Wagner is something. To tell the truth, we already knew this before we went to the preview of the performance of Lohengrin at the Opéra Bastille. But the past evening, concluded with thunderous applause, allowed us to refigure it.

At the same time, how not to get carried away. From the first second when the prelude theme resonates, which will serve as a leitmotif throughout the evening, we know that we are going to witness a moment of magic. It then resonates during 10 minutes of appetizers after which we get to the heart of the matter. We are then in Brabant, a Germanic country which is going through a serious crisis: the king's son, heir to the throne, is declared dead by the Count of Telramund, a nobleman esteemed by his family. And the most serious thing is that he accuses Elsa, the king's daughter and the victim's brother, of being guilty of his murder. In disarray, the latter will rely on a majestic warrior who has arrived to save her. But before that, Elsa must make an oath: never, ever, will she ask for the name or origin of her savior. An oath which will prove decisive and which will severely test the virtue of each of the characters.

Throughout the evening, the epic, even mythical landscape of Wagner's work transports us and gives us this feeling of witnessing something great. The tension grows stronger and stronger, until it reaches its climax where our entire journey ends up making sense. Then the chorus of the Brabant army, that of Elsa, Telramund and the swan knight resonates again, in our hearts this time, to inscribe its legendary aura. We would love to tell you more, but that would spoil the show for you.

So, we come away conquered, although with a small problem, a little discomfort felt about certain choices of staging. Although we understand the idea of wanting to reinterpret Wagner by making his compositions resonate with the banality of our daily lives, we sometimes had the feeling that the work, through these choices, ended up being deprived of what makes its essence , its very power which gives it its almost divine aura. However, the performance of the actors and musicians is quickly enough to dissipate this little personal inconvenience, leaving only the most important: gratitude to those who made us spend this magical evening...

OPERA BASTILLE, 75012
From September 23 to October 27, 2023
Wed. and Sat. at 7 p.m.
From 15 to 220 €