Lohengrin: An Opera by Richard Wagner
A summary of the plot
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts that takes three and a half hours to perform. It was written by Richard Wagner, being completed in 1848. This was a momentous year in European politics, with revolutions and uprisings in a number of countries, including Germany. Wagner was involved in an uprising in his home city of Dresden, with the result that he was exiled to Switzerland and was unable to premiere his new opera as intended. He petitioned his friend (and future father-in-law) Franz Liszt to arrange the premiere on his behalf in Weimar in 1850.
Wagner’s romanticism was largely based on ancient legends and mysticism with strong Gothic influences. These trends would come to the fore in his much later Ring Cycle operas, but were certainly present in his earlier operas including Lohengrin. The plot of this opera was based on a mediaeval epic poem, “Parsifal”, to which Wagner added his own embellishments including elements of ancient Greek tragedy.
The setting is the city of Antwerp during the reign of King Heinrich I of Saxony (876–936)
Act One
There is discord at the court of King Heinrich when Count Friedrich accuses Elsa von Brabant of murdering her brother. He had previously been rejected by her and married the sorceress Ortrud…