Stefan Herheim's Wagner revolution

With his kaleidoscopic, collaged productions, the Norwegian director might be the most brilliant Wagnerian alive. Can Covent Garden sign him up?In 19 out of 20 productions of Wagner's opera Tannhäuser, the orchestra intones that famous solemn overture with the curtain firmly anchored. Then as the overture segues into the Venusberg music, the curtain normally rises to reveal a half-lit grotto, often rose-tinted, in which languorous figures in diaphanous costumes attempt to convey the allure of...

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