Wagner's Tannhäuser premieres at the Dresden Royal Court Theater (1845)

Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser premiered at the Dresden Royal Court Theater on 19 October 1845. Wagner, who conducted the performance, had completed the score earlier that year. The production was less successful than his previous opera Rienzi, prompting immediate revisions to the ending and subsequent adjustments through 1847.

Episodes

Background and detail

Composition and Context. Wagner wrote the prose draft of Tannhäuser in 1842 and the libretto in 1843. He composed the music during a vacation in Teplitz in summer 1843, completing the full score on 13 April 1845. The famous overture was written last. The opera is an 1845 work in three acts, catalogued as WWV 70.

The Dresden Premiere. The first performance occurred at the Königliches Hoftheater in Dresden on 19 October 1845. This was one of Wagner's middle-period operas staged during his tenure in Dresden. The legacy designation 'Semperoper' is anachronistic, as the current building was reconstructed later, following the 1849 uprising.

Reception and Revisions. Tannhäuser was not as successful as Wagner's earlier opera Rienzi. Wagner immediately began modifying the ending, adjusting the score through 1846 and 1847. For the 1847 Dresden revival, he clarified Venus's temptation and added vocal presentation to the pilgrim's chorus, previously represented only by orchestra.

People involved

Sources

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