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Venue

State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne
100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Language

Sung in German with English surtitles.

Running time

Approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes, including two intervals.

Please note: Latecomers will not be permitted to enter until the interval.

Production partner

Henkall Brothers Logo

In a romance of mythical proportions, our Knight of the Swan rescues his damsel asking only one thing in return…

Elsa stands accused of a horrible crime. She prays for a champion, and a noble knight appears. But his help comes with a condition: she must never ask his name. Does true love demand blind faith?

Lohengrin is a fantastical romance. It’s filled with shimmering string passages and angelic choruses, including the famous Bridal March. Wagner described his music as “streams of gold, ravishing the senses of the beholder”.

The world’s most in-demand singer — Jonas Kaufmann — is the noble Lohengrin.

Every Kaufmann performance is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and this marks the first time ever the German tenor will perform a fully staged opera in Australia.

Kaufmann as Lohengrin is “in a class of his own, totally involved and giving a masterclass of daringly varied, sometimes mannered, vocal technique” (The Guardian).

Joined by a brilliant cast including Emily Magee as Elsa, Elena Gabouri as Ortrud, and Simon Meadows performs as the deceived Telramund.

Director Olivier Py sets this battle between good and evil in the ruins of Berlin in the aftermath of World War II. A monumental revolving tiered set depicts a decaying theatre, where emblems of German Romanticism gather dust.

The result is a “thoughtful and audacious piece of theatre” — Opera Traveller

A Co-Production between Opera Australia and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie.

“Thoughtful and audacious piece of theatre”

Opera Traveller

Cast & Creative

Conductor
Director
Revival Director
Set & Costume Designer
Pierre-André Weitz
Lighting Designer
Elsa
Ortrud
Lohengrin
Telramund
Heinrich
Herald
First Noble
Second Noble
Third Noble
Fourth Noble
Ryan Sharp (14, 17 & 24 May)

Opera Australia Chorus
Orchestra Victoria

Lohengrin at Arts Centre Melbourne (2022)

Photographer: Jeff Busby

Lohengrin at Arts Centre Melbourne (2022)

Photographer: Jeff Busby

Lohengrin at Arts Centre Melbourne (2022)

Photographer: Jeff Busby

Lohengrin at Arts Centre Melbourne (2022)

Photographer: Jeff Busby

Lohengrin at Arts Centre Melbourne (2022)

Photographer: Jeff Busby

Lohengrin at Arts Centre Melbourne (2022)

Photographer: Jeff Busby

Lohengrin at Arts Centre Melbourne (2022)

Photographer: Jeff Busby

Lohengrin, 2022

Cheat Sheet: Lohengrin

Everything you need to know about Wagner's fantastical romance.

What happens in the story? Who was the composer? What should I expect from the music? Here’s everything you need to know…

Read the cheat sheet
Pre-performance Dinner

Enjoy dinner before the opera

Pre-performance Dining at Arts Centre Melbourne

Allow us to make your dinner reservation for you at Arts Centre Melbourne. You’ll be served a three-course menu for just $95.

See the menu

 

Covid Safe logo

Keeping you safe at the theatre

COVID Safety

Our performances will comply with all Public Health Orders and adhere to our epidemiologist-approved COVID-Safe Plan.

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Synopsis

ACT I

On the banks of the river Scheldt a herald announces Heinrich, King of Germany, who asks Count Telramund to explain why Brabant is torn by strife and disorder. Telramund accuses his ward, Elsa, of murdering her brother, Gottfried, heir to Brabant’s Christian dynasty.

Gottfried was actually enchanted by the evil Ortrud, whom Telramund has wed. When Elsa is called to defend herself, she relates a dream of a knight in shining armour who will come to save her. The herald calls for the defender, but only when Elsa prays does the knight appear, magically drawn in a boat by a swan. He betrothes himself to her on condition that she never ask his name or origin. Defeating Telramund in combat, the newcomer establishes the innocence of his bride.

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