Wagner's opera Tannhauser will be the opening opera of NCPA Opera Festival 2016

Tannhauser is an 1845 opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner. The story centres on the struggle between sacred and profane love, and redemption through love, a theme running through much of Wagner's mature work.

Tannhauser press conference
Photo by Luo Xiaoguang / chncpa.org

Tannhauser is one of Wagner's romantic operas

The opening opera for the NCPA Opera Festival 2016, Tannhauser, which is a new production in NCPA's repertoire, had its press conference on March 11. The production's conductor Lu Jia, director and stage designer Pier'Alli, NCPA's Artistic Administration Director Wei Lanfen together with lead singers Endrik Wottrich, Warren Mok, Barbara Haveman, Sun Xiuwei, Giuseppina Piunti and Yuan Chenye attended the event and introduced the highlights of the production. In addition, the production features native German speaking singers Manfred Hemm, Karsten Mewes, Kurt Azesberger and Rainer Zaun.

The opera is profound in terms of its philosophical and moral meanings

NCPA's Artistic Administration Director Wei Lanfen said, "NCPA's former Wagner productions Der Fliegende Hollander and Lohengrin and this new production of Tannhauser sometimes referred to as Wagner's 'romantic operas'. NCPA is planning to stage Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg in the next year and the year after."

Costume design

The opera will be staged from April 6 to 10 in the Opera House of NCPA.