The Bucharest National Opera (ONB) is opening its 2026-2027 season with the premiere of Richard Wagner's 'Tannhäuser' directed by Alexander von Pfeil, with set design by Dragos Buhagiar.

Under the musical direction of Maestro Cristian Mandeal, the first performances will take place on Thursday and Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Bucharest National Opera on Wednesday, Cristian Mandeal said the production of the show had been completed in record time.

'A Wagner opera normally requires six months; we did it in six weeks, not even that, starting with the individual singers and then moving on to everything else. A Wagner opera is indeed a challenge, but it is more of a challenge in Romania, because in the German-speaking world it is standard repertoire. There is no major opera house, not even a provincial one, that does not have at least one, two or three Wagner operas in its repertoire. Here in Romania, Wagner took longer to gain a foothold, but it is good that this is happening now. It also happened during the interwar period, after which there was a long interruption. Now we are returning to what should always have been there and should continue as a second tradition, alongside Italian opera: German opera, which stands at least alongside Italian opera,' Mandeal said.

He added that mounting the opera in just six weeks had been 'a daunting, yet not impossible challenge' and expressed hope that the production would remain in the National Opera's repertoire for years to come.

Set designer Dragos Buhagiar described the performance space as 'special, minimalist.'

'You could say that it is a timeless space, with the costumes somehow contrasting in terms of what in painting one might call quantity, I would say, and quality, hopefully - two terms that come from classical painting. From my point of view, the space created together with director Alexander von Pfeil - we somehow conceived it together - is a minimalist space, made of quality wood, resonance wood, specifically birch wood. We hope that the entire volume and composition of the performance space will project the sound in such a way that you will be able to fully enjoy Wagner's divine music,' Buhagiar explained.

The press conference was also attended by the two singers performing the role of Tannhäuser, Cristian Mogosan and Kristofer Lundi, as well as the two singers performing Elisabeth, Marta Sandu Ofrim and Yuliya Pogrebnyak.

Marta Sandu Ofrim said the six weeks of rehearsals had been 'a real training camp,' but at the same time 'a school.'

'We went through a real training camp for six weeks and, at the same time, we also went to school. And this is thanks to Maestro Cristian Mandeal and Alexander von Pfeil, who brought us up to, and aligned us with, the international requirements and performance standards for interpreting an opera of this kind, which represents a different paradigm. For us, certainly, it is a different paradigm, and for the Bucharest National Opera as well, because Wagner has been far too little represented in the repertoire of opera houses in Romania,' Marta Sandu Ofrim said.

Kristofer Lundi said it had been a great honour for him to come from Sweden to perform at the Bucharest National Opera and that he had greatly enjoyed singing the title role in 'Tannhäuser'.

Yuliya Pogrebnyak thanked the director and conductor for choosing her to be part of the cast of the opera.

'This is not my first experience with this repertoire. I had the pleasure of performing 'The Flying Dutchman' in 2009, also with Maestro Mandeal. Of course, the difference between the role I sang then and this one is undeniable and enormous. It was a great deal of work (...) and I hope this production remains, because it brings before the audience extremely topical themes - social isolation, the search for love, the struggle between the sacred and the profane, between hedonism and salvation, the tormented artist, the tormented tenor - and I hope people will begin to understand and appreciate this music and this extraordinary Wagnerian universe,' Cristian Mogosan also said.

Considered one of the most important works in the Wagnerian repertoire, 'Tannhäuser' portrays a rigid society in which an exaggerated erotic asceticism elevated into transcendent (or hypocritical?) poetry is matched only by the brutality, mysticism and machismo of the central character. More than Tannhäuser, a perpetually dissatisfied yet self-important rebel, the character of Elisabeth embodies a truly tragic nature. The opera follows the inner conflict of the protagonist, who publicly confesses his transgressions, provoking scandal and condemnation. His journey thus becomes one of guilt, repentance and the search for forgiveness, in an opera in which Richard Wagner transforms personal drama into a sweeping meditation on love, salvation and the transformative power of sacrifice, the Bucharest National Opera said.

The cast for the October 1 performance includes Cristian Mogosan (guest artist), Yuliya Pogrebnyak (guest artist), Catalin Toropoc, Asineta Raducan (guest artist), Stefan Lamatic (guest artist), Mina Stavara (guest artist), Andrei Lazar, Dan Indricau, Filip Panait and Daniela Carstea.

The October 3 performance will feature Kristofer Lundin (guest artist), Marta Sandu Ofrim, Adrian Marcan, Asineta Raducan (guest artist), Daniel Pascariu (guest artist), Mina Stavara (guest artist), Andrei Lazar, Dan Indricau, Alexandru Matei and Daniela Cârstea. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Petronius Craiu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)