Productions in Wagner's lifetime
editDresden version (1845)
editThe first performance was given in the Königliche Hoftheater (Royal Theater) in Dresden on 19 October 1845. The composer Ferdinand Hiller, at that time a friend of the composer, assisted in the musical preparations for the production. The part of Elizabeth was sung by Wagner's niece Johanna Wagner. Wagner had intended to premiere the opera on 13 October, Johanna's 19th birthday, but she was ill, so it was postponed by six days.[1] Venus was created by Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, and the title role was taken by Josef Tichatschek. The performance was conducted by the composer.[2] Tannhäuser was not the success that Rienzi had been, and Wagner almost immediately set to modifying the ending, adjusting the score through 1846 and 1847. For the first Dresden revival (1847) he clarified the representation of Venus's temptation of Tannhäuser in the final act, and adding vocal presentation of the pilgrim's chorus in this act (where it had previously been represented by orchestra alone).[3] This version of the opera, as revised for publication in 1860, is generally known as the "Dresden" version.After Franz Liszt produced the opera at Weimar Court Theatre in 1849, there were further performances between 1852 and 1856 in (amongst other locations) Schwerin, Kassel, Posen, Wiesbaden, Hanover, Munich and Berlin.[4]
The Dresden version was also used for initial productions outside Germany, notably at Riga on 18 January 1853; at Prague on 25 November 1854 at Theatre of the Estates; at New York City on 4 April 1859 at the Stadt Theatre; and in London on 6 May 1876 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (when it was sung in Italian).[5][4]
Paris version (1861)
edit
Wagner substantially amended the opera for a special 1861 performance by the Paris Opéra. This had been requested by Emperor Napoleon III at the suggestion of Princess Pauline von Metternich, wife of the Austrian ambassador to France. This revision forms the basis of what is now known as the "Paris version" of Tannhäuser. The venue meant that the composer had to insert a ballet into the score, according to the traditions of the house. Wagner agreed to this condition since he believed that a success at the Opéra represented his most significant opportunity to re-establish himself following his exile from Germany. However, rather than put the ballet in its traditional place in Act II, he chose to place it in Act I, in the form of a bacchanale, where it could make dramatic sense by representing the sensual world of Venus's realm. There were further extensive changes. The text was translated into French (by Charles-Louis-Etienne Nuitter and others). Venus, a role that in the Dresden version was considered a soprano, was rewritten as for mezzo-soprano. Venus' aria "Geliebter, komm!" was transposed down by a semitone, and its latter part was completely rewritten. A solo for Walther was removed from Act 2. Extra lines for Venus following Tannhäuser's "Hymn to Love" were added. The orchestral introduction to Act 3 was shortened. The end of the opera was reworked to include Venus on stage, where before the audience only heard the Venus motif, in an attempt to clarify the action.[6][7]
Tannhäuser's first performance in Paris was given on 13 March 1861 at the Salle Le Peletier of the Paris Opéra. The composer had been closely involved in its preparation and there had been 164 rehearsals.[8] The costumes were designed by Alfred Albert, the sets by Charles-Antoine Cambon and Joseph Thierry (Act I, scene 1), Édouard Desplechin (Act I, scene 2 and Act III), and Joseph Nolau and Auguste-Alfred Rubé (Act II).[9]
At the first performance the opera was initially well-received, with disturbances including whistling and cat-calls beginning to appear in Act II, and becoming prominent by the end of the third act. For the second performance much of the new ballet music was removed, together with some actions that had specifically provoked mockery, such as the piping of the shepherd in Act I. At this performance however the audience disturbances were increased. This was partly due to members of the wealthy and aristocratic Jockey Club, who objected to the ballet coming in Act I, since this meant they would have to be present from the beginning of the performance (disrupting their dining schedule). It was alleged that they distributed whistles to the audience. A further incentive to disruption was the unpopularity of Princess von Metternich and of her native country of Austria. At the third performance on 24 March, (which Wagner did not attend), uproar caused several interruptions of up to fifteen minutes at a time. As a consequence, Wagner withdrew the opera after the third performance.This marked the end to Wagner's hopes of establishing himself in Paris.[10][11]
The first performance outside France of the "Paris" version was given in Bologna on 7 November 1872 at the Teatro Comunale, (the first performance of the opera in Italy). The Amercian and British premieres of this version were respectively in New York at the Metropolitan Opera on 30 January 1889, and at London's Royal Opera House on 15 July 1895 .[12]
Vienna version (1875)
editA few further changes to Tannhäuser were made for an 1875 performance of the opera in Vienna, the last production carried out under Wagner's own supervision. These included linking the end of the overture to the start of the opera proper. The 1875 Vienna version is that normally used in modern productions of the "Paris" version, often with the reinstatement of Walther's Act 2 solo.[13] Wagner remained unsatisfied with the opera. His wife Cosima noted in her diary on 23 January 1883 (three weeks before he died) "He says he still owes the world Tannhäuser."[14]
After Wagner
editProductions
editWagner died in 1883. The first production of the opera at Wagner's Bayreuth Festspielhaus (originally constructed for the performance of his Ring Cycle), was undertaken under the supervision of Cosima in 1891, and adhered closely to the 'Vienna' version. Later performances at Bayreuth included one conducted by Richard Strauss (1894), and one where the Bacchanal was choreographed by Isadora Duncan (1904).[4] Duncan envisaged the Bacchanal as a fantasy of Tannhäuser's fevered brain, as Wagner had written to Mathilde Wesendonck in 1860.[15]
Literature
editMany scholars and writers on opera have advanced theories to explain the motives and behaviour of the characters,[16] including Jungian psychoanalysis,[17] in particular as regards Tannhäuser's apparently self-destructive behaviour. In 2014 an analysis suggested that his apparently inconsistent behaviour, when analysed by game theory, is actually consistent with a redemption strategy. Only by public disclosure, can Tannhäuser force a resolution of his inner conflict.[18]
- ^ Grove 1889, 345.
- ^ Gutman 1990, 104.
- ^ Grey 2013a, 577.
- ^ a b c Grey 2013a, 578.
- ^ Millington 1992, 279.
- ^ Harewood 1987, 168–174.
- ^ Millington 1992, 280-284.
- ^ Gregor-Dellin 1983, 293–303.
- ^ Newman 1976b, 82.
- ^ Millington 1992, 281.
- ^ Grey 2013b, 581-582.
- ^ "Tannhäuser: Performance History" in Opera Glass web-site (Stanford University), accessed 3 November 2015
- ^ Wintle 2010.
- ^ Wagner 1980, p. 996.
- ^ Kant 2013, p. 208.
- ^ Millington 1992, p.281.
- ^ Millington 1989.
- ^ Chrissochoidis et al 2014.