Today in History - On This Day - October 19th. 1845 -First performance of Tannhäuser

Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg Castle, in German
Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg, is a romantic opera
in three acts made by Richard Wagner.

Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner 


Performance history

The first performance took place in the Royal Theater in Dresden on
October 19th. 1845. Through 1846 and 1847 there were performances in
Schwerin, Breslau, Freiburg, Leipzig, Darmstadt etc. From 1853 on there
were performances outside Germany, like Riga, Prague,London and later
even in New York and Sidney.

Opera history

Richard Wagner used songs from the Middle Ages, sagas and romantic
stories for his operas. The most important person in the opera is 
Henrich von Ofterdingen also known as Tannhäuser.

The theme is the conflict of an artist his between sensuous lust and his
religious sense. This conflict is embodied by the two women of his love.


Tannhäuser and King Ludwig II of Bavaria

Tannhäuser was the most favorite opera of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
He gave the order to rebuild the Sängersaal of the Wartburg in his 
Neuschwanstein castle 

He also ordered the building of a Venus Cave with an underground lake
in the park of Linderhof Castle.

On this youtube link, you can listen to the Tannhäuser Overture.

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