Lohengrin, premiered in 1850, is considered Wagner’s most lyrical opera, marking the end of his Romantic period. However, it is also the work in which he began laying the foundations for the musical drama he would develop in the following decades, with the constant use of leitmotifs and the pursuit of an infinite melody. Set in medieval times, Lohengrin is a blend of historical opera and fairy tale, featuring a dark side and an episode of supernatural magic.
Love is one of the central themes in Richard Wagner’s work—and life—to the extent that it not only permeates almost all of his operas but, in most cases, serves as the central theme, structuring and elevating his discourse to the highest emotional and intellectual levels. However, love in Wagner should not be understood in terms of romance—the sentimental and sweetened emotion typical of romance novels or melodrama—but rather through the intensity of the philosophy of his time: an absolute concept that transcends the human and governs the forces and order of nature.
«Originally planned for 2020 and postponed due to the pandemic, the world premiere of this production finally arrives in Barcelona with pure Wagnerian DNA.»
In Tannhäuser, an earlier opera, love is presented as a volcanic energy, with a sexual intensity so strong that it both scandalized—and thrilled—the first audiences. In the Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) cycle, love is the force that restores order in a corrupted world, which can only regenerate through its destruction and rebirth by means of true love. And what can be said of Tristan und Isolde? Here, love transcends the physical, becoming a metaphysical power that goes beyond the material world and can only be attained beyond death—understood as a sublime state superior to life and reality.
Similarly, love is the force that governs the world in Lohengrin: when love exists, life thrives; when love becomes a doubtful, relative, or disregarded concept, decadence and oblivion follow.
The latest production of Wagner’s last Romantic opera, now arriving at the Liceu, is based on this idea: here, the current director of the Bayreuth Festival, Katharina Wagner—great-granddaughter of the composer and daughter of Wolfgang Wagner, who was the historic figure behind the German festival’s revival between 1951 and 2008—depicts a cold, almost lifeless world that seems to be reborn with the arrival of the knight Lohengrin, the mysterious bearer of all the forces of good.
Lohengrin offers prosperity to Elsa and the people of Brabant in exchange for a seemingly symbolic but, in reality, very high price: that they never ask him his name or origin. In practice, this would mean accepting love unconditionally as an act of faith, something only possible if one believes in it absolutely.
For this reason, Katharina Wagner’s staging concept is based on the portrayal of a world that shifts between decay and prosperity, and vice versa, depending on the characters' faith in love.
«Katharina Wagner presents in this production a decaying world where love has vanished, reflected in the constant presence of death on stage.»
The director portrays the Duchy of Brabant as a decaying place: it is winter, the land is barren, the trees have lost their leaves, and at the back of the stage, only symbols of death remain, such as a scaffold or a cemetery. Only when Lohengrin exerts his authority over this dark place does the light emerge; in the end, after Elsa’s mistake and the knight’s departure—a desperate ending that Wagner refused to change—the harshness of the setting intensifies. Without love, there is nothing.
In addition to this decayed backdrop, Katharina Wagner employs another device in her production that enhances the drama’s complex psychology: the placement of three elevated spaces where the opera’s four main characters—Elsa, Lohengrin, and the couple Telramund and Ortrud—are positioned, allowing their emotions to be highlighted: from Elsa’s distrust to Ortrud’s malevolent schemes and Telramund’s unrestrained ambition.
Group scenes, in which the chorus plays a significant role, unfold at stage level, while dialogues and individual reflections take place on the upper platforms. In this way, Katharina Wagner aims to emphasize the opera’s psychological and allegorical aspects, relegating historical and political elements—such as the representation of the mystical medieval past or the German national construction of the 19th century—to the background.
This production is a long-awaited world premiere that will finally make it to the stage. Initially planned for the 2019-2020 season at the Liceu, the first rehearsals were even held in preparation for its debut in March 2020. However, after the lockdown decree that year, all performances had to be canceled.
In 2022, it was also scheduled to be staged at the Leipzig Opera—one of the institutions that, alongside the Liceu and the Bayreuth Festival, financed the project—as part of a festival presenting all of Wagner’s operas. However, that premiere was also postponed due to logistical issues.
Since this Lohengrin has yet to be performed in Bayreuth, Barcelona will finally host Katharina Wagner’s production five years later. This staging not only bears the unmistakable family signature and the boldness that defines the Bayreuth Festival’s style—developed in the 1950s by her uncle, Wieland Wagner—but also offers an insightful perspective on the opera’s deepest philosophical essence. Pure Wagnerian DNA for a work that stands among the most perfect and beloved in the German repertoire.