Lohengrin - Richard Wagner
Information about the opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, and the best recordings available on CD or DVD, or for download.
Recommended recordings on CD
Leinsdorf/Melchior/Varnay (Naxos Historical 8.110235-37)
A live recording from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in 1943.
Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, 1943.
Cast: Lauritz Melchior (Lohengrin), Astrid Varnay (Elsa), Kerstin Thorborg (Ortrud), Alexander Svéd (Telramund).
Naxos Historical 8.110235-37 (mono)
Kempe/Thomas/Grümmer (EMI CMS5 67415-2)
A perfect cast and inspired performance make this a strong recommendation.
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus, conducted by Rudolf Kempe, 1963.
Cast: Jess Thomas (Lohengrin), Elisabeth Grümmer (Elsa), Christa Ludwig (Ortrud), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Telramund).
EMI CMS5 67415-2
Keilberth/Windgassen/Steber (Naxos Historical 8.110308-10)
Bayreuth Festival Chorus, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, conducted by Joseph Keilberth, 1953.
Cast: Wolfgang Windgassen (Lohengrin), Eleanor Steber (Elsa), Astrid Varnay (Ortrud), Hermann Uhde (Telramund).
Naxos Historical 8.110308-10 (mono)
Recommended recordings on DVD
Abbado/Domingo/Studer (Arthaus Musik 100 957)
A live production from the Vienna State Opera in 1990.
Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado, 1990.
Cast: Plácido Domingo (Lohengrin), Cheryl Studer (Elsa), Dunja Vejzovic (Ortrud), Hartmut Welker (Telramund).
Arthaus Musik 100 957
Nelsons/Vogt/Dasch (Opus Arte OA 1071 D)
A modern production that transforms Brabant into a laboratory where its citizens run around dressed as black, pink, and white rats.
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus, conducted by Andris Nelsons, 2011.
Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Lohengrin), Annette Dasch (Elsa), Petra Lang (Ortrud), Jukka Rasilainen (Telramund).
Opus Arte OA 1071 D
Nagano/Vogt/Kringelborn (Opus Arte OA 0964 D)
Recorded live at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in June 2006.
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, EuropaChorAkademie Mainz, Chorus of the Opéra national de Lyon, conducted by Kent Nagano, 2006.
Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Lohengrin), Solveig Kringelborn (Elsa), Waltraud Meier (Ortrud), Tom Fox (Telramund).
Opus Arte OA 0964 D