Wagner: Tannhäuser

The latest production of the Bayreuth Festival, Wagner’s Tannhäuser, will be available as a video album from 8 May. The New York Times wrote about the new production, which was celebrated by the press and audience alike, that Kratzer’s vision was “impetuous” and “profound”. The Los Angeles Times called it “an entertaining way to cross borders”. Kratzer transports Wagner’s work from the Middle Ages to the present. His Tannhäuser, which includes the drag queen as well as the drum beating Oskar, is a contemporary parable about the relationship between art and freedom, staged in a successful balance between comedy and bitter seriousness. The conducting is in the hands of Valery Gergiev, who made his Bayreuth debut with it. For the first time at the Festival, the young star soprano Lise Davidsen will also be appearing as Elisabeth, whose performance is celebrated as “wonderful” by the Financial Times (London). At her side shine among others Stephen Gould in the title role (“with great dramatic vocal power”, Telegraph) and Elena Zhidkova as Venus (“She steals the show”, Opera Today). The release marks the fifth collaboration in the exclusive partnership between Deutsche Grammophon and the Bayreuth Festival.