In Lohengrin, Wagner asks us to question love and ask what it means to us, what conditions we ask for its existence and success, and how it is born, cultivated, and destroyed. Elsa is a true revolutionary in search of love as collaboration and companionship, based on shared values and considerations, not on status or social position.
Act I. Orchestra
"Prelude"
Unlike his previous opera, Tannhäuser, which had a lengthy overture – and in some versions, approaches or exceeds 20 minutes – Wagner chose in Lohengrin a shorter prelude, lasting only eight minutes, with an expanded central theme representing the idea of the Holy Grail. It was one of the first leitmotifs used by Wagner to structure the story emotionally and narratively, and it remains one of the most exquisite orchestral moments of his entire body of work. The same Grail theme was later used, towards the end of his career, in the overture to Parsifal.
Act II. Choir
“Treulich gefürt ziehet dahin”
After a brief and tumultuous prelude, Act III begins with the most famous musical passage of Wagner's entire work: the wedding march with which Elsa and Lohengrin exit the church. Initially conceived as a fatalistic piece – the couple's marriage will not last even a day – this graceful and memorable fragment has, over time, become a common piece of music for both religious and secular weddings, aiming to convey happiness and a full life. The fragment features a central role – as throughout the opera – of the choir.
Act III. Lohengrin
“In fernem Land”
After Elsa asks him his name, Lohengrin requests an audience with King Heinrich to reveal his identity. In a long lyrical passage, the protagonist explains his origins: he is a knight of the Grail, son of Parsifal, and his mission is to do good, always anonymously. Upon revealing his name, his power fades and he must return to his land. There are no arias in Lohengrin, but this passage for tenor, lengthy and melodic, is the closest Wagner came to writing a song in his mature works, one of the most emotional moments of his career.
On stage
Since taking on the musical direction of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Orchestra in the 2012-2013 season, Josep Pons has made Wagner's music an ideal of perfection. He was the one who brought the cyclopean magnitude and seismic energy of German symphonic music to the opera stage, and each of his titles is a trial by fire for any orchestra aiming to demonstrate an optimal level. So, when a Wagnerian premiere has been held at the Liceu – and almost all of his essential operas have been performed in the last 12 years – Pons has chosen to take the podium and conduct the musicians. Not only that: beyond the operas, the theater's annual programming has included several symphonic programs – Univers Mahler, for example – whose dual purpose was to enrich the cultural experience of the public while training the orchestra in the densest repertoire. Thus, when the time came to perform Wagner, a compact, precise, and grandiose sound would emerge from the pit. And this Lohengrin, which marks the end of the journey (for now) for Pons, arrives at a moment of maximum precision.
Not only the orchestra, but also the choir conducted by Pablo Assante – who plays a very prominent role in this piece – has maintained its excellent standard, and it is important that every piece be its best version, because, although it might seem on the surface that Lohengrin is a less demanding opera within the set of Wagner's works – at least when compared to Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) or Parsifal – the truth is that it aligns more with Wagner's mature musical dramas than with romantic conventions. All the main voices must make the superhuman effort to rise above a large orchestral mass, remain on stage for many minutes – in a work that is hardly short; it lasts around three and a half hours – and combine with each other to untangle the immense complexity of the score. Fortunately, each of the lead voices in the Lohengrin cast can proudly claim to have earned the title of great Wagner interpreter through effort and talent.
The lead role will be played by the veteran German tenor Klaus Florian Vogt, a sublime singer with a beautiful timbre – extraordinarily bright and refined – ideal for Lohengrin, which contains several lyrical passages of great sensitivity. In the role of Elsa von Brabant will be the Norwegian soprano Elisabeth Teige, one of the great specialists in recent years, and the other central female role, Ortrud, will be taken by a soprano adored at the Liceu, the Swedish Iréne Theorin, who returns to the Theater after several seasons without performing staged opera. The bass roles of King Heinrich and the knight Friedrich von Telramund will be, respectively, played by the Austrian bass Günther Groissböck and the Icelandic baritone Olafur Sigurdarson, two charismatic new Wagnerian stars. The Herald will be portrayed by the German baritone Roman Trekel, and additionally, the smaller roles of the Knights and the Young Nobles will be shared by new local voices: Jorge Rodríguez Norton, Gerardo López, Guillem Batllori, Toni Marsol (Knights), and Raquel Lucena, Oihane González, Mariel Fontes, Gloria López, Mariel Aguilar, and Elizabeth Maldonado (Young Nobles).