Jonas Kaufmann sings his first Tannhäuser. However, the audience at the opera premiere at the Salzburg Easter Festival on Saturday applauds Christian Gerhaher, who impressively embodies his adversary Wolfram von Eschenbach. Musically and scenically, light and shadow alternate.
Even a lectern-God like Herbert von Karajan can have difficulties with the Creator’s representatives on earth. When the conductor presented his plan for an Easter festival in Salzburg from 1967, the archdiocese stepped in: there was a lack of consideration for one’s own program during the Easter holidays. And anyway: “The Valkyrie” in Holy Week? It’s not possible!
Salzburg’s clergy would have had fewer problems with “Tannhäuser” back then. Those who indulge in “wicked lust” in the Venusberg like the hero in the title will not only be …
