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“Tannhäuser” by Richard Wagner

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Tannhäuser: German–English Side-by-Side Opera Libretto
Paperback libretto with side-by-side translation

Wagner’s tale of love, desire, and redemption — now in a precise German–English side-by-side format.

See on Amazon → 📄 Preview sample (PDF)

Premiere / date of written: 19 October 1845

“The Pilgrim's Choruses from Tannhäuser exude a certain ecstasy and the confidential effusive bliss of a feeling of remorse.” Franz Liszt The first performance was given in the Royal Theater in Dresden on 19 October 1845.

Libretti

German–English side-by-side translation

# Language Authors
1 German Richard Wagner
2 English

original libretto
side-by-side of the original libretto

History

April 13, 1845 The premiere of Wagner's "Tannhäuser" took place at the Königliches Hoftheater in Dresden.
October 19, 1845 Richard Wagner’s "Tannhäuser" received its world premiere at the Königlich Sächsisches Hoftheater in Dresden.

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Similar Theme

  • Samson et Dalila (1877) — Camille Saint-Saëns Samson faces a conflict familiar from Tannhäuser: sensual desire pulls him away from a religious calling. Unlike Tannhäuser, however, Samson's temptation is deliberately used to destroy him.
  • Der fliegende Holländer (1843) — Richard Wagner Both revolve around guilt, faithful love, and the hope that a troubled man can be redeemed. Holländer tells the idea more simply.
  • Faust (1859) — Charles Gounod Both deal with temptation, sensual desire, guilt, and the possibility of redemption. Faust moves the story into a very different musical and dramatic world.
  • Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1867) — Richard Wagner Both put a singing contest onstage, but they use it very differently. In Tannhäuser it exposes a spiritual crisis; in Meistersinger it leads toward reconciliation.

Good Next Choice

  • Lohengrin (1848) — Richard Wagner Lohengrin is a natural next Wagner opera: medieval legend, spiritual questions, a central love story, and a world where the supernatural is never far away.
  • Tristan und Isolde (1859) — Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde takes Wagner's conflict between desire and the ordinary world much further. The possibility of religious redemption largely disappears.
  • Parsifal (1882) — Richard Wagner Parsifal returns to sin, compassion, ritual, and redemption in Wagner's final opera, with a much slower and more meditative approach.

Tags

Style / Movement: Early Romantic
Structure: Full-length Through-composed
Source: Based on a legend
Theme: Supernatural
Discovery: Crowd-pleaser
Setting: Medieval
Place: Germany

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Also in German

Images

Printed Editions

Year Edition Publisher Buy
2026 Tannhäuser: German–English Side-by-Side Opera Libretto DM’s Opera Series Amazon.com

Audio recordings

Year Cast Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra		 Label,
Comment		 Buy
1954 Tannhäuser — Ramon Vinay,
Elisabeth — Margaret Harshaw,
Venus — Astrid Varnay,
Wolfram — George London,
Hermann Landgrave — Jerome Hines,
Walther — Brian Sullivan		 George Szell
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
 Audio CD: Sony Classical, Cat: 886443900868

 Amazon.com
1955 Tannhäuser — Wolfgang Windgassen,
Elisabeth — Gré Brouwenstijn,
Venus — Herta Wilfert,
Wolfram — Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Hermann Landgrave — Josef Greindl,
Walther — Josef Traxel		 André Cluytens
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus
 Audio CD: Orfeo d'Or, Cat: C 643043D

 Amazon.com
$37.99
1960 Tannhäuser — Hans Hopf,
Elisabeth — Elisabeth Grümmer,
Venus — Marianne Schech,
Wolfram — Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Hermann Landgrave — Gottlob Frick,
Walther — Fritz Wunderlich		 Franz Konwitschny
Berlin State Opera Chorus and Orchestra
 Audio CD: EMI, Cat: CMS 7 63214 2

 Amazon.com
1962 Tannhäuser — Wolfgang Windgassen,
Elisabeth — Anja Silja,
Venus — Grace Bumbry,
Wolfram — Eberhard Wächter,
Hermann Landgrave — Josef Greindl,
Walther — Gerhard Stolze		 Wolfgang Sawallisch
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus
 Audio CD: Philips, Cat: 434 607-2

 Amazon.com
$13.98
1970 Tannhäuser — René Kollo,
Elisabeth — Helga Dernesch,
Venus — Christa Ludwig,
Wolfram — Victor Braun,
Hermann Landgrave — Hans Sotin,
Walther — Werner Hollweg		 Sir Georg Solti
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus
 Audio CD: Decca, Cat: 470 810-2

 Amazon.com
$73.00
1988 Tannhäuser — Plácido Domingo,
Elisabeth — Cheryl Studer,
Venus — Agnes Baltsa,
Wolfram — Andreas Schmidt,
Hermann Landgrave — Matti Salminen,
Walther — William Pell		 Giuseppe Sinopoli
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra
 Audio CD: Deutsche Grammophon, Cat: 427 625-2

 Amazon.com
$23.99
2001 Tannhäuser — Peter Seiffert,
Elisabeth — Jane Eaglen,
Venus — Waltraud Meier,
Wolfram — Thomas Hampson,
Hermann Landgrave — René Pape,
Walther — Gunnar Gudbjörnsson		 Daniel Barenboim
Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra, Berlin State Opera Chorus
 Audio CD: Teldec, Cat: 8573 88064-2

 Amazon.com
$17.55

Video recordings

Year Cast Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra,
Director		 Label,
Comment		 Buy
1978 Tannhäuser — Spas Wenkoff,
Elisabeth — Dame Gwyneth Jones,
Venus — Dame Gwyneth Jones,
Wolfram — Bernd Weikl,
Hermann Landgrave — Hans Sotin,
Walther — Robert Schunk		 Sir Colin Davis
Choir and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival
Götz Friedrich		 Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 073 4446

 Amazon.com
$28.78
1982 Tannhäuser — Richard Cassilly,
Elisabeth — Éva Marton,
Venus — Tatiana Troyanos,
Wolfram — Bernd Weikl,
Hermann Landgrave — John Macurdy,
Walther — Robert Nagy		 James Levine
New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Otto Schenk		 Deutsche Grammophon

 Amazon.com
$10.38

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