Dutch National Opera

Lohengrin

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
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NEW PRODUCTION 2023-2024

Dates

11 Nov-3 Dec 2023

Location

Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Main Stage

Running time

4:30, incl. 2 intervals

Tickets

n.a.

Lohengrin

How much mystery can human beings bear?

How unconditional can love be, and how blind is trust? These questions are addressed in several of Richard Wagner’s operas, but rarely as intensely as in Lohengrin.

Photo: Marta Syrko

How much mystery can human beings bear?

The story

Elsa is caught up in a political conflict and has been accused of the murder of her brother, the heir to the throne. In desperation, she calls on a knight who appeared to her in her dreams. Suddenly the apparition of her dreams materialises before her and comes to her aid. Love blossoms between the two of them, yet the stranger imposes an unusual condition: Elsa must never ask him his name. But are human beings able to bear such a great mystery?

 

Lorenzo Viotti’s Wagnerian debut

After Richard Strauss’s late Romantic opera Der Rosenkavalier in the spring of 2023, chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti will tackle this ultimate German Romantic opera. Lohengrin is his fist immersion into Wagner’s operatic world with its extended melodies, motifs of foreboding and grand drama. After their work on Puccini’s Turandot, Lorenzo Viotti will once more collaborate with the Chorus of Dutch National Opera. 

 

Psychologically profound directorial style

Christof Loy, a favourite with audiences, is responsible for the stage direction. He has made a deep impression in previous productions that stand out for their psychologically profound interpretations and strong musicality – recently with his productions of Wagner’s Tannhäuser (2019) and Humperdinck’s Königskinder (2022).



Viotti and Loy will work with a cast of exceptional performers. The tenor Daniel Behle, who recently made a brilliant DNO debut as Der Königssohn in Königskinder, will be performing the title role. The soprano Malin Byström, whom Amsterdam audiences have previously seen in incisive interpretations of Salome and Tosca, will now be taking on Elsa. The seasoned Wagner singers Thomas Johannes Mayer (who sung Wotan in Der Ring des Nibelungen) and Martina Serafin (who was Brünnhilde in Die Walküre) are returning to DNO for Lohengrin as the sinister couple Friedrich von Telramund and Ortrud.

Performance information

Romantic opera in three acts 

Sung in German

Musical direction  Lorenzo Viotti

Stage direction  Christof Loy 

Associate director  Georg Zlabinger

Set design  Philipp Fürhofer

Costume design  Barbara Drosihn

Lighting design  Cor van den Brink

Video design  Ruth Stofer

Choreography  Klevis Elmazaj

Dramaturgy  Niels Nuijten

Heinrich der Vogler  Anthony Robin Schneider

Lohengrin  Daniel Behle

Elsa von Brabant  Malin Byström

Friedrich von Telramund  Thomas Johannes Mayer

Ortrud  Martina Serafin

Der Heerrufer des Königs  Björn Bürger

Vier Brabantische Edle

Christiaan Peters, François Soons,

Harry Teeuwen [14 nov Hans Pieter Herman], Jeroen de Vaal

Vier Edelknaben

Taylor Burgess, Vida Matičič Malnaršič, Elsa Barthas, Yvonne Kok

Chorus of Dutch National Opera

Chorus Master  Edward Ananian-Cooper

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

Lorenzo Viotti

‘I deliberately waited a while to conduct my first Wagner opera. I had to let his world mature in me. You have to find a certain calmness in your conducting style to be able to shape the freedom of sound.’

Lohengrin: Lorenzo Viotti’s first Wagner Opera

Photo: Elmer van der Marel

Artists

Cast

A rehearsal day in the life of chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti

From 11 November to 3 December, Lorenzo will be in the orchestra pit where he will conduct the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chorus and soloists. Check out his rehearsal day of Wagner’s Lohengrin below - from a rainy bike ride to a stage rehearsal and language class!

5 reasons to look forward to Lohengrin ...

Read more
in the media

Reviews

Lorenzo Viotti makes choir and orchestra shine in thrilling 'Lohengrin' - Viotti's climaxes arrived gigantic, supported by his ecstatic body language.

12 November

[...] the new production of Lohengrin is a must hear and see. Opera chief Lorenzo Viotti's Wagner debut [...] is a model of transparency, thanks to the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, who are well practiced in performing Wagner.

13 November

Director Loy is interested in the psychology of the masses, and that works out well: Lohengrin is full of great choral scenes. The chorus is also in excellent shape under new chorus director Edward Ananian-Cooper.

12 November

Featured Chorus of DNO gives ordinary people a voice in noble Wagner opera - In his first Wagner opera, the (still) young conductor Lorenzo Viotti beautifully leads the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra in an unprecedentedly large orchestra through refined, sometimes almost deathly quiet passages. The soloists are all strong.

11 November

Loy, Viotti and Nedpho make Lohengrin - Viotti alternated hushed moments with swelling Wagnerian bombast with the sound flowing in waves from the orchestra pit and flooding the auditorium. Exactly as befits a good performance of Lohengrin.

12 November
Set Lohengrin

Forest of mirrors for the set of Lohengrin

The set

The set as art or art as the set? With an ingenious installation of metal frames, light strips, mirrors and images painted onto different materials, artist Philipp Fürhofer’s set design is fit for a museum.

 

Read more
bruid met sleep midden op het podium
Scene Lohengrin (2023) | Photo: Marco Borggreve
Nedpho

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra have been the main orchestral partners of Dutch National Opera for over thirty years. They are regarded as among the best opera orchestras in the world. The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is the main regular stage for their concerts.

Photo: Melle Meivogel

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

In addition to the programmes with chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti and Gordan Nicolić (musical leader of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra), the orchestras collaborate with both internationally acclaimed guest conductors and soloists and top-class musicians from the up-and-coming generation. The orchestras perform at numerous venues, bringing people together through their music and giving both classical music aficionados and new audiences the perfect musical experience. With their welcoming home base in the NedPhO Dome in Amsterdam’s Indische Buurt neighbourhood, the two orchestras are at  the heart of the community and aim to make classical music accessible to everyone who shows an interest.

In the 2023-2024 season, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing the operas Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Lohengrin, Il trittico and Oedipus Rex / Antigone.The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra can be heard in Die Zauberflöte and Roberto Devereux. 

Podcast Lohengrin

In the podcast, dramaturge Laura Roling tells the story of Lohengrin. She also lets dramaturge of the opera, Niels Nuijten, speak about the context in which the opera was created, about characters and about some of the musical characteristics in this opera by Richard Wagner.

Podcast Lohengrin

By: Laura Roling

The media on Christof Loy

Masterful staging by Christof Loy brings together antipodes in 'Tannhäuser' ... Loy works things out with mastery. [Tannhaüser-ed.]

8 April

Praise also for director Christof Loy, who signs for the most convincing opening scene in years (...) [Tannhäuser - ed.]

8 April

Together with director Christof Loy, Albrecht stands up for 'forgotten' operas. [Königskinder - ed.]

10 October