Author: Philip Gardner

Above: Richard Cassilly as Tannhauser and Tatiana Troyanos as Venus

I saw Wagner’s TANNHAUSER for the first time in 1978 in The Met’s classic Otto Schenk/Gunter Schneider-Siemssen production, conducted by James Levine. Here’s what I wrote in my opera diary the morning after:

“TANNHAUSER – first time – great!! Really a superb production (equal to the LOHENGRIN, but the opera is less exciting…) The sets, costumes, direction, and choral work were all excellent. Levine had some bombastic moments, and some places where he covered the singers, but his pacing was excellent and the orchestra played beautifully.

Kathleen Battle was the very fine Shepherd – she sounds a bit like Reri Grist, which is a huge compliment. Vern Shinall made an exceptional impression as Biterolf, and Richard Kness (most likely the cover for the title-role) sang powerfully as Walther.

Kurt Moll, repeating his Met debut role as the Landgraf, brought his warm, velvety bass to the music – a great pleasure to hear his clear and steady tones, wonderfully resonant in the deep notes.

Bernd Weikl as Wolfram (above) looked as handsome as he sounded. His voice is lyrical, and he projected superbly in the big hall. An outstanding performance! This was my first time hearing Weikl, and he immediately became a favorite. 

As Elisabeth, Teresa Zylis-Gara (above) began with an exciting “Dich teure halle“, followed immediately by her thrilling singing in the duet with Tannhauser, wherein she conveyed subtle emotional changes convincingly. Zylis-Gara’s portrayal of the saintly woman as she searched desperately among the pilgrims for her beloved, and her subsequent downcast expression, were extremely poignant. She sang the Prayer with haunting expressiveness, and then walked slowly and sadly up the hill to her fate. It’s great to have Zylis-Gara moving into heavier German repertoire – the voice is satiny and strong; I would love to hear her as Elsa, Ariadne, Chrysothemis and, eventually, as Sieglinde.

Richard Cassilly was a powerful, committed Tannhauser. His voice is not tonally beautiful, but he makes great use of it. The role is vocally grueling, almost sadistic in its demands. Cassilly was able to summon great reserves of sound, but he could also be subtle at need. He not only sang tirelessly, but made the character come vividly to life. His manic joy as he described the Venusberg to the stunned court, and later his crushed, agonized acting as a returning pilgrim were particularly well brought off. Cassilly’s potent rendering of the Rome Narrative, with his mocking of the Pope’s voice, was superb. He really deserved the huge ovation…bravo! 

Tatiana Troyanos was electrifying as Venus, possibly her best role. She looked absolutely gorgeous, and her portrayal abounded in sensuous allure. Her wrath when she rejected Tannhauser was so intense, and her brief appearance in the opera’s final scene was simply spectacular. Her vocalism, which could smoulder alluringly one moment and blaze forth the next, was stunning. Troyanos was a stand-out in an outstanding cast.

There were tumultuous ovations during the curtain calls, with the singers basking in the audience’s vociferous praise at the end of this glorious performance.”

~ Oberon