At The Opera, Wagner's Lohengrin, February 24, 2018
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Lohengrin is a Romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain. It is part of the Knight of the Swan tradition.
The opera has inspired other works of art. King Ludwig II of Bavaria named his fairy-tale castle "New Swan Castle", or "Neuschwanstein", after the Swan Knight. It was King Ludwig's patronage that later gave Wagner the means and opportunity to compose, build a theatre for, and stage his epic cycle The Ring of the Nibelung.
The most popular and recognizable part of the opera is the Bridal Chorus, better known as "Here Comes the Bride", often played as a processional at weddings in the West.
Cast:
Lohengrin – James King
Elsa – Gundula Janowitz
Bavarian Radio Orchestra and Chorus
Rafael Kubelik – conductor
MHC (DG) - 1971
8:00 p.m.
Pietro Mascagni
Cavalleria rusticana, opera Intemezzo
Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony; Ondrej Lenard, conductor
8:03 p.m.
James King
Wagner
Lohengrin
; Kubelik, conductor