In 1842, soon after becoming Saxon Court Composer in Dresden, Wagner visited the Wartburg, a thousand-year-old castle on a mountain overlooking the Thuringian city of Eisenach. There, Wagner became entranced by the tales of Tannhäuser and his love for the Landgrave's daughter Elisabeth, as well as the 13th-century Sängerkrieg: the Minstrels' Contest in which such famous Minnesänger as Walther von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach (author of Parzival), and many others took part. Not long after, Wagner put pen to paper and three years later produced Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg (Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg Castle)—better known as Tannhäuser. (Synopsis and other details here.)

The original Sängerkrieg took place in the Wartburg's Great Hall, which remarkably still stands today. And, thanks to the efforts of the Meiningen State Theater, I was able to experience the Sängerkrieg myself last night through their excellent semi-staged production of Tannhäuser. The wood-paneled room filled with medieval carvings was as ideal acoustically as it was visually, with the singers and the Meininger Hofkapelle (led by one GMD Philippe Bach) sounding crisp and clear all the way to the back. (The hall only held about 300 or so.)

For the first two acts, daylight streamed in through the western windows. But in Act III, darkness overtook the hall, allowing the audience to concentrate on the action onstage. Then, for the final scene where Tannhäuser finally achieves redemption for his transgressions, the ancient chandeliers dramatically came on until they were at full brightness. It was a simple, yet stunning effect. 

The singers weren't household names, but their obvious devotion to this opera yielded some unquestionably strong performances. Tannhäuser was sung by Richard Decker, who, though shaky at times, soldiered through. Soprano Camila Ribero-Souza was forcefully dramatic as Elisabeth while baritone Dae-Hee Shin was a powerful and convincing Wolfram. And bass Ernst Garstenauer melded authority with tenderness as the Landgrave Hermann. The choruses—including the thrilling men's chorus in Act II—were all sung offstage, underneath the balcony which ran along the west side of the hall. 

For those who might find themselves in these parts, there will be one more performance of Tannhäuser in the Wartburg on June 23; contact the Wartburg for more information. 

More pics on the photo page.

Greetings from Germany, where I'll be visiting places new and familiar over the next week, mostly in commemoration of Wagner's 200th birthday on May 22. Germany has struggled in the recent past with how openly to celebrate Wagner, thanks largely to Hitler's co-opting his operas for his own propagandist purposes. But, with memories of those days now passing into history, the country seems ready to fully embrace its most prolific Romantic composer.

On Sunday, I drove straight from Berlin to Bayreuth, where Wagner lived the last decade of his life and where he built his Festpielhaus: the festival theater used to stage the original Ring and Parsifal and long a Mecca of sorts for Wagner fans around the globe. The festival—run now, as always, by members of the Wagner family—is held each year in July and August, but on Sunday, the opera house was made open to the public, allowing visitors to wander around the stage, stand in the orchestra pit, and try on wigs and costumes from the atelier.

I arrived towards the end of the day, and my initial impression was that the house was much smaller than I imagined—less than half the size of the Met. That was deliberate, according to one of the staffers who showed me around: the compact size was the only way to achieve the famous balanced sound, which is as loud and clear from the furthest gallery seat as it is in the orchestra. (This was also possible thanks to the entire auditorium being suspended like a giant echo box.) In addition, the house's small size helped add to the festival's aura of exclusivity, which I can certainly vouch for as someone who has applied for (and failed to receive) tickets for the festival for well over a decade.

I'll be back in the Festpielhaus tomorrow night for a gala Birthday Concert, followed by a "Birthday Party" in the Bayreuth Stadthalle. But, I'll never forget my first peek behind one of music's most exclusive curtains. 

More pics on the photo page.

While the FoM team continues to cover various NYC musical happenings this week, l'll be in Germany covering a whole spectrum of events celebrating Richard Wagner's 200th birthday. Along with concerts in Leipzig (where he was born), Dresden (where he made his name), and Eisenach's Wartburg Castle (the original setting for Tannhauser), the clear epicenter of activity this week is Bayreuth: the unremarkable city in northern Bavaria where Wagner custom-built the theater he needed to stage his monumental Ring Cycle, followed six years later by Parsifal. Bayreuth is also where Wagner built his final home, Wahnfried, behind which he can be found lying under a nameless stone slab.

For the first time, the Bayreuth Festpielhaus will be hosting an open house tomorrow afternoon, allowing anyone who wishes to visit the stage, orchestra pit, dressing rooms, and other previously off-limits locales. And, next Wednesday, the Festpielhaus will host a special Wagner birthday concert, conducted by Christian Thielemann and featuring well-known Wagner singers Johann Botha and Eva-Maria Westbroek. I will be there, for the first of what I hope is many more visits.

Stay tuned for updates.

Pete