Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg

For a performance in Paris in 1861, Richard Wagner prepared a French version of Tannhäuser with modifications to the musical form. Following the “Dresden version” from the world premiere, the “Paris version” was later augmented by a “Vienna version”. In France, it remained customary to perform the opera in the French language even into the second half of the 20th century before the German version took precedence in the interest of “historical performance practice”.

The Paris adaptation, including its authentic French version of the text, has now been issued in a critical edition within the framework of the Richard Wagner Complete Edition and performance material is now also available. This material brings together all three major versions of Tannhäuser, enabling composite versions to be performed. As is well known, Wagner never produced a conclusive version of this opera for posterity.