Overture from Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser, or to give it its full title Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg (Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest on the Wartburg) is one of Richard Wagner’s most famous operas. The story centres on the struggle between sacred and profane love, and redemption through love, a theme which runs through almost all of Wagner's later works.
The first performance was given in the Royal Theatre in Dresden on 19th October 1845. Tannhäuser was not the success the composer hoped for and Wagner almost immediately set to modifying the ending, tinkering with the score through 1846 and 1847.
Tannhäuser's first performance in Paris was given on 13th March 1861. The first few performances suffered from rowdy audiences, resulting in Wagner withdrawing the opera after the third performance. This marked the end to Wagner's hopes of establishing himself in Paris, at that time the centre of the operatic world.
Wagner remained unsatisfied with the opera for the remainder of his life. Three weeks before he died, his wife Cosima noted in her diary that "He says he still owes the world, Tannhäuser".
his abridged arrangement for brass band of the exciting overture has been expertly crafted by David Twitchings.