“Lohengrin” by Richard Wagner

Premiere / date of written: 1847

“I consider the spirit of music to be no different to the spirit of love.” Richard Wagner

The first production of Lohengrin was in Weimar, Germany on 28 August 1850 at the Staatskapelle Weimar under the direction of Franz Liszt, a close friend and early supporter of Wagner. Liszt chose the date in honour of Weimar's most famous citizen, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was born on 28 August 1749. It was an immediate popular success.

Libretti

#	Language	Authors
1	German	Richard Wagner
2	English
3	Russian	Виктор Коломийцов

original libretto
line-by-line of the original libretto

History

• 1850 August 28 — First performance of Richard Wagner’s opera *Lohengrin* at the Hoftheater in Weimar, with Franz Liszt conducting.
• 1870 November 9 — Giuseppe Verdi attends a performance of Wagner’s "Lohengrin" at La Monnaie (Brussels) and annotates a score with his impressions.
• 1871 November 1 — First performance in Italy of Wagner’s "Lohengrin" at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, conducted by Angelo Mariani (Italian translation).
• 1883 November 7 — First performance of Wagner’s "Lohengrin" at the Metropolitan Opera, New York (company premiere season).
• 2023 February 26 — The Metropolitan Opera opens its spring season with a new production of Wagner’s "Lohengrin".

Images

Audio recordings

Year	Cast	Conductor, Opera chorus and orchestra	Label, Comment	Buy
1953	Lohengrin — Wolfgang Windgassen, Elsa von Brabant — Eleanor Steber, Ortrud — Astrid Varnay, Friedrich von Telramund — Hermann Uhde	Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus	Audio CD: Naxos, Cat: 8.110308 Live recording at the Bayreuth Festival	$83.70
1963	Lohengrin — Jess Thomas, Elsa von Brabant — Elisabeth Grümmer, Ortrud — Christa Ludwig, Friedrich von Telramund — Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, König Heinrich der Vogler — Gottlob Frick, Herald — Otto Wiener	Rudolf Kempe Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus	Audio CD: EMI Classics, Cat: 67411
1985	Lohengrin — Plácido Domingo, Elsa — Jessye Norman, Ortrud — Eva Randova, Telramund — Siegmund Nimsgern, König Heinrich — Hans Sotin, Der Heerrufer — Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau	Sir Georg Solti Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus	Audio CD: Decca, Cat: 470795	$27.49
1991	Lohengrin — Siegfried Jerusalem, Elsa von Brabant — Cheryl Studer, Ortrud — Waltraud Meier, Friedrich von Telramund — Hartmut Welker, König Heinrich der Vogler — Kurt Moll, Der Heerrufer des Königs — Andreas Schmidt, Vier brabantische Edle (Noblemen of Brabant) — Bojidar Nikolov, Franz Kasemann, Claudio Otelli, Peter Köves, Pages — Amy-Linda Domaracki, Ingrid Sieghart, Senta Fischer, Elisabeth Mach	Claudio Abbado Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus	Audio CD: Deutsche Grammophon, Cat: 437808	$79.95

External links

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia