TANNHÄUSER

About the show

Richard Wagner's romantic opera tells of a medieval minstrel who seeks redemption after abandoning worldly pleasures. Tannhäuser returns from the sensual realm of Venus to rejoin society and win back Elisabeth, his earthly beloved. When he publicly confesses his time with the goddess of love at a singing contest, he is condemned and banished. Only Elisabeth's selfless sacrifice and his pilgrimage to Rome offer the possibility of forgiveness. The work explores the tension between desire and spirituality, earthly passion and divine grace, through contrasting musical worlds that mirror the protagonist's inner conflict.