Richard Wagner - Tannhäuser, Ouverture

Overture from "Tannhäuser" and "Chor der Sirenen". "Tannhäuser" (full title, "Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg"), is a german opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner (1813-1883), based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg. The story centers on the struggle between sacred and profane love, and redemption through love, a theme running through most of Wagner's mature work.
Heinrich Heine had provided Wagner with the inspiration for Der fliegende Holländer. Wagner drew on Heine for the plot of Tannhäuser: Heine's sardonic poem Elementargeister, telling of the lure of the grotto of Venus, was published in 1837 in Der Salon. Wagner also drew material from E. T. A. Hoffmann's story The Singer's Contest and Ludwig Tieck's 1799 story Faithful Eckhart and Tannhäuser. Other possible sources include the 15th century folk ballad "Das Lied von dem Danheüser" and Ludwig von Bechstein's collection of Thuringian legends Der Sagenschatz und die Sagenkreise des Thüringerlandes. Wagner wrote the prose draft of Tannhäuser between June and July 1842 and the libretto in April 1843.
The libretto of Tannhäuser combines the mythological element of German opera and the medieval history of French Grand Opera. Wagner brings these two together by constructing a plot involving the 14th century Minnesingers and the myth of Venus and her realm of Venusberg ('the mountain of Venus'). Both the historical and the mythological are united in Tannhäuser's personality; although he is a historical poet composer, little is known about him other than myths that surround him. Furthermore, half of the opera takes place in a historical setting, and half takes place in the mythological Venusberg.
Wagner began composing the music during a vacation in Teplitz in the summer of 1843 and completed the full score on 13 April 1845; the opera's famous overture, often played separately as a concert piece, was written last. The instrumentation also shows signs of borrowing from French operatic style. The score includes parts for on-stage brass; however, rather than using French brass instruments, Wagner uses twelve German waldhorns. Wagner also makes use of the harp, another commonplace of French opera.
The first performance was given in the Royal Theater in Dresden on 19 October 1845. The composer Ferdinand Hiller, at that time a friend of the composer, assisted in the musical preparations for the production. The part of Elizabeth was sung by Wagner's niece Johanna Wagner. Wagner had intended to premiere the opera on 13 October, Johanna's 19th birthday, but she was ill, so it was postponed for six days. Venus was created by Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, and the title role was taken by Josef Tichatschek. The performance was conducted by the composer. Tannhäuser was not the success that Rienzi had been, and Wagner almost immediately set to modifying the ending, tinkering with the score through 1846 and 1847. There were performances in Schwerin, Breslau, Freiburg, Wiesbaden [1852]; Frankfurt/M., Riga, Leipzig, Poznan, Darmstadt, Hamburg, Königsberg, Köln [1853]; Graz and Prague [1854]
This version of the opera, as revised for publication in 1860 (including some changes to the final scene) is generally known as the "Dresden" version.
Wagner substantially amended the opera for a special 1861 performance by the Paris Opéra. This had been requested by Emperor Napoleon III at the suggestion of Princess Pauline von Metternich, wife of the Austrian ambassador to France. This revision forms the basis of what is now known as the "Paris version" of Tannhäuser.
Wagner had originally hoped the Parisian première would take place at the Théâtre Lyrique. However, the première was at the Paris Opéra, so the composer had to insert a ballet into the score, according to the traditions of the house. Wagner agreed to this condition since he believed that a success at the Opéra represented his most significant opportunity to re-establish himself following his exile from Germany. However, rather than put the ballet in its traditional place in Act II, he chose to place it in Act I, where it could at least make some dramatic sense by representing the sensual world of Venus's realm. Thus in Tannhäuser the ballet takes the form of a bacchanale.

Conductor: Georg Solti & Wiener Philharmoniker.

Видео Richard Wagner - Tannhäuser, Ouverture канала neuIlaryRheinKlange