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80% Critic Match
Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg Castle
8.0 / 10• 1978• 3h 29m•NR• English
MusicDrama
Storyline
TANNHÄUSER UND DER SÄNGERKRIEG AUF WARTBURG is a grand opera by Richard Wagner in three acts. After experiencing boundless sensuality and freedom with the fun-loving Venus (soprano), the singer Tannhäuser (Tenor) finds it impossible to conform to the cultured setting of his betrothed Elizabeth (soprano), who loves him. During a singing contest, Tannhäuser describes the affair with Venus as the ultimate love experience and because of that, he is cast out from the established society. Thanks to Elizabeth's intervention, he is allowed to undertake a pilgrimage to the Pope to ask for the Holy Father's pardon. If the Pope accepts to forgive him, he would be allowed to take back his place in society. Tannhäuser accepts. But fate will not allow him to meet with his beloved Elizabeth again in this life. This is a recording of the legendary staging by Götz Friedrich for the 1978 Bayreuth Festival conducted by Sir Colin Davis.
Cast & Crew
Gwyneth Jones
Elisabeth / Venus
Lead
Spas Wenkoff
Tannhäuser
BW
Bernd Weikl
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Hans Sotin
Landgraf
Robert Schunk
Walther von der Vogelweide
Franz Mazura
Biterolf
JP
John Pickering
Heinrich der Schreiber
HF
Heinz Feldhoff
Reinmar von Zweter
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Thomas Olofsson's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
4.0
“Every frame feels alive. Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg Castle is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
