Roberto Alagna and Vida Mikneviciute in "Lohengrin"From the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin

Lohengrin, which premiered in 1850 under the baton of the composer’s future father-in-law Franz Liszt, marked his swan song from conventional opera and his first through-composed music drama, having previously experimented with the concept in lengthy passages of earlier works, most notably in the Rome Narrative in Tannhäuser.

Lohengrin rescues Elsa, wrongfully accused of murdering her brother, and marries her, though not without first making her solemnly swear never to ask after his “name and style” – a prohibition that Elsa, as was to be expected, promptly disregards... The story of the Knight of the Swan, God’s Judgment and the future duke who has been cursed and turned into a swan, belongs to the realm of fairy-tale, and it is precisely this aspect of the work that most fascinated director Calixto Bieito. In his first staging for the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, Bieito presents the fairy-tale quality of Lohengrin as an essential need to believe and sets this up in contrast to harsh reality, as manifested in the courtroom scene in Act I.

Roberto Alagna ranks among the world’s first-rate opera singers.Fans disappointed at his having had to cancel his debut as Lohengrin at the Bayreuth Festival 2018 will be delighted with this chance to hear him in the role in Berlin.