Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts that takes three
and a half hours to perform. It was written by Richard Wagner, being completed in
1848. This was a momentous year in European politics, with revolutions and
uprisings in a number of countries, including Germany. Wagner was involved in
an uprising in his home city of Dresden, with the result that he was exiled to
Switzerland and was unable to premiere his new opera as intended. He petitioned
his friend (and future father-in-law) Franz Liszt to arrange the premiere on
his behalf in Weimar in 1850.
Wagner’s romanticism was largely based on ancient legends
and mysticism with strong Gothic influences. These trends would come to the
fore in his much later Ring Cycle operas, but were certainly present in his
earlier operas including Lohengrin. The plot of this opera was based on a
mediaeval epic poem, “Parsifal”, to which Wagner added his own embellishments
including elements of ancient Greek tragedy.
The setting is the city of Antwerp during the reign of King
Heinrich I of Saxony (876-936)
Act One
There is discord at the court of King Heinrich when Count
Friedrich accuses Elsa von Brabant of murdering her brother. He had previously
been rejected by her and married the sorceress Ortrud instead.
The King declares that the accusation must be settled by
combat, with Elsa’s champion fighting Friedrich. This turns out to be a
mysterious knight who arrives on a boat led by a swan. He agrees to be Elsa’s
champion on condition that should he win she will marry him but must never
enquire about his identity.
The fight takes place with the knight overcoming Friedrich
but sparing his life.
Act Two
There are celebrations in the castle of Antwerp, but outside
the walls Ortrud persuades Friedrich to seek revenge.
When Elsa steps onto a balcony to confess her joy, Ortrud cunningly elicits her
pity. Ortrud warns Elsa not to trust the knight.
In the morning, the King’s herald proclaims the knight to be
“Protector of Brabant”. Elsa arrives in a wedding procession but Ortrud intervenes
and accuses the knight of sorcery. When Friedrich arrives he calls on the knight
to reveal his name but the knight refuses to do so.
Act Three
The act opens with the famous Wedding March that has been
used at weddings ever since the opera was first performed.
Once married, Elsa, troubled by the doubts instilled in her
by Ortrud, asks the knight to reveal his name. Friedrich arrives to take his
revenge by attacking the knight but is killed by him.
In front of the King, the knight presents Friedrich’s body
and accuses Elsa of breaking her vow. He then reveals that he is Lohengrin, the
son of Parsifal and a Knight of the Grail. He must now, with his identity
revealed, return to the home of the Grail at Montsalvat instead of leading an
army on behalf of King Heinrich.
The swan and the boat reappear. Ortrud boasts that it was
her magic that transformed Elsa’s apparently murdered brother into the swan. In
response to Lohengrin’s prayer, a dove appears. He takes a chain from the swan
which then transforms back into Elsa’s brother, Gottfried.
Lohengrin departs on the boat, now led by the dove. Elsa
calls out to her husband then dies in her brother’s arms.
© John Welford
