venus, the goddess of love, and hopes to find bliss with the "pure" Elisabeth. But the (experienced) erotic becomes a centrifugal force that drives him to the fringes of society - and beyond. But he is not alone: in his vacillation between lust and renunciation, between guilt and protest, in being torn between sensual fulfillment and exaltation, he corresponds entirely to the grammar of the Romantic age, i.e. the period in which it was written - and still speaks directly to us today.

And Tannhäuser can also be read as an artist's drama: "He is someone who wants to create. But in order to create, he has to experience. He has long since overcome pure ability, it gets him nowhere and bores him. That's why he has to push the boundaries in order to continue to grow in his art," says premiere conductor Philippe Jordan.

Following the new Wagner productions of Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Lohengrin in the last four seasons, Tannhäuser is on the Vienna State Opera's premiere schedule for May. The work will be staged by director Lydia Steier, who has enjoyed success between Paris, Salzburg, Dresden, Berlin and Vienna and whose debut at the Haus am Ring is eagerly awaited. The conductor is Philippe Jordan, the singers include house debutant Clay Hilley (Tannhäuser), Malin Byström (Elisabeth), Ekaterina Gubanova (Venus), Ludovic Tézier (Wolfram) and Günther Groissböck (Landgrave Hermann).

The introductory matinee to the new production - with participants from the premiere and moderated by State Opera Director Bogdan Roščić - will take place on May 11.