ON THE BIG SCREEN

The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, stages Lohengrin, RichardWagner's epic story set in mediaeval Brabant that explores the conflict betweenChristian faith and Germanic paganism. The three act opera was first performedat the Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar on 28 August 1850, the last of hismajor works to premiere before his political exile.

Lohengrin was already established as a legendary characterbefore Wagner came to tell his story in opera. A Knight drawn from the GermanArthurian legends, Lohengrin is a Knight of the Holy Grail and the son of theGrail King Parzival, another fabled figure Wagner wrote music for. In thelegend, Lohengrin is sent to defend the honour of the Duchess of Brabant. Hecan protect her but there is a condition: she must never ask him his name norquestion anything about his identity. The idea of this type of Christian,knightly intervention, and the forbidden nature of knowing anything about itappealed to the German composer and he made it the focal point of his oper aticinterpretation of the tale.

This production of Lohengrin features all of the iconicelements that make this opera so distinctive, from the Bridal Chorus in ActThree to the mythical arrival of the Knight in Act One.