Monika Rittershaus/OnP

Opera

New

Lohengrin

Richard Wagner

Opéra Bastille

from 18 January to 18 February 2017

Lohengrin

Opéra Bastille - from 18 January to 18 February 2017

Synopsis

"You must never ask me or be at pains to discover from whence I journeyed here, nor what is my name and lineage."  

Lohengrin, Acte I, scène 3


Lohengrin appears in a “silvery‑blue” light aboard a boat pulled by a swan (Thomas Mann). He has just saved Elsa, accused of murdering her brother, and has made her promise to never ask him his name. Written by Wagner in great solitude, Lohengrin is first and foremost an immense aesthetic and political manifesto questioning the place of genius in society and laying the groundwork for musical drama. The work, conducted by Liszt at its premiere in Weimar in 1850, marked a turning point in Wagner’s life. It had a profound impact on Ludwig II of Bavaria who became his patron and friend, supporting him in all his future enterprises: “The defiled gods will have their revenge and come and live with us on the peaks, breathing the air of heaven”, Ludwig wrote to him in 1868 from Neuschwanstein Castle (“new swan rock”) which he had just had built. Directed by Claus Guth, who reveals all the fragility of the knight with whom Wagner identified, the production brings together Jonas Kaufmann, Martina Serafin and René Pape under the baton of Philippe Jordan.

Duration :

Language : German

Artists

Romantic opera in three acts (1850)

Creative team

Cast

Orchestre et Choeurs de l’Opéra national de Paris

Production du Teatro alla Scala, Silan

French and English surtitles

Media

  • Subtlety and musicality in Lohengrin

    Subtlety and musicality in Lohengrin

    Watch the video

  • Lohengrin, on the threshold of revolution

    Lohengrin, on the threshold of revolution

    Watch the video

  • Schönberg, Verdi, Wagner and Berlioz: the commitment to cycles

    Schönberg, Verdi, Wagner and Berlioz: the commitment to cycles

    Read the article

  • Podcast Lohengrin

    Podcast Lohengrin

    Listen the podcast

© Elena Bauer / OnP

Subtlety and musicality in Lohengrin

Watch the video

Interview with Stuart Skelton

5:16 min

Subtlety and musicality in Lohengrin

By Marion Mirande

If he is internationally celebrated for his performance of Britten's Peter Grimes, Stuart Skelton is also one of the major Wagnerian tenors of our day. He returns to the Paris Opera this season in Lohengrin, after having performed Siegmund in Die Walküre in 2013.

Lohengrin, on the threshold of revolution

Watch the video

Conversation with Philippe Jordan

5:15 min

Lohengrin, on the threshold of revolution

By Marion Mirande

After the Ring Cycle, Tristan and Isolde, and The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, Philippe Jordan and the Paris Opera continue their exploration of Richard Wagner's repertoire with Lohengrin. For the occasion, our musical director discusses this romantic score, full of brilliance and magic, which heralds the great Wagnerian musical revolution.

© Bernd Uhlig

Schönberg, Verdi, Wagner and Berlioz: the commitment to cycles

Read the article

A fresh look at season 15/16

05 min

Schönberg, Verdi, Wagner and Berlioz: the commitment to cycles

By Octave

During the summer break, we offer our readers a retrospective glaze on Stéphane Lissner’s first season at the Paris Opera. The rhythm of season 15/16 was marked by recurring “rendez-vous” with composers whose work, essential or enigmatic, appeals to invention and discovery. Between revivals of timeless productions and creations, these diverse companionships set the tone for an eclectic operatic season, revealing the inexhaustible quality of the Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus.


"Dare!"

Indeed, inaugurating season 15/16 with a symphonic concert of works by Arnold Schönberg took audacity, furthermore in uncharted territory. The Paris Opera Orchestra invested the Philharmonie de Paris for the first time with the Variations for orchestra, op.31, a major modern piece, inaugurating a cycle dedicated to the Austrian composer. Philippe Jordan carried out the audacious project of making Schönberg’s work better known in its diversity through a series of concerts and recitals which was followed by Pierrot Lunaire and the String Quartet, op.10 a reflection of his shift from late romanticism to atonality – and the Gürre Lieder. The climax of this commitment was undoubtedly the mobilization of all the vital forces of the Paris Opera in the service of Moses und Aron, Schönberg’s unfinished philosophical opera, reputed for its reluctance to the stage. “There is something deeply theatrical and human in this work that must be recognized” insists Philippe Jordan in an interview. The task had been handed to the most plastic of today’s stage directors, Romeo Castellucci. The result was a striking journey through contradictory signs, trails of tainting speech and haunting images, succeeding in making Schönberg our contemporary. To complete the cycle, the composer’s early style of feverous romanticism found a perfect embodiment with the Paris Opera Ballet dancers in Verklärte Nacht choreographed by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. The choreographer will renew her collaboration with the Paris Opera by stage directing Così fan tutte, which will inaugurate a Da Ponte trilogy.    
"La Nuit transfigurée" d'Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker © Agathe Poupeney

"Vibrate!"

As for Moses und Aron, season 15/16 was marked by the return to grace of works rarely – or never – given on the Paris Opera’s stages so that some shows were practically must-see events. Last March, a new production of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, which hadn’t been performed for over a quarter of a century, thrilled the audience. Philippe Jordan teamed up again with stage director Stefan Herheim to offer five hours of musical and scenic jubilation. Through Hans Sachs’ character, Wagner reflects on the artist’ status and design a self-portrait to a comical effect. The Wagnerian cycle will pursue with a concert of excerpts from the Tetralogy and Lohengrin directed by Claus Guth with Jonas Kaufmann singing the title-role. Faithful to the Paris Opera, the German tenor lent his voice to Hector Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust which inaugurated a cycle dedicated to the composer. This complex “dramatic legend” displays the forward-thinking talent of a visionary composer and the audience will have the possibility to discover the musical richness of his works with Béatrice et Bénédict in concert version.
Sophie Koch, Jonas Kaufmann
Sophie Koch, Jonas Kaufmann © Élena Bauer / OnP

"Desire!"

Through cycles, one is amazed at the variety of artistic worlds that can spring from the work of one composer. The cycle dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi displayed with flying colors the repertoire’s vitality. This season, two internationally acclaimed stage directors made their Paris Opera debuts taking over operas by Verdi. Spanish stage director Alex Ollé, from la Fura dels Baus, addressed the issue of aggravating social tensions during war time in a First World War set Trovatore. German stage director Claus Guth, for his part, created a melancholic cabaret in a cart wood box from the material of Rigoletto’s fantasies and regrets. Verdi’s “popular trilogy” was completed with a revival of Benoît Jacquot’s production of La Traviata; the French director paying tribute to the sulfurous 19th century heroine with the elegance for which he’s known. The Verdi cycle above all gives time and space to appreciate opera singing. One was able to hear and see the greatest singers in the world perform on the Paris Opera stages: Anna Netrebko, Marcelo Àlvarez, Sonya Yoncheva, and Bryan Hymel… To end the season, like a cherry on the cake, Aida displayed one of the most brilliant vocal casts of the year: with Sondra Radvanovsky in the title-role alongside Alexandrs Antonenko and the revelation Anita Rachvelishvili. The Georgian mezzo-soprano will be back next season in Samson et Dalila and Carmen, the role that earned her international fame; so that we almost wish the end of summer were tomorrow!    
Anita Rachvelishvili
Anita Rachvelishvili © Salvatore Sportato

Podcast Lohengrin

Listen the podcast

"Dance! Sing! 7 minutes at the Paris Opera" - by France Musique

07 min

Podcast Lohengrin

By Judith Chaine, France Musique

  • In partnership with France Musique

    Read more

"Dance! Sing! 7 minutes at the Paris Opera" offers original incursions into the season thanks to broadcasts produced by France Musique and the Paris Opera. For each opera or ballet production, Judith Chaine (opera) and Stéphane Grant (dance), present the works and artists you are going to discover when you attend performances in our theatres.

  • Lohengrin - Le casting
  • Lohengrin - Trailer
  • Lumière sur : Jonas Kaufmann dans Lohengrin
  • Lohengrin - Richard Wagner

    — By In partnership with France Musique

Access and services

Opéra Bastille

Place de la Bastille

75012 Paris

Public transport

Underground Bastille (lignes 1, 5 et 8), Gare de Lyon (RER)

Bus 29, 69, 76, 86, 87, 91, N01, N02, N11, N16

Calculate my route
Car park

Q-Park Opéra Bastille 34, rue de Lyon 75012 Paris

Book your parking spot

In both our venues, discounted tickets are sold at the box offices from 30 minutes before the show:

  • €35 tickets for under-28s, unemployed people (with documentary proof less than 3 months old) and senior citizens over 65 with non-taxable income (proof of tax exemption for the current year required)
  • €70 tickets for senior citizens over 65

Get samples of the operas and ballets at the Paris Opera gift shops: programmes, books, recordings, and also stationery, jewellery, shirts, homeware and honey from Paris Opera.

Opéra Bastille
  • Open 1h before performances and until performances end
  • Get in from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 40 01 17 82

Opéra Bastille

Place de la Bastille

75012 Paris

Public transport

Underground Bastille (lignes 1, 5 et 8), Gare de Lyon (RER)

Bus 29, 69, 76, 86, 87, 91, N01, N02, N11, N16

Calculate my route
Car park

Q-Park Opéra Bastille 34, rue de Lyon 75012 Paris

Book your parking spot

In both our venues, discounted tickets are sold at the box offices from 30 minutes before the show:

  • €35 tickets for under-28s, unemployed people (with documentary proof less than 3 months old) and senior citizens over 65 with non-taxable income (proof of tax exemption for the current year required)
  • €70 tickets for senior citizens over 65

Get samples of the operas and ballets at the Paris Opera gift shops: programmes, books, recordings, and also stationery, jewellery, shirts, homeware and honey from Paris Opera.

Opéra Bastille
  • Open 1h before performances and until performances end
  • Get in from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 40 01 17 82

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