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Jun. 07 2017

07/29/17 – Tannhäuser – 1PM

By WBJC Programming | Posted in Operafest | Comments Off on 07/29/17 – Tannhäuser – 1PM

Lyric Opera of Chicago

  • by Richard Wagner
  • In German with projected English texts
  • Approximate running time: 4hrs, 11 min
  • Front page photo credit: Todd Rosenberg

Only gods can live in endless bliss.

Tannhäuser, minstrel and renegade, is lured into the erotic realm of the love goddess Venus. There he luxuriates in lust and a host of sinful pleasures. But finally it’s all too much. He longs to return home, and does — to friends, rules of Christian conduct, and most of all, to Elisabeth, the warm but chaste young woman who loves him, despite the grief he’s caused. Desperate for absolution, Tannhäuser joins his fellow pilgrims, journeying to Rome to ask forgiveness for his sins. But once you’ve been to the Venusberg, you can never truly leave.

Sir Andrew Davis is on the podium for this monumental vocal, choral, and orchestral event.

Savor the famous overture, the frenzied bacchanal with its sexy ballet, the sublime “Song to the Evening Star,” the stirring “Pilgrims’ Chorus,” and more, in a remarkable work that transfixes audiences with both its sensuality and its majestic power.

Lyric Opera presentation generously made possible by an Anonymous Donor and the NIB Foundation with additional support by Marion A. Cameron.

 
Click here for articles, video previews, audio commentaries, & more
 

Starring

  • Johan Botha

    Tannhäuser

    Johan Botha

    Today’s most lauded Tannhäuser, Johan Botha “is a marvel” (The Guardian). His command of this killer role “is almost unbelievable.”concertonet.com
  • Amber Wagner

    Elisabeth

    Amber Wagner

    Expect an incandescent Elisabeth from Amber Wagner, “with her luscious outpouring of sound and a voice that reminds me of Jessye Norman in her prime.” Chicago Tribune
  • Michaela Schuster

    Venus

    Michaela Schuster

    Michaela Schuster (a show-stopping villainess in Lyric’s 2011 Lohengrin) “is superb as the seductive Venus.” The Telegraph 
  • Gerald Finley

    Wolfram

    Gerald Finley

    Riveting as Oppenheimer in Lyric’s Doctor AtomicGerald Finley is acclaimed on major stages everywhere because “he is extraordinary both vocally and dramatically.” The Guardian
  • John Relyea

    Landgraf

    John Relyea

    John Relyea: “His sonorous bass-baritone is beautiful, and he gives audiences performances of hair-raising vocal and emotional power.”
    The Scotsman
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