Five facts about “Lohengrin”
- “Lohengrin” premiered on 28.08.1850 in Weimar with conductor Ferenz List. List chose this date in order to honor Johan von Goethe’s birthday.
- Lohengrin’s story is taken from medieval German romance, more specifically by Wolfram von Eschenbach’s “Parsifal” and its continuation: “Lohengrin”, inspired by the Garin le Loherain epic. It’s part of the Swan Knight legend. Lohengrin as a literary figure first appeared as a minor character in the last chapter of the medieval epic poem “Parsifal” by Wolfram von Eschenbach.
- King Ludwig II of Bavaria’s patronship provided Wagner with the means not only to finish the epic “Der Ring des Nibelungen” cycle but to also build the monumental Bayreuth festival theater where he would set the piece. The king named his own castle Neuschwanstein after the Swan Knight.
- “Lohengrin” premiered in Bayreuth in 1984 with director Cosima Wagner and conductor Felix Mottl. The piece was included in order to expand the repertoire after “Der Ring” and “Parsifal” thus becoming part of the ten Bayreuth canon titles. “Lohengrin” is the sixth opera on the Wagner catalogue and the third in the Bayreuth canon.
- “Lohengrin” is the most often set Wagner opera at the Sofia Opera, having had a total of five premieres. The first one was on 5.10.1934 followed by 15.01.1939, 19.04.1968, 18.10.2009 и 13.06.2024.
