DM's opera site
libretti & information
Composers Operas Side-by-side libretti paperback Links About
Richard Wagner operas
Die Feen (1833)
Das Liebesverbot (1836)
Rienzi (1842)
Der fliegende Holländer (1843)
Tannhäuser (1845)
Lohengrin (1847)
Tristan und Isolde (1859)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1867)
Das Rheingold (1869)
Die Walküre (1870)
Siegfried (1871)
Götterdämmerung (1874)
Parsifal (1882)

“Tannhäuser” by Richard Wagner

Premiere / date of written: 19 October 1845

“The Pilgrim's Choruses from Tannhäuser exude a certain ecstasy and the confidential effusive bliss of a feeling of remorse.” Franz Liszt

The first performance was given in the Royal Theater in Dresden on 19 October 1845.

Libretti

# Language Authors
1 German Richard Wagner
2 English

original libretto
line-by-line of the original libretto

Images

Audio recordings

Year Cast
Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra
Label,
Comment
Buy
1954
Tannhäuser — Ramon Vinay,
Elisabeth — Margaret Harshaw,
Venus — Astrid Varnay,
Wolfram — George London,
Hermann Landgrave — Jerome Hines,
Walther — Brian Sullivan
George Szell
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Audio CD: Sony Classical, Cat: 886443900868

Amazon.com
1955
Tannhäuser — Wolfgang Windgassen,
Elisabeth — Gré Brouwenstijn,
Venus — Herta Wilfert,
Wolfram — Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Hermann Landgrave — Josef Greindl,
Walther — Josef Traxel
André Cluytens
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus
Audio CD: Orfeo d'Or, Cat: C 643043D

Amazon.com
1960
Tannhäuser — Hans Hopf,
Elisabeth — Elisabeth Grümmer,
Venus — Marianne Schech,
Wolfram — Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Hermann Landgrave — Gottlob Frick,
Walther — Fritz Wunderlich
Franz Konwitschny
Berlin State Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Audio CD: EMI, Cat: CMS 7 63214 2

Amazon.com
1962
Tannhäuser — Wolfgang Windgassen,
Elisabeth — Anja Silja,
Venus — Grace Bumbry,
Wolfram — Eberhard Wächter,
Hermann Landgrave — Josef Greindl,
Walther — Gerhard Stolze
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus
Audio CD: Philips, Cat: 434 607-2

Amazon.com
1970
Tannhäuser — René Kollo,
Elisabeth — Helga Dernesch,
Venus — Christa Ludwig,
Wolfram — Victor Braun,
Hermann Landgrave — Hans Sotin,
Walther — Werner Hollweg
Sir Georg Solti
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus
Audio CD: Decca, Cat: 470 810-2

Amazon.com
1988
Tannhäuser — Plácido Domingo,
Elisabeth — Cheryl Studer,
Venus — Agnes Baltsa,
Wolfram — Andreas Schmidt,
Hermann Landgrave — Matti Salminen,
Walther — William Pell
Giuseppe Sinopoli
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra
Audio CD: Deutsche Grammophon, Cat: 427 625-2

Amazon.com
2001
Tannhäuser — Peter Seiffert,
Elisabeth — Jane Eaglen,
Venus — Waltraud Meier,
Wolfram — Thomas Hampson,
Hermann Landgrave — René Pape,
Walther — Gunnar Gudbjörnsson
Daniel Barenboim
Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra, Berlin State Opera Chorus
Audio CD: Teldec, Cat: 8573 88064-2

Amazon.com

Video recordings

Year Cast
Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra,
Director
Label,
Comment
Buy
1978
Tannhäuser — Spas Wenkoff,
Elisabeth — Dame Gwyneth Jones,
Venus — Dame Gwyneth Jones,
Wolfram — Bernd Weikl,
Hermann Landgrave — Hans Sotin,
Walther — Robert Schunk
Sir Colin Davis
Choir and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival
Götz Friedrich
Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 073 4446

Amazon.com
1982
Tannhäuser — Richard Cassilly,
Elisabeth — Éva Marton,
Venus — Tatiana Troyanos,
Wolfram — Bernd Weikl,
Hermann Landgrave — John Macurdy,
Walther — Robert Nagy
James Levine
New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Otto Schenk
Deutsche Grammophon

Amazon.com

External links