On the libretto of the composer, based mainly on the medieval poem "The Contest of Singers in the Wartburg".

Characters:

HEINRICH PTITSELOV, German king (bass)
Lohengrin (tenor)
ELSA, Princess of Brabant (soprano)
FRIEDRICH TELRAMUND, Count of Brabant (baritone)
ORTRUDA, his wife (soprano or mezzo-soprano)
KING'S CALLER (baritone or bass)

Action time: 933.
Location: Antwerp.
First performance: Weimar, Court Theatre, 28 August 1850.

The story of Lohengrin gives rise to a discussion of the age-old problem: should the opera be performed in the original language or in the language of the listeners for whom it was staged. Before the composer, who was also a conductor at the Dresden Opera, could create his new work, he was forced to leave Germany because of his revolutionary convictions. It was in 1849 when revolutionary ideas spread throughout the country. Switzerland became his temporary refuge, where there was no chance to stage this opera, and in the end he returned, full of hope, to France and England. But, despite the fact that Wagner was equally proud of his music and his poetry, he was far from thinking that in any of these countries his opera could be staged in German. He wrote at that time to his friend Edouard Devrient: “Now I am busy translating my last opera, Lohengrin, into English language and the preparation of its performance in London. Then nothing came of these attempts, and the first London performance of the opera took place more than twenty years later, and it was not in German or even in English, but in Italian.

When, a year later, the premiere of the opera was finally able to take place, it was thanks to the original German, since it was given to the German public. It was in Weimar in 1850, when Wagner was still in exile. The orchestra was completed with only five first violins and six second ones. At the same time, the work consisted of 38 numbers, and there were up to thirty choirs. Despite the best efforts of the conductor, who was Wagner's greatest admirer Franz Liszt, the opera was poorly received. (How could it be otherwise with such inadequate means?)

Liszt told Wagner in detail about how the premiere went, since the composer himself could not attend it. The great Wagner was very angry: the performance lasted more than four hours, which gave Wagner reason to believe that Liszt took too slow pace everywhere. However, Wagner had never before heard an orchestral performance of an opera - even if only at a rehearsal, even with a minimal orchestra; he could only play it for himself on the piano. Thus, he did not realize that these long, drawn-out passages at the beginning of the overture - as, indeed, many similar to them later - sound best when played very slowly by the orchestra. On a piano that is not able to prolong a sounding chord for a long time, such episodes should be performed somewhat faster. Eleven years later, when Wagner heard the opera in its entirety for the first time (this was in Vienna), he admitted that Liszt was right. The performance of the opera in its entirety, without cuts and excluding intermissions, takes three and a half hours. Therefore, many opera houses stop some episodes, which only a true aficionado (libretto connoisseur) can notice.

OVERTURE

Everyone's favorite overture to the opera is based almost entirely on the theme of the Holy Grail. Wagner himself very accurately described it in a romantically sublime style: “At first, it seems to an enthusiastic look, filled with a thirst for sublime, unearthly love, that the most transparent blue ether of heaven is clothed in subtle, but at the same time with magical power, eye-catching, enchanting images. In infinitely tender, thin lines, the outlines of a host of angels performing a sacred service, accompanying the holy vessel and inaudibly descending from the bright heights to the earth emerge - gradually more and more clearly. The magical vision, becoming more and more distinct and visible, pours intoxicatingly sweet aromas onto the long-suffering earth: like a golden cloud, clouds of delightful incense fall, capturing the feelings of astonished people, penetrating to the innermost depths of their hearts and making them tremble in a wondrous sacred impulse. Now intoxicating pain, now a blissfully eerie joy fills the souls of those who behold; previously suppressed joys of love awaken in them by the miracle of a life-giving phenomenon, growing with irresistible magical power. Together with the growing feeling of love, a powerful and passionate desire to give oneself completely, to dissolve completely in this feeling is crowded in the chest, tearing it apart - and all this with such force that no human heart has ever known ... "

ACT I

Plain on the banks of the Scheldt, near Antwerp. The ruler of Germany in the 12th century, King Henry the Fowler, arrived in Antwerp. And here he sits under the age-old oak of Justice; next to him are the counts and nobles of the Saxon squad. Against them are the Brabant counts and nobles, led by Frederick Telramund; next to him is Ortrud. The herald, having separated from the retinue of the king, enters the middle of the stage; at his sign, the four royal trumpeters sound a cry. King Henry addresses the knights gathered here and tells them of the renewed war with the eastern hordes. Everyone is ready to follow him into battle. But there is one difficulty, and he calls on Friedrich Telramund to announce the essence of the matter. Friedrich Telramund steps forward and, with increasing excitement, tells a wonderful story. Gottfried of Brabant, while still a boy, strangely disappeared. His sister, Elsa, whom Telramund once intended to marry, took him with her to the forest, and the boy never returned from there. But that's not all: she must have killed him. Thus, in order to avoid marriage with the murderer, Frederick Telramund had to marry another woman - Ortrud Friesland. And now, in the name of his wife, he proclaims himself the full ruler of Brabant. At the call of the herald, Elsa appears, innocence itself, dressed in all white. She sings her famous aria "Elsa's Dream", in which she enthusiastically talks about a beautiful knight who appeared to her in a dream, who promised to come to her and protect her. The dispute, by common consent, must be decided, according to medieval tradition, in a duel. But who will stand up for Elsa? The herald solemnly trumpets announcing the upcoming tournament. But no one responds. He blows again. And again, there is no one who wants to speak for Elsa. The princess and her maids continue to fervently pray, and - lo and behold! - a knight appears in the distance in a boat led by a swan. He is armored in brilliant silver and leans on his sword; He has a helmet on his head, and a shield behind his back, and a small golden horn at his belt. Friedrich looks at the knight in silent bewilderment. Ortrud, who had previously stood in a proud pose, is mortally frightened at the sight of the Swan. In the strongest embarrassment, everyone bares their heads. Standing with one foot in the boat, and the other already on the shore, the knight leans towards the Swan. In a simple aria, he thanks the Swan, sadly saying goodbye to him, and then turns to the king, offering his protection for Elsa. But first she must make two vows: to marry him if he proves victorious, and never to ask his name or where he came from. Elsa accepts both conditions. The knight solemnly declares that "Elsa is innocent and pure in soul, and Friedrich Telramund is shamefully lying." Three Saxon nobles go out on the side of the knight, three Brabant - on the side of Frederick; they solemnly pass against each other and measure out the place for the battle. When all six have formed a full circle, they plunge their spikes into the ground. The herald announces the rules of the tournament. The king, both opponents and the knights say a prayer.

The fight itself is very short. Telramund is thrown to the ground, the alien knight generously spares his life. The action ends with a large ensemble - the choir praises the winner, whose name no one knows. It is unlikely that I will reveal a secret if I say that this is Lohengrin.

ACT II

Although Telramundu's life was spared, both he and his wife, Ortrud, fell out of favor. They spent the night arguing on the steps of the Antwerp Cathedral, where the marriage of Elsa and her savior was to take place in the morning. Before dawn breaks, Elsa appears on the balcony in a white robe; she goes to the balustrade, leans on it and props her head on her hand. Friedrich and Ortrud are sitting on the steps of the cathedral opposite her, in the dark. Ortrud, pretending to be friendly towards Elsa, manages to get herself a place of honor at the wedding celebration.

Dawn breaks, knights and other people appear in the castle courtyard. The herald announces two important things: firstly, Elsa and her savior must marry and, secondly, the campaign against the Hungarians must begin shortly thereafter under the leadership of the new ruler of Brabant - that is, of course, Lohengrin.

Then the long wedding procession begins. All the knights and ladies gather and sing the praises of the lovely married couple. But suddenly Ortrud appears, she taunts Elsa that she does not even know the name and origin of her fiancé. Elsa is frightened, but she is reassured by the appearance of the king with his warriors. Ortrud is ordered to retire, and the procession resumes its procession, which is interrupted once more - now because of Telramund. Standing on the steps of the cathedral with four of his men behind him, he blocks the path of the procession and expresses his accusations in an even sharper way than Ortrud. He demands that the king himself inquire about the name and origin of the stranger. The knight answers. He won't tell anyone but Elsa about it. Does she really want to ask him? After all, Elsa is just a human and a woman too. More time had passed than any heroine could have endured, and Elsa began to have doubts. Then - after a very beautiful concert number - the wedding ceremony resumes, and until Elsa asks her fatal question. Telramund manages to whisper to Elsa that he will be there at night. But she pushes him away, and the procession joyfully moves on to the cathedral.

Then, just before the entrance to the cathedral, Ortrud ominously reappears. The leitmotif of the forbidden question thunders in the orchestra, and the action ends with music that masterfully combines the motives of doubt and joy.

ACT III

Scene 1 A brilliant orchestral introduction, after its last few bars, in which modulation takes place (from G major to B flat major), leads directly to the famous "Wedding Chorus". Wedding attendees sing it to the happy couple on their wedding night and then leave them alone in the bridal suite. Elsa and her still nameless knight - now her husband - sing a love duet, but at that moment doubts again seize her. Her husband tries to soften them with an aria in which he compares her with the most delicate aromas of nature. However, doubts do not go away. He sternly reminds her of the oath given to him and repeats his solemn assurances of love. But the poison that Ortrud and Telramund poured into Elsa's ears continues to act. She already sees a boat, led by a swan, which takes away her husband. And she is already beside herself, frantically, ignoring the protests of her husband, in the end she asks the fatal question: “Tell me - who are you?”

Before he dares to answer (and he must answer), Telramund rushes into the bedroom and with him four of his men. Elsa instantly passes the sword to Lohengrin, and he immediately kills Telramund - inflicting only one blow, but supernatural force. “All our happiness has passed like a dream!..” Lohengrin says with a sad sigh. He orders the body to be transferred and placed before the king, and Elsa to appear before the monarch in her full dress.

Scene 2 Without interruption, the scene returns to what it was in the first act: a plain on the banks of the Scheldt. The pinkish light of the dawn. Gradually, the sunny day flares up. Counts converge here with their squads, ready to go on a campaign. The king's trumpets are heard. The king with his Saxon retinue appears on the left. All the men salute King Henry with blows to their shields. Four nobles bring Friedrich's body on a stretcher and lay it on the ground in the middle of the circle. Elsa appears with a large retinue of women. She slowly approaches with an unsteady gait. The king goes to meet her and escorts her to a chair set against the oak of Justice. Lohengrin appears, armed in the same way as in the first act; he goes to the forefront, solemn and serious. His story sounds. Calmly but firmly, he talks about his home on Mount Monsalvat, where the knights guard and serve the Holy Grail. “From year to year, a dove flies from heaven to endow the cup with new strength: the Holy Grail is the source of pure faith, and it carries redemption in the cup.” His father is Parsifal, king of all the knights of the Grail, and he himself is Lohengrin. But now that his secret has been revealed, he must return. And no matter how sorry he is, he must leave not only his wife, but also King Henry.

Suddenly, screams are heard from the shore. They report the approach of the Swan, carrying the boat. With everyone's tense expectation, Lohengrin goes to the shore and, leaning towards the Swan, looks sadly at him. Then, in a fit of cruel grief, he again returns to Elsa. This time he tells her an amazing thing: she would only have to wait a year, and then “in the glorious radiance of the Grail, your brother would return b, because he is still alive.” Now he, Lohengrin, must return to his place. And he gives Elsa his sword, horn and ring, so that when Gottfried returns, she will give them to him. Lohengrin heads towards the river bank. He solemnly kneels and indulges in silent prayer. All eyes are on him with intense expectation. The white Dove of the Grail flies from the sky and soars above the boat. Lohengrin gives him a look of gratitude, quickly gets up and releases the Swan from the chain. The swan immediately plunges into the water, and instead of him, Lohengrin brings a beautiful boy to the shore in a brilliant silver robe. This is Gottfried. "The Lord Almighty gives Brabant a faithful sword and shield!" Lohengrin says. He quickly jumps into the boat, which the Dove immediately takes away. Elsa looks at Gottfried with the last joyful enlightenment; he goes forward and bows before the king. Everyone looks at the boy with blissful amazement; the Brabantines kneel respectfully before him. Gottfried hurries into Elsa's arms. A brief moment of delight, and then Elsa quickly turns her gaze towards the shore. Lohengrin is no longer visible. He reappears in the distance. Bowing his head, he stands in the boat, leaning on his sword. With her last breath, Elsa falls to the ground, lifeless.

post scriptum about the historical circumstances of this story. While the story of Lohengrin is legendary, the time of the events referred to in the opera can be precisely established. The reign of King Henry the Fowler is fairly well documented. In 923, he concluded a peace treaty with the Hungarians for ten years. In his opening speech in the first act of the opera (which is often emphatically cut off), the king informs the assembled warriors that those ten years have expired.

Henry W. Simon (translated by A. Maykapar)

Wagner first became interested in the legend of Lohengrin in the winter of 1841/42 while living in Paris. What he read about him then was a simple retelling, to which the composer did not attach any importance: besides, the plot seemed to him somewhat confusing and, moreover, far from the German spirit. As we know, Wagner was writing The Flying Dutchman at that time, and the conviction grew stronger in him that he was called upon to establish the tradition of a purely German opera. Until June 1845, the history of Lohengrin was seemingly forgotten: at the same time, Wagner, tired of the hard work of the composer and conductor, went to rest and treatment in Marienbad. There, in peace and quiet, among the vapors of warm springs and the strict symmetry of the landscape, in the insatiable thirst for relaxation that every resort place arouses, the idea of ​​Lohengrin took shape with clarity, surfaced in the composer's memory and brought him into a constantly feverish state. He himself said: “I was advised to postpone any exciting work for the duration of the treatment; I was seized by ever-increasing excitement. The image of Lohengrin in armor suddenly appeared before my eyes as clearly as all the details of the drama were determined in my mind ... One day, around noon, as soon as I began to take a warm bath, a passionate desire to put "Lohengrin" to music again seized me with force. Unable to stay a moment longer in the water, I jumped out of the bath and dressing hastily, rushed like a madman into my room to sketch out in prose the poem already born in my mind. In the following days, the same state came over me until the libretto of the opera was completely finished. Following his custom, Wagner first wrote the literary part, then the music; the literary part, on the other hand, was born in two stages: first, prose, then poetry, a poem, almost entirely intended to be set to music.

The score for Lohengrin was completed in April 1848; in May, Wagner was forced to leave Germany, as he took part in revolutionary events, having experienced the influence of anarchists, in particular Bakunin. Wagner sought refuge in Weimar with Liszt, then in Switzerland, and in 1850 in Paris, where he visited and settled in search of work that would provide for his existence. There, in exile, in the "populous desert", he was more than once seized with despair, which can be read about in his autobiography: "Lohengrin": a deep sadness took possession of me at the thought that these melodies would never sound. Truly, the central idea of ​​the opera is the idea of ​​the exile of the hero who left the homeland of his divine ancestors, the idea of ​​a lost paradise, which we must leave in order to live on earth the days of struggle, bitterness and defeat.

Liszt himself came to the aid of Lohengrin (almost on a boat with a swan), having achieved the inclusion of the opera in the repertoire of the 1850 theater season in Weimar during the celebration in honor of Goethe and Herder.

Rehearsals lasted more than three months and required significant financial costs. Finally, in August, the premiere of this legend took place, which, according to the author, shows how “the ideal becomes the support of the soul when it passionately calls on it, but as soon as it begins to doubt and question the origins of the ideal, it disappears”, because “the miracle gives birth to power faith, and doubt destroys it.

In this sense, the spiritual and moral loneliness of Lohengrin - a hero who came from another world - can be called complete. He hoped, as the Flying Dutchman also hoped, to find a woman who would love him with unselfish love, without dominating him and not jealous of him. The transparent veil enveloping the hero cannot be broken. Each soul keeps a secret, especially the chosen one, keeps its own, so to speak, part of the unreality, so well conveyed in the introduction to the opera with its endless oscillating movement and radiant, inviting timbre. This is the fundamental point of the Wagnerian concept: he sees something sacred in any person, whatever his moral character. This conviction was especially clearly manifested in Lohengrin: the true meaning of the leitmotif is the discovery of a special spiritual essence inherent in each person. The light of the Grail, inextinguishable and motionless, as if soaring, leads a person away from the base vanities of life when they encroach on him. inner world. Charles Baudelaire also dedicated a few quick poetic lines to the exemplary introduction to Lohengrin: “I remember how from the very first bars I felt one of those happy states that almost all imaginative people experience in dreams, in a dream. I felt free from bonds of gravity, and memory returned to me that great bliss that is poured into mountainous areas… It was then that I grasped with all clarity the idea of ​​the soul floating in the realm of light, and that delight, composed of bliss and knowledge, that reigns on high, far from the visible world.” It is impossible to experience a deeper feeling of exaltation and detachment, and this feeling reflects Wagner's own idea of ​​eternity as the cessation of all action that is fed by the devil's machinations and which is a consequence of sin. Historical reality is a chain of accidents, it gives rise to noble, fighting heroes and heroines, and then tramples them or destroys them.

In Lohengrin, both Ortrud and Elsa threaten the son of Parsifal from two opposite sides: Ortrud - from the darkness (features of images similar to her up to Kundry from "Parsifal" are already emerging), Elsa - from the side of the world, she is included in the orbit of the hero-savior (comes from "Saint Elizabeth" from "Tannhäuser") and nevertheless from the inside, it leads its self-destructive, hysterical attack (to use the expression of Thomas Mann). Ortrud belongs important role, she continues the line of romantic, demonic images begun by Weber; Elsa, with her claims to be angelic, will eventually bend to her will. The suffering of both women is described with extensive use of musical means, powerfully revealing the depths of psychology. At the same time, significant results have been achieved in terms of vocals.

The vocal part, however, is still distinguished by the "lyrical" character of Italo-French origin, and the most famous arias belong to the main tenor character. The whole smacks of a "big opera". As a result of all this, "Lohengrin" was a success in Italy, starting with the Bologna premiere in 1871, conducted by Angelo Mariani. Newspaper reviews of the premiere are very positive and emphasize the delight of the public, which, however, perceived some moments coldly, especially “the love duet, which is the culmination of the opera and written with brilliance, full of unusual, philosophical meaning. Nevertheless, he does not impress the Italian public and, perhaps, never will, since, in her opinion, the love of Elsa and Lohengrin, almost divine, requires truly angelic singing. This remark is not entirely true as regards the characterization of the duet, which cannot be called love, since the feeling of both did not materialize. Self-confidence, which leads Elsa to the marriage bed and gives us the illusion of devotion, is supported by a whole brass orchestra, fourteen of their parts: this stained-glass window shimmering with warm colors elevates the marriage ceremony to the limit, marked, however, by a rather forced sincerity. The orchestra, meanwhile, remains the same as in previous operas, but is more confident; a huge reserve of instrumental energy magnifies each event. The actions of the characters, feverish and stormy, are colored by the orchestra in an intense color with the admixture of ambiguity that Wagner knows how to give to the action and conflicts between the characters.

G. Marchesi (translated by E. Greceanii)

History of creation

Wagner met the legend of Lohengrin in 1841, but only in 1845 did he sketch out the text. The following year, work began on the music.

A year later, the opera was completed in clavier, and in March 1848 the score was ready. The premiere scheduled in Dresden did not take place due to revolutionary events. The production was carried out thanks to the efforts of F. Liszt and under his direction two years later, on August 28, 1850 in Weimar. Wagner saw his opera on stage only eleven years after the premiere.

The plot of Lohengrin is based on various folk tales freely interpreted by Wagner. In coastal countries, among peoples living along the banks of large rivers, poetic legends about a knight sailing in a boat drawn by a swan are widespread. He appears at the moment when a girl or a widow, abandoned and persecuted by everyone, is in mortal danger. The knight frees the girl from her enemies and marries her. They live happily for many years, but suddenly the swan returns, and the stranger disappears as mysteriously as he appeared. Often, "swan" legends were intertwined with tales of the Holy Grail. The unknown knight then turned out to be the son of Parsifal, the king of the Grail, who united around him the heroes who guard the mysterious treasure, which gives them miraculous strength in the fight against evil and injustice. Sometimes legendary events were transferred to a certain historical epoch - to the reign of Henry I the Fowler (919-936).

The legends of Lohengrin inspired many medieval poets, one of them is Wolfram Eschenbach, whom Wagner brought out in his Tannhäuser.

According to Wagner himself, the Christian motifs of the Lohengrin legend were alien to him. The composer saw in her the embodiment of eternal human aspirations for happiness and sincere, selfless love. The tragic loneliness of Lohengrin reminded the composer of his own fate - the fate of an artist who brings people high ideals of truth and beauty, but meets with misunderstanding, envy and malice.

And in other heroes, Wagner's tales were attracted by living human features. Elsa, saved by Lohengrin, with her naive, simple soul, seemed to the composer the embodiment of the elemental power of the national spirit. She is opposed to the figure of the evil and vindictive Ortrud, the personification of everything inert, reactionary. In individual replicas of the characters, in side episodes of the opera, one can feel the breath of the era when Lohengrin was created: echoes of the hopes and aspirations of the progressive people of Germany in the 1840s are heard in the king’s calls for unity, in Lohengrin’s readiness to defend the homeland and his faith in the coming victory . This interpretation of old legends is typical of Wagner. Myths and legends were for him the embodiment of deep and eternal folk wisdom, in which the composer was looking for an answer to the questions of his time that worried him.

Music

Lohengrin is one of Wagner's most complete and perfect operas. It reveals with great fullness the rich spiritual world, the complex experiences of the characters. The opera vividly depicts a sharp, irreconcilable clash of the forces of good and truth, embodied in the images of Lohengrin, Elsa, the people, and dark forces, personified by the gloomy figures of Friedrich and Ortrud. The music of the opera is distinguished by rare poetry, sublime spiritualized lyricism.

This is already evident in the orchestral introduction, where a vision of the beautiful kingdom of the Grail arises in the transparent sound of the violins - the country of an unrealizable dream.

In the first act, the free alternation of solo and choral siena is permeated with an ever-increasing dramatic tension. Elsa's story "I remember how I prayed, grieving my soul" conveys the fragile, pure nature of the dreamy, enthusiastic heroine. The chivalrous image of Lohengrin is revealed in the solemnly sublime farewell to the swan "Swim back, O my swan." The quintet with the choir captures the concentrated meditation that engulfed those present. The act ends with a large ensemble, in the joyful jubilation of which the angry remarks of Friedrich and Ortrud are drowned.

The second act is full of sharp contrasts. Its beginning is shrouded in an ominous twilight, an atmosphere of evil machinations, which is opposed by the bright characterization of Elsa. In the second half of the act there is a lot of bright sunlight, movement. Everyday scenes - the awakening of the castle, warlike choirs of knights, a solemn wedding procession - serve as a colorful backdrop for the dramatic collision between Elsa and Ortrud. Elsa's small arioso "O light-winged wind" is warmed by joyful hope, trembling expectation of happiness. The subsequent dialogue emphasizes the dissimilarity of the heroines: Ortrud's appeal to the pagan gods has a passionate, pathetic character, Elsa's speech is permeated with cordiality and warmth. The extended ensemble scene of the dispute between Ortrud and Elsa at the cathedral - Ortrud's vicious slanders and Elsa's hot, excited speech - impresses with dynamic mood swings. A large build-up leads to a powerful quintet with a choir.

There are two scenes in the third act. The first is entirely devoted to the psychological drama of Elsa and Lohengrin. In the center of her love duet. In the second large place is occupied by mass scenes. A brilliant orchestral interlude introduces you to the lively atmosphere of the wedding feast with militant cries, the sound of weapons and ingenuous melodies. The wedding choir "Joyful Day" is full of jubilation. The dialogue between Lohengrin and Elsa "A heart tenderly burns with a wondrous fire" is one of the best episodes of the opera; wide flexible lyrical melodies with amazing depth convey a change of feelings - from intoxication with happiness to collision and catastrophe.

The second painting opens with a colorful orchestral intermezzo built on the roll call of the trumpets. In Lohengrin's story "In a foreign land, in a distant mountainous kingdom", a transparent melody draws a majestic bright image of the messenger of the Grail. This characterization is complemented by a dramatic farewell "Oh my swan" and a mournful, impetuous appeal to Elsa.

M. Druskin

The idea for Lohengrin arose as early as 1841, the text of the libretto was written in 1845, and work on the score was carried out in 1846-1848. Wagner again combined the content of various legends, which dealt with the knights of the Grail - champions of justice, moral perfection, invincible in the fight against evil. It was not the admiration of the Christian-feudal Middle Ages, which is characteristic of reactionary romanticism, that attracted the composer to these legends, but the possibility of conveying the exciting feelings of modernity: longing, human desires, an unattainable dream of happiness, a thirst for sincere, selfless love.

Wagner saw great tragic meaning in the plot of the opera. “The tragedy in character, in the whole position of Lohengrin,” he said, “has its deep roots in the foundations modern life...". The fate of Lohengrin reminded Wagner of the fate of an artist in the capitalist world, carrying words of love and justice to people, but not understood, rejected by society.

The musical and dramatic concept of Lohengrin is close to Weber's Evryante. As well as there, here the forces of evil and deceit in the person of Ortrud and Telramund are depicted in relief, perishing in the fight against justice, which Lohengrin brings to people - the messenger of the Grail. He can do good only by remaining unrecognized. Lohengrin stands up for the slandered Elsa, becomes her husband. But, spurred on by Ortrud, Elsa demands that Lohengrin be revealed to her. (Wagner wanted to embody in the image of Elsa the features of spontaneity, spontaneous, unconscious motives, which, as it seemed to him, are characteristic of the people. “Elsa,” he wrote, “made me a revolutionary ... She was for me the embodiment of the spirit of the people.”). Thus, she violated the ban, and Lohengrin is forced to give up everything that is dear to him on earth ...

The music of the opera is very poetic, in which, according to Tchaikovsky, "the realm of light, truth and beauty" receives a perfect embodiment. And according to the text, "Lohengrin" is the purest, most sublime and poetic that came out from the pen of Wagner the librettist. The depiction of positive images, light forces is marked by features of cordiality and warmth, sometimes majestic sadness. The solemnly sublime musical speech of Lohengrin is imbued with folk choirs, especially in the mass scene preparing the hero's entrance (in Act I), and in the response of the people to his story about himself (in the finale of the opera). In contrast to the restrained, more objective disposition of Lohengrin, Elsa's speeches are dominated by direct lyrical melody, although often her party is permeated with the themes of a wonderful knight.

The main themes that characterize Lohengrin are contained in the orchestral introduction, amazing in its subtlety of expression. With amazing perfection, the slow deployment of a single poetic image is conveyed here - as if from afar, as if it were good news, approaching and again moving away. This is achieved by means of not only dynamics, but also “timbre dramaturgy”: for example, up to the 5th measure, string divisi sound in the highest, crystal clear register, then wooden spiritual instruments join, then horns and strings in a low register, then trombones and tuba, even further - trumpets and timpani, etc. The sonority of the orchestra naturally builds up, intensifies, and just as organically, after a large increase, it fades in the end, again climbing up in the part of violins.

The music of the orchestral introduction is a complex period of repetitive structure, where phrases everyone period likewise begin, which gives inextricable solidarity to the three main themes-characteristics of Lohengrin as a messenger of the Grail. Accordingly, the three phases of development are fixed by modulation in the key of the dominant (E-dur), subdominant (D-dur) and tonic (A-dur). (The key of A-dur plays a large figurative and semantic role in the opera: Lohengrin's exit in the first act and his farewell in the last are associated with it. In general, Wagner likes to single out certain keys as dominant throughout entire scenes. He said that in no case it is necessary to leave this tonality until its possibilities are exhausted.So, in the opera under consideration, the following are important: C-dur in the 1st scene of act I, As-dur - in the 2nd; fis-moll in the 1st scene of II act, B-dur - in the 2nd, etc.)

The above themes are characterized by the combination of marching elements with declamatory elements, common for Wagnerian heroic images (often dotted rhythm with triplet movement). The chord ("choral") structure, the major scale and the motive principle of development, along with the mobility of rhythmic accents - all this reveals connections with the typical features of German folk song melody.

In the music of the opera, the role of another, "chivalrous" musical characteristic of Lohengrin is significant. Here are some common features with thematic folk hero Siegfried, whom Wagner would later immortalize with his music:

The intonation structure of Lohengrin's characteristics and his thematic character permeate not only Elsa's speeches, but also widely developed choral folk scenes (with the exception of the genre wedding scenes of Act III, reminiscent of similar scenes in The Magic Shooter).

The dark forces of evil, perfidy and deceit (they are concentrated in the image of Ortrud) are characterized by a group of themes - angular, prickly, using movement along the tones of a diminished seventh chord (see examples 11 A, b). These leitmotifs permeate the fabric of the opera (the entire 1st scene of Act II is built on their development); the second leitmotif is intonationally akin to the formidable motif of the prohibition (cf. the initial four sounds in examples 11 b and 12):

Wagner gives in Lohengrin an even more consistent development individual rooms into large, transparent scenes (there are three of them in the last acts and five in the second). Among them are both ensembles and dialogues; two stories-monologues also stand out - Elsa in the first act and Lohengrin in the last. Large choral scenes in Acts I and III have already been discussed. The popular warehouse is also inherent in the wedding choir of Elsa's girlfriends, which has earned wide popularity (at the beginning of Act III). It is also necessary to point out the wonderful quintet in Act I, which precedes the dramatic turning point in the opening of the opera - it precedes the duel between Lohengrin and Telramund. Along with the Die Meistersinger Quintet, this is one of the best ensembles created by Wagner.

Among the dialogue scenes, three encounters are important: in accordance with the dramatic situation, they are resolved differently. Ortrud's conversation with Telramund (at the beginning of Act II) leads them, after the count's hesitation, to unity - to the implementation of revenge: here the themes of evil predominate. The spiritual duel between Ortrud and Elsa (at the end of the same act) reveals differences in the character of the heroines: each of them is outlined by an individual intonational sphere. Finally, the pinnacle of the opera - the dialogue scene of Lohengrin and Elsa (act III) leads the development from complete agreement to a tragic denouement.

Diverse, contrasting feelings are captured in this extended scene. Its first half is designed in warm, cordial tones. The soulful motive inherent in Lohengrin's speech dominates (see example 13). But in the development of the conversation, Elsa violates the prohibition: then the “serpentine” intonations of the insidious Ortrud begin to sound in her mouth (see example 14):

A similar method of characterizing the main characters of the opera by a certain sphere of intonation, an individual complex of expressive means, is of great importance in Wagner's work. The concentrated expression of these spheres is concentrated in the main, leading motifs of the opera music - in the leitmotifs (Wagner did not use this term; it was invented by the researcher and promoter of his work, Hans Wolzogen.). Wagner uses them in Lohengrin more widely and more variedly; than in their previous works. Making action deployment more end-to-end, deepening principles symphonizations, it enhances the dramatic meaning of leitmotifs that hold and guide musical development. But while their number is limited, they are subject to changes, sound in voice and orchestra (with the exception of the motive of "God's judgment").

Wagner also uses "leittimbres": Elsa is accompanied by the soft sound of woodwind instruments; the appearance of King Henry is accompanied by a trombone, trumpets; the "shifty" evil theme is often intoned by cellos or bassoons in low register, while the Grail themes are often intoned by strings in high register. Moreover, these intonational spheres are not only contrasted, but, depending on the dramatic situation, they interpenetrate, influence each other, which is especially clearly manifested in dialogic scenes.

Wagner also pays attention to the historical background of the drama. Folk scenes, a procession to the cathedral, a symphonic intermission to act III and the choir of girlfriends following that, a vivid picture of the gathering of soldiers (orchestral music connecting the 2nd and 3rd scenes of the last act) - these and similar moments contribute to the juicy depiction of life, surrounding the heroes of the opera. But nevertheless, in Lohengrin, in comparison with Tannhäuser, Wagner's desire to characterize mental states, psychological conflicts in more detail, rather than the specific setting of the action, was more pronounced. This imbalance in the relationship internal

Opera "Lohengrin" (from the German "Lohengrin")- "romantic opera" in three acts Richard Wagner, composer's libretto.
The premiere took place in Weimar on August 28, 1850.
The plot is based on the fairy tales he is the Knight of the Holy Grail and the Swan Knight.
One day in the kingdom on the banks of the Scheldt, a young man disappears, the heir to the royal throne - Gottfried. Elsa, his sister, is blamed for this mysterious incident. Instead of excuses, the girl dreams of a knight who appeared to her in a dream. During " God's judgment"a boat drawn by a swan suddenly appears on the river - the long-awaited knight is approaching the shore on it ( Lohengrin). In exchange for her salvation, Elsa makes him a promise - never to ask or try to find out who he is and where he comes from. Lohengrin defends the girl and defeats the accuser (Friedrich), but leaves him alive.
The day of the wedding is approaching. Through the efforts of Ortrud (Friedrich's wife), doubts about honesty and devotion creep into Elsa's soul. Lohengrin. She decides to break her promise to her savior. The next morning after the wedding, Lohengrin reveals his secret: he is a knight of the Holy Grail and is now forced to leave his wife, who has violated the oath given to him. If he could stay in the kingdom for at least one year, then her brother would soon return to the girl (as it turned out, enchanted into a swan by Ortrud). With the help of a prayer, Lohengrin disenchants Gottfried and leaves. Elsa dies of grief.

History of creation.

Richard Wagner took a particular interest in the legend in 1842. At that time, the legend was found in many literary sources, such as the "German Tales" by the Brothers Grimm, the epic " parsifal by Wolfram von Eschenbach, a medieval novel about the Swan Knight, and so on. Based on several stories, Wagner created his own Lohengrin. In 1845, the composer wrote the libretto, then worked on the score for two years. By the end of April 1848, the opera was completed.
The opera embodies the composer's thoughts about the loneliness of the artist, the rejection of his creations by modern society. Just as the knight from Elsa's dreams, Lohengrin, saves the girl, and in return seeks pure, devoted and mutual love, but does not find it, so the creator creates masterpieces, but society cannot understand and accept something new, unusual.
In the best traditions of Wagner's works, music has a special role to play. She vividly depicts scenes of the struggle between good and evil, selflessness and greed, devotion and betrayal.
Today, the opera Lohengrin is one of the most popular operas in the world.
Interesting facts:
- originally the premiere was to take place in Dresden, but it was canceled due to the composer's participation in the May Uprising of 1849.
- Richard Wagner was not present at the premiere of "Lohengrin" in connection with the flight to Switzerland. For the first time, he was able to hear his own opera from the stage eleven years later in Vienna.

The legend of the knight Lohengrin appeared in Germany around the 12th-13th centuries. none historical event it is not connected with it, its basis is purely fabulous, folklore. This ideological legend with a dramatic intriguing plot contains two important moral and moral conclusions: the victory of good over evil is always rewarded, and punishment always follows for breaking an oath. It is no coincidence that the fascinating story about Lohengrin served as the basis for the German composer Richard Wagner for his opera of the same name, which was a success not only in Germany.

After the death of the old Duke of Brabant and Limburg, the daughter, the beautiful Elsa, became the heiress of all his possessions. She lived in Anver Castle on the banks of the Scheldt River. Even during the life of her father, many eminent knights, rich barons wooed her. Among them was the famous knight Friedrich Tel-ramund, a participant in many combat jousting tournaments, in which he always emerged victorious. But Elsa didn't like Telramund. He was tall, broad-shouldered, but cruel in character, liked to show off and considered himself the strongest man in the whole duchy.

After the feast for the deceased duke, knights and barons gathered in Anver Castle. They again began to offer their hand and heart to the lonely Elsa. Everyone promised to protect her honor and dignity and make her happy.

Then Telramund stepped forward and announced to everyone that the late duke had long promised to give him his daughter Elsa as a wife. They had a secret pact. That this is the true truth, Telramund swore on his battle sword. The oath on the sword was considered sacred. But Elsa, who was present, rose from her seat and said that Telramund was lying. Her father never told her that he agreed to her marriage to him. He wanted to see his daughter married to a man whom she herself would choose and love.

The knights and barons were confused. They knew Telramund well. If he swore on the sword, then he spoke the truth. But Elsa wouldn't lie either. Which of them is right? They could not decide this and invited King Henry the Fowler to judge them.

The meeting was arranged in a clearing under an old oak, which was called the tree of justice, under which local lawsuits were often sorted out. The arriving king decided that a duel would solve this dispute: each of the disputants would defend his honor - Tel-ramund with a weapon in his hands, and the one she chose would speak for Elsa. Whoever wins the duel will be right.

In vain Elsa turned to the knights and barons, who until recently offered her their hand and heart. None of them wanted to fight Telramund in order to defend her honor. Everyone was afraid of him, they knew that he had no equal in knightly tournaments.

Elsa spent the whole night in tears, praying, asking for protection from heavenly forces, and in the morning she went to the banks of the Scheldt River. And suddenly I saw a boat driven by a snow-white swan. In the boat stood a young knight in armor, he smiled and waved affably to her. The boat moored, and the knight went ashore. He said that he would be Elsa's protector and would take part in the duel.

Elsa liked the knight very much. She took him by the hand and led him to a clearing where knights and barons had already gathered. The king gave the command to start the duel. The fight didn't last long. The young knight easily beat off all the blows of the mighty Telramund, but he did it on purpose to piss him off. And when he got angry and began to advance, the young knight knocked him to the ground with one blow of his sword and put the sword to his throat. The moment of truth has come.

Then Telramund confessed to everyone that he had lied, that he was an oathbreaker. He was expelled from the duchy in disgrace. And the king invited Elsa to marry a young knight. Elsa happily agreed. Then the king asked his name. He replied that he was from a noble family, his honor was not tarnished by anything, and he should be called the Knight of the Swan. The king blessed the young for marriage.

The Swan Knight told Elsa that he was ready to marry on one condition - she would never ask his real name. Elsa swore. They settled in her castle on the banks of the Scheldt. Both were happy.

The knight took part in the military campaigns of King Heinrich Ptitselov more than once, fought in tournaments, in which he always emerged victorious.

Soon Elsa had a son. Many noble women came to congratulate her. Among them was the envious Elsa, Ursula, whose husband was defeated in the tournament by the Knight of the Swan. Ursula began to ask Elsa what her husband's name was, because he was the father of the boy who was born, who should inherit his name.

Elsa gave little thought to the name of her husband. She loved him, was happy with him, but after the birth of her son, she also wanted to know the real name of her husband. She began to pester him with questions. And every time the Knight of the Swan answered her the same thing:
- I come from a noble family, I will leave a rich inheritance to my son. Just don't ask about my name.
- But why? Elsa didn't understand.
“If I tell it to you,” he answered her, “our happiness will end immediately.
This answer puzzled Elsa even more. She forgot about her oath and decided at all costs to find out the secret of her husband.

Somehow she spent the whole night without sleep, thinking about what her husband was hiding from her, why he could not confess to her, his faithful wife. And in the morning she told him that she had lost her peace, that she knew neither sleep nor rest, and only thought about what secret he was hiding from her. The Swan Knight took a deep breath, he realized that Elsa would not rest until he told her his name.

You did not keep your oath, Elsa, - he said gloomily. - I will tell you my name, but after that we will part.
Elsa was frightened, rushed to him, began to ask for forgiveness. But he pushed her away.
- It's too late, Elsa, I promised you to open up, and I will open up, - he said. - Tomorrow morning, on the banks of the Scheldt, I will tell you my name.

Early in the morning they came to the river bank. There, a boat was already rocking in the waves, brought by a white swan. Local residents were waiting on the shore; King Henry the Fowler himself arrived with a retinue of barons and knights. Elsa could hardly stand on her feet from grief, she was in tears. The swan knight entered the boat and said to everyone:

My name is Lohengrin, I am a knight of the Holy Grail. My father is the knight Parsifal. We always come to the aid of the innocent offended. We help them and return to our brotherhood. But if a knight falls in love with a girl, he can stay with her forever, but only on one condition - she must take an oath that she will not ask his name. If she breaks this oath, then he must return back and become a knight of the Holy Grail again.

Then the knight ordered to bring a little son. He kissed him and held him to his chest.

Beloved, the hour of separation has come, - Lohengrin said to Elsa. - Now we will part with you forever. Name your son Lohengrin. To him I leave my sword and shield. They will keep it in battle.
With these words, the swan flapped its wings, pulled the boat with the knight, and it soon disappeared from sight. Elsa could not stand the loss of her beloved husband. She fell unconscious on the shore and died immediately.

October 13th, 2009

"The spirit of music for me is akin to the spirit of love"

Richard Wagner.

One of the most significant romantic operas, Lohengrin, first staged in 1850, was written by Richard Wagner in 1848 based on medieval German novels. The opera tells the story of Lohengrin, the knight of the Holy Grail, the son of Parsifal. Lohengrin is sent in a boat pulled by a swan to save the maiden and the kingdom, left without an heir. The hero of Lohengrin is first mentioned in the poem Parsifal by Wolfram von Eschenbach (1210), the most famous German epic of the Middle Ages, which in turn was a variation of the earlier medieval fairy tale The Swan Knight.

The first idea for the opera came to Wagner in 1842 in Paris. In the summer of 1845, while staying at a resort in Marianske Lazne, Wagner made a sketch of the opera and set about developing a libretto. In May 1846, he set to work on the music, in July of the same year the outline of the opera was worked out, the final score of the opera was completed on April 28, 1848. The premiere was delayed for two years due to difficulties in finding a theater where the opera could be staged, and also because of the May Revolution of 1849, in which Wagner was accused and expelled from the country, and he saw his opera on stage only through eleven years after the premiere. However, since the premiere of this opera, Wagner's popularity has been on the rise. The first premiere of Lohengrin took place in Weimar, Germany on August 28, 1850 at the German National Theater (State Chapel). Wagner was not present at the premiere, Franz Liszt, a close friend and supporter of Wagner, took over the staging and conducting. Liszt chose the premiere date in honor of the city's most famous resident, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was born on August 28, 1749. The first Russian premiere of the opera took place at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on February 5, 1873, as part of a double program along with the premiere of three acts of Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov.

Characters

Henry I "Birdcatcher", German King - bass
Lohengrin - tenor
Elsa of Brabant - soprano
Friedrich Telramund, Count of Brabant - baritone
Ortrud, his wife - mezzo-soprano
Royal Herald - baritone
Four Brabant nobles - two tenors, two basses
Four pages - two sopranos, two altos
Choir (Saxon and Thuringian counts and nobles. Brabant counts and nobles. Noble ladies. Pages. Warriors. Women. Servants.)
Duke Gottfried, Elsa's brother - silent role

The opera takes place in Antwerp in 933.

Act one

Plain on the banks of the Scheldt, near Antwerp. King Henry arrives in the Duchy of Brabant, where he has gathered the German tribes to expel the Hungarians from his dominions, and also to settle a dispute between two of his subjects, Count Frederick of Brabant of Telramund and Elsa of Brabant. Count Friedrich of Telramund acts as regent and guardian of the little duke Gottfried of Brabant against his sister Elsa, who is also under his guardianship, as their late father put. Elsa's brother disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Elsa went for a walk with him and returned alone, and now Friedrich, provoked by his newly-made wife Ortrud, accuses Elsa of killing her brother and demands that she give him the duchy.

Elsa appears, accompanied by her servants. She proclaims her innocence. The king appeals to the ordeal, desiring that the judgment of God be accomplished through a trial by combat. Friedrich readily agrees. When the king asks Elsa about her protector, she describes the knight she saw in a dream, falls to her knees and prays to God to send her help. Twice the herald with four trumpeters, each turned in different directions of the world, vainly called out to the unknown knight, but when Elsa called herself in fervent prayer, a miracle happened.

A boat drawn by a swan appears on the river, and in it stands a knight in shining armor. He goes ashore, releases the swan, and, having greeted the king with reverence, asks Elsa if she wants him to be her protector. Elsa knelt before him and told him that she was giving him power over herself. As payment for his services, the knight asks for only one thing - Elsa will never ask him who he is and where he came from. Elsa agrees. Frederick's men ask their master to surrender, as he cannot fight against magic, but Frederick proudly refuses, and the battlefield is immediately prepared. All present, except Ortrud, who worships her pagan gods, appeal to God to judge and grant victory to the right. A battle ensues and Friedrich is defeated, but a mysterious knight grants him life. Taking Elsa by the hand, the knight proclaims her innocence and asks for her hand in marriage. Rejoicing and praising the victory, people disperse, Ortrud and Friedrich also leave, moaning about their defeat.

Act two

On a dark night, the humiliated Friedrich and Ortrud sit on the steps of the cathedral in the courtyard of Antwerp Castle. The emaciated and outcast count is annoyed with his fate. Ortrud is preoccupied with vengeance, she hoped to restore through the accusation the power of a kind of Frisland, her family, who once ruled Brabant. Friedrich blames his wife for the disgrace he suffered, as she is the only one who claimed to have witnessed Elsa's murder of her brother, and she also awakened in him the ambition of seizing the throne. Ortrud skillfully resists all accusations. She persuades her husband to believe that it was only magic that helped the knight win, but it can be dispelled either by revealing the stranger's name or if Friedrich injures him; a drop of blood lost would be enough to render the knight exhausted.

Elsa is happy, but when she sees two unfortunate outcasts from her balcony, pity awakens in her. Friedrich is in hiding. Elsa listens to Ortrud and goes down to the yard. As she descends, Ortrud, well-versed in the affairs of magic, calls on the pagan gods Wotan and Freya for revenge and thinks up a plan for revenge. When they meet in the courtyard, Ortrud rushes to Elsa's feet and begs for forgiveness, Elsa generously forgives her and invites her to her wedding.

Gradually lightens up. On the tower two guards trumpet the dawn; they answer from a distant tower. The four trumpeters of the king come out and blow the call:

The king's herald announces to the people about the expulsion of Frederick and that the mysterious knight takes control of the Brabant region and will soon lead an army against the Hungarians. Since the knight does not want to take the rank of duke, he asks to be called the Guardian of the Edge (Schützer von Brabant) (Before the Second World War, the libretto instead of "Guardian" was "Leader", Führer).

Wedding day. IN wedding dress Elsa appears, accompanied by her female retinue, who lead her to the cathedral. Before entering the church, Ortrud stands in the way of Elsa, declaring that it is her right, Ortrud, to go first; her respectable husband is a victim of deceit in a fake court, while Elsa does not know her husband's name, whether he has honor and is afraid to even ask him about it.

The king, knight, Saxon counts and nobles appear. The knight reprimands Ortrude, reassures Elsa, and then Friedrich appears, who had previously been hiding near the cathedral. He appeals to the king, trying to explain that God's judgment was dishonorable; with great difficulty he succeeds in persuading people to listen to him. Looking at the knight, Friedrich demands that he confess who he is and where he comes from, otherwise it will be evidence of deception. The knight refuses, only Elsa can ask him to reveal himself, but she believes him. Even despite the instigation and persuasion of Friedrich, who offers to cut off a piece of the knight’s finger so that she learns the truth, Elsa remains unshakable.

Act three

Wedding choir. Perhaps the most famous part of the opera, known as the "Wedding March", is still played at weddings in many Western countries:

Elsa and the knight are left alone in the room, confessing their love to each other, Elsa yearns to find out who he is. Confused and afraid that the swan will return and take her husband away, she breaks her promise and insistently asks him to tell about himself. At this moment, Friedrich and his retinue rush in to them. Elsa gives the sword to the knight, and he kills Friedrich with one blow, after which, horrified, Friedrich's associates drop their weapons and fall to their knees. The deeply shocked knight orders the nobles to take the corpse to the court of the king, and the women who arrive dress Elsa and take her to the same place where he will reveal his secret. It's getting light.

The king with his people is standing on the banks of the Scheldt River, waiting to go on a campaign. Frederick's corpse is brought; the mysterious knight tells the king about the attack on himself and says that he cannot lead the warriors into battle. After that, he reveals who he is. His name is Lohengrin, he is the son of King Parsifal and the guardian of the Holy Grail. The Cup of the Last Vespers endows the knights guarding it with unearthly power. Even when they go to other lands to fight for truth and honor, this force is with them so far no one knows who they are.

Lohengrin has opened, and the Grail demands its return. Despite all the persuasion of the warriors and Elsa, Lohengrin heads to the shore, where a boat drawn by a swan is already waiting for him. Ortrud appears and thanks Elsa for getting rid of Lohengrin. Then she informs that the swan is in fact none other than Gottfried, Elsa's brother, whom she has bewitched and who must now leave this land forever, remaining a swan for life. Lohengrin hears all this and kneels in prayer. Then the white dove of the Grail appears in the sky, the swan hides in the waters of the river, and instead of him, a boy appears from the water - Gottfried in a sparkling robe. Lohengrin quickly jumps into the boat, which is taken away by the dove, grabbing the chain. The Brabantines kneel respectfully before Gottfried. Elsa watches as Lohengrin, led by a dove, moves away over the horizon. She falls dead into her brother's arms.

Opera history

According to Wagner himself, the Christian motifs of the Lohengrin legend were alien to him. The composer saw in her the embodiment of eternal human aspirations for happiness and sincere, selfless love. The tragic loneliness of Lohengrin reminded the composer of his own fate - the fate of an artist who brings people high ideals of truth and beauty, but meets with misunderstanding, envy and malice.

It was only after the immediate impression of reading had faded that the image of Lohengrin began to appear again and again, becoming more and more attractive, at the forefront of my soul. And the power of the image increased outwardly as soon as I got acquainted with the myth of Lohengrin in its simpler form, in which, despite the simplicity, the meaning was deeper - in the form of a folk tale, and with how this myth proceeded from this state, through transformations , into today's traditional knowledge of myths. After I saw in it a pious tale of piercing human aspirations, the core of which was not limited to the Christian craving for the supernatural, this image began to become more and more close to me.

Richard Wagner

What is really the most characteristic thing in human nature, to which does the striving for the unattainable return as the only possible source of satisfaction? This is the need for love, and the distinguishing feature of this love in its most essential manifestation is the desire for absolute sensible reality, for the pleasure derived from an object that can be comprehended by all senses, and which could be completely and forever surrounded by all the power of real being.

Richard Wagner Franz Liszt

Immediately after finishing writing Lohengrin, feeling the pressure of everyday circumstances, Wagner decided to come to grips with the distribution of his operas in Germany. At that time, his operas were not particularly successful. The last opera, Tannhäuser, although slowly gaining popularity, was only in Dresden, which did not affect other cities in any way. Wagner turned his attention to Berlin as the only place that could influence German theaters. In Berlin, one should have started with some older and famous opera, but Tannhäuser was dismissed by the Berlin theater as too epic, Rienzi, which was successful in Dresden, also failed in Berlin, mainly due to the mediocrity of the main tenor. Problems with theaters and critics dragged on. Wagner, implicated in the failed May Revolution of 1849, was forced to leave his post as conductor at the Dresden Opera and leave Germany. Wagner lived in exile for many years.

Dear friend, I have just been looking through the score of Lohengrin. I rarely read my own work. A great desire suddenly seized me that this opera should be performed. I address this desire to your heart:
Put on my Lohengrin! You are the only one I can pray for; except you, I can not entrust this production to anyone; I give it to you with joy and confidence. Put it where you like, even if only in Weimar; I am sure that you will provide all the necessary and possible means, and nothing will be refused to you. Put on "Lohengrin" and let its existence be your business!

Franz Liszt readily agreed to help a friend. Communication and preparation for the production went through correspondence. Sketches of scenery Wagner drew himself and sent them to Liszt. Also, the composer, being confident in the integrity of his opera (which was confirmed later): the successful and perfect connection of music with words and action, asked Liszt to stage it as it is, without adding or cutting anything. There were only minor adjustments by Wagner. In a letter to Liszt dated July 2 from the Swiss Thun, Wagner requested that the final aria of Lohengrin be shortened by 56 bars, and now it ends with the words "ich bin Lohengrin genannt". Wagner also asked to organize the sale of the libretto and help him attend the premiere incognito.

From a letter from Liszt to Wagner, mid-July 1850:
Lohengrin will be put on special conditions conducive to success. Two thousand thalers will go to the production, an amount hitherto unheard of in Weimar. Journalists are also not forgotten, articles will be published in selected newspapers. I take over auditions for pianists, strings, choir and orchestra. The premiere will take place on the day of Goethe's anniversary, August 28th, and three days earlier, on the 25th, there will also be an open monument to Herder. Thanks to these two events, the city will have a lot of people, including from the upper strata of society. All this should help the success of the opera.
After two premieres in a row, the theater will be closed for the next month, and a new production of Lohengrin will take place closer to winter. As for your coming to the premiere, with pain in my heart I have to disappoint you, your return to Germany is absolutely impossible.

On August 16th, by letter from Zurich, Wagner gave further instructions for several adjustments to the score, mainly regarding tempos. On the evening of August 28, Wagner and his wife Minna spent in Lucerne at the Schwan Hotel. The news that came after the premiere contained nothing clear, nothing reassuring; they said that in general the opera made a good impression on the audience. But only Liszt's letter to Wagner earned the latter's trust:

Your Lohengrin is the greatest work from start to finish. My heart cried several times. The opera as a whole is an indivisible miracle, I cannot count the number of passages, combinations, effects... The duet of Elsa and Lohengrin in the third act is, in my opinion, the culmination of true art in all its glory.
Our first impression was good enough. The count and a few intelligent people in Weimar are full of sympathy and admiration for your work, and as for the public at large, they are compelled to admire and applaud what they do not understand.
You can be quite sure of the fate of a masterpiece in Weimar, where you are no doubt a little surprised by the ability to stage such things. Until the end of winter, Lohengrin will definitely become the “bait” of the theater.

The second production of your masterpiece lived up to my expectations, and the third and fourth will confirm everyone in the opinion that I expressed as soon as we began listening to Lohengrin, namely, that this work will please the public, becoming worthy of understanding and deserving of pleasure from more respect than rendered by any amount of applause from the public.
"Down with all this theatrical dirt!" - I exclaimed when we auditioned the first scenes of the opera, - "Down with all this critical rubbish and routine among artists and the public!" Finally, in the end, I can assure you with full confidence that your work will be better performed, heard and understood with each production. With regard to the latter, understanding, this is, in my opinion, the most important, since it is not only about the singers and the orchestra, which serve only as instruments in the drama revolution, but also, and above all, about the public, which must be raised to the level where she can, through sympathy and sound understanding, associate herself with an understanding of a higher order than that of the indolent amusements with which she feeds her imagination and sensibility every day in our theaters.
This must be done, and if necessary, by force; as they say in the Gospel, the kingdom of heaven is subjected to violence, and only those who use violence take possession of it.

I began to write some notes on what we had heard about the operas Tannhäuser and Lohengrin; but in the process I became convinced of the impossibility of expressing myself completely. In this regard, I could continue to write endlessly. If you take the time to read this, I will be grateful. I would just like to add a few words. From the first day I heard your music, I constantly say to myself, especially in sad moments: "If only I could hear a little Wagner today." No doubt there are many like me. Ultimately, you can be satisfied with an audience whose flair bridges gaps in journalists' knowledge. Why don't you give more concerts with new works? You whetted our appetite for new experiences; do you have the right to withhold the rest from us? - Thank you again, dear; in difficult moments you helped me to remember myself and great things in general.

Charles Baudelaire, French poet, Wagner

As soon as the creative force took possession of him, history turned into soft clay in his hands. Then he immediately becomes in a different relationship with her than any scientist. And precisely because she was even more submissive and obedient to him than any dream, he could put into a single event the typicality of entire epochs and in this way achieve the truthfulness of the image, inaccessible to the historian. Where was the flesh and spirit of the knightly Middle Ages so conveyed in images, as is done in Lohengrin?
Lohengrin contains a solemn warning against research and questioning. Wagner defends with this the Christian concept "you must and must believe."
The prologue to Lohengrin provided the first, only too risky, too successful example of how music can also hypnotize.
Yesterday was Sunday. As a reward for allowing himself to be tormented by Mr. Brecht for several days in a row, his mother took him to the City Theater to listen to Lohengrin. The thought of this evening filled his heart with joy for a whole week. He was annoyed only by the fact that this time, as always, such a celebration was preceded by a lot of troubles that darkened the happiness of waiting. But on Saturday, the school week finally ended, and the drill buzzed angrily in his mouth for the last time. Now everything is over, and he, without hesitation, postponed the lessons until Monday. And what does Monday even mean? Will he ever come? And how can anyone believe on Monday who is going to listen to Lohengrin on Sunday evening?

Silantieva Evgeniya

Lohengrin

Summary of the myth

Lohengrin is a German knight who appears in the Arthurian epics.

The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail, sent in a boat pulled by swans to save a maiden who should never ask about his parentage. His story is a version of the legend of the Knight of the Swan.

Justice has been violated, and the beautiful Elsa may suffer. The unambitious knight swore on his sword that she was promised to him as his wife after the death of her father, although this was a lie. Her offender triumphs, because according to the rules, he can be punished only if there is a knight who is ready to stand up for the honor of the lady and defeat him in battle. And this is unlikely to happen: everyone in the district knows the strength of the offender and his ability to wield a sword. In vain Elsa begs all the vassals of her dead father to help her. Nevertheless, the tournament is appointed, but no one dares to protect Elsa: this promises certain death. And at that moment, when hope is almost lost, the spectators gathered for the tournament suddenly hear a mysterious melodic ringing. Turning to the river, they see a beautiful swan, which is carrying a boat along the river. A handsome young man is sleeping in the boat.

He wakes up, goes ashore and answers all questions only that justice has been violated here, and he must restore it by fighting Elsa's offender. Despite the excuses, the young man challenges the offender to a fight and defeats him.

The love that arose between him and Elsa leads to a wedding that caused universal rejoicing and the decision to stay. The only condition that the mysterious savior places on Elsa is that she must never ask about his name and origin. At first, this is not an obstacle, but evil tongues fuel her curiosity, and soon Elsa breaks down and asks her husband to explain everything.

And then he says that his name is Lohengrin, that he is the son of Parzival and is in the brotherhood of King Arthur, which has not disappeared, but simply retired to places inaccessible to others. From year to year, noble knights watch what is happening on earth. And if the basic laws of goodness and justice are violated somewhere, they send their messenger, who must at all costs restore order.

Lohengrin was one of these messengers. But, according to the rules, he could only remain in the world as long as his name and origin were unknown. And so now Lohengrin must go back. From the side of the river, the ringing of bells is heard, a swan appears, which takes Lohengrin and takes him upstream.

Images and symbols of myth

The myth of Lohengrin creates images of justice, honor and destiny. Lohengrin speaks on behalf of the Knights of the Holy Grail, the personification of not only justice and purity, but also the most honest and noble people on earth.

The main symbol of Lohengrin is the White Swan. Firstly, for a person, swans personify beauty and romance, which is caused by their grace and belonging to several elements: water and sky. The white swan is a symbol of purity and purity, very unsteady, since this bird has always been an object of hunting because of its valuable down.

The sword is the main weapon of the knight. Sword - This is one of the universal and very ancient symbols of mankind. Both legendary and real swords were deeply revered at all times. The meeting of the warrior and the sword was not accidental. Never did a sacred weapon give itself into unworthy, unclean hands. Durendal of Roland, Joyeuse of Charlemagne, Excalibur of the legendary King Arthur - they never let down the warriors who marched towards danger. They swore on such weapons. With such a weapon they administered the judgment of God. On the eve of the battle, Western European knights stuck their swords with cruciform handles into the ground and knelt before them in prayer. In the Middle Ages, sacred relics were often placed in the hilt of a sword. A warrior who swore an oath on such a shrine and violated given word, was no longer just a perjurer - he committed sacrilege.

The sword is a symbol of the immediate embodiment of words and thoughts into action. Obtaining the right to bear the sword, the knight took upon himself the obligation to always follow his duty. The sword is the soul of a warrior. The ability to give before taking, to provide help before asking for it, the ability not to retreat in the face of difficulties, but to be the first to overcome them.

The shield is a symbol of protection. It is the basis of any coat of arms.

Gold (golden boat) - is an image of light. Gold is not associated with any light, but with the light of the sun. According to Christian symbolism, gold is the divine color. The common denominator of the symbolism of gold and the symbolism of the Sun is the ancient idea of ​​a righteous king or messiah, bringing to his subjects a "golden age", or, which is the same, the "kingdom of the Sun". In the legend of Lohengrin, the golden color also testifies to the nobility and nobility of origin.

The Holy Grail is a mysterious Christian artifact from medieval Western European legends, found and lost. The words "Holy Grail" are often used in a figurative sense as a designation of some cherished goal, often unattainable or difficult to achieve.

Communicative means of creating images and symbols

The formation of a positive attitude towards Lohengrin and the perpetuation of his image were served by German and French epics, glorifying the Knight of the Swan. The most famous responses to the legend of Lohengrin are:

Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin. The original idea for an opera based on the story of Lohengrin came from the composer in 1841. The legend of a noble knight of magical power and marvelous beauty has long existed in various versions among the peoples of the northern coast. Western Europe. The composer chose the most poetic version and tried, as he himself said, "to free these myths from the contradictory influences of Christian thought and restore in them the eternal poem of pure humanity..."

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, built in honor of the knights of the German epic and Lohengrin in particular, which was the embodiment of the dream of Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886). One and a half kilometers from Hohenschwangau, Ludwig saw a rock on which stood a ruined watchtower. This rock, he decided, would serve as a building site for Neuschwanstein, his "new house with a swan." The walls of the halls are decorated with paintings and engravings dedicated to the Swan Knight. Later, Ludwig added stories about his father Parsifal, the search for the Holy Grail, the Knights of the Round Table to the halls.

Mentions of Lohengrin can also be found in many sources: in Wolfram von Eschenbach's epic "Parsifal" (since Lohengrin is the son of Parsifal), in the German legends of the Brothers Grimm, in the medieval novel about the Swan Knight, etc.

The social significance of the myth

"The myth of Lohengrin, in its simplest features and deep meaning, as a true creation of folk fantasy, grew before me from latest research folk epic," Wagner wrote.

The legend of Lohengrin touches on the theme of "pure humanity", faith and the fulfillment of one's destiny. Such things worried people absolutely at all times and all over the world. Modern man yearns for the lost myths, so he continues to look in the myths for answers to his questions, new interpretations, debunks. This is the foundation of human thinking. Myth is the birth of the idea of ​​an ideal world order in the past.

Why is the legend of Lohengrin important to us? - Because it tells about human kindness, about the power of faith, about nobility, all the key concepts necessary for understanding and explaining the world around us, society. The legend shows the rules by which interaction between people takes place: are you pure in heart and thoughts and do you need help? - you'll get it. If you let doubts take over and destroy your faith in purity and purity, well, you are already losing much more than just help.

These are the foundations and laws of human communication. In legends, they, as a rule, appear in the most simple and understandable light. Lohengrin was a kind of law, and by breaking it, Elsa lost Lohengrin. There is another very important image in the legend - the society of the knights of the Holy Grail, which appears as a kind of force that is ready to help those in need. Faith in the existence of such a force, even in our information and technological age, helps people in difficult moments of life.