The story After spending a year in subterranean Venusberg, being ravished by the goddess of love and beauty, minstrel Tannhauser tires of pagan ritual and daily orgasms. Venus begs him to stay, but he invokes the Virgin Mary and the netherworld disappears. Finding himself home in Wartburg, old friend Wolfram tells him that his songs have won the heart of chaste Elisabeth, who, although languishing in seclusion, will present the prize for an upcoming singing contest.
Wolfram sings of love’s purity, but Tannhauserunwisely praises sensuality, scandalising his Victorian-era listeners. Elisabeth stops his murder-by-mob and orders him to seek forgiveness in Rome, where the Pope informs him that his absolution is as likely as the papal staff bursting into full bloom. He returns to find Elisabeth dead, of a broken heart, and collapses by her body, begging forgiveness. Papal messengers then enter, carrying the leaf-sprouting staff – indicating Tannhauser’s soul is saved.
Why it’s important Tannhauser (1845) combines German legend, medieval history, and the composer’s usual themes of love versus sex, with love the ultimate victor. While not considered Wagner’s greatest work – especially by Wagner – the music is revolutionary and had the thickest, lushest orchestration to date; the overture is a great favourite with pop orchestras.
Tannhauser is famously difficult to produce, requiring a company of over 100 musicians and vocalists, as opposed to the standard 60-70 of Italian opera. Those who saw the National Centre for the Performing Arts’s serviceable but flawed Flying Dutchman in April may fear that in staging Tannhauser the theatre is punching above its weight. But, as with all arts, it is better to aim too high and miss than to stay mired in the standards, especially if it leads to opera’s very survival.
Wagner’s audience Initial reactions were chilly, finding the bacchanalian opening confusing and the music unsettling. Carmen’s Prosper Mérimée claimed he could compose something better after hearing his cat walk on a piano. But the 1861 Paris opening was infamous.
In keeping with Venesberg’s orgiastic atmosphere, Wagner placed the ballet in the first act rather than the customary second. This irritated Jockey Club members, who usually drank through the first half and staggered in for the second, scoping out dancers for post-performance ‘entertaining’. This, combined with their intense dislike for the opera’s patron, Austrian Princess Pauline von Metternich, had them blowing silver whistles through each performance, causing fistfights to break out. The production closed three days later.
Who was Richard Wagner? History’s most controversial composer, Wagner took the unprecedented step of writing both words (libretti) and music. Anti-Semitic even by the ugly standards of the day, he also wrote prolifically on politics, revolution and music. The extravagant artist was constantly fleeing creditors and cajoling married women into financially supportive affairs – even seducing one patron’s wife, which caused his own divorce.
Most infamous was his treatment of Franz Liszt, his greatest professional, personal and financial champion – Wagner repaid him by seducing his daughter. For her part, Cosima Liszt was already married to another Wagner devotee, conductor extraordinaire Hans von Bulow, who desperately tried to pretend their three children were actually his.
Weird Wagner Then, now and forever, Wagner inspires a slavish devotion no composer can match. His revolutionary fervour, complex vocal and musical harmonies, and his concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (‘total artwork’), a synthesis of poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, remains unequalled. A favourite of Hitler’s, he also drove Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to obsession: the reality-challenged youth erected fantasy castles all over Germany, of which Neushwanstein – later copied by Walt Disney – is the best known.
But if you’re not a fan, you’re not alone. In 1994, singers were rehearsing Tannhauser near Copenhagen Zoo. On hearing the Wagnerian melodies, an okapi went into convulsions and died the following day.
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Date: Wed 27 Jun 2012 - Fri 29 Jun 2012
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Article Source: Timeoutbeijing News
