Wagner’s Lohengrin

Press, 11 February 1983, Page 13

Wagner’s Lohengrin

To introduce a series of programmes marking the 100th anniversary of Wagner's death on February 13. the Concert programme presents a new recording of "Lohengrin.” Wagner’s romantic three-act opera first produced in Weimar in 1850. at 7 pm. today. In the opera, King Henry of Germany, coming to gather his men against a Hungarian invasion, finds that Gottfried of Brabant has mysteriously disappeared and that Count Frederick.

the regent, has claimed the throne. The count accuses Gottfried’s sister Elsa of having got rid of her brother. The king commands that her case be tried according to ancient custom — by ordeal of combat between her accuser and a knight who will defend her. No champion is forthcoming until upon the river appears a boat drawn by a swan. In it is a strange knight, Lohengrin, who will

be her champion and if he wins she will be his betrothed. But she must never ask his name or where he comes from — if she does he must depart forever. Lohengrin wins the fight, but Frederick’s wife Ortrud is determined on revenge and she craftily plants in Elsa’s mind a seed of doubt about the strange knight. Elsa begs Lohengrin to tell her everything but he still refuses. After fighting and killing the count, Lohengrin agrees to reveal the truth about himself in the king’s presence: that he is a Knight of the Holy Grail and son of Parsifal, invincible but only so long as he remains unknown — so he must now depart. The swan reappears and Ortrud asserts that the bird is really Elsa’s brother under a spell. As the white dove of the Holy Grail flies down, the swan changes into the youth Gottfried whom Lohengrin hails as the rightful heir of the land. As the dove leads Lohengrin down the river in the boat, Elsa falls lifeless to the ground. The programme is introduced by Rober Wilson, and in this recording the .Berlin Philharmonic, soloists and chorus are conducted by Herbert von Karajan.