Tannhäuser is one of Wagner's richest and most elaborate musical achievements. Here the composer's inexhaustible genius for composition merges with brilliant orchestration to achieve a masterpiece of melodic invention. Since the opera's premiere at Dresden in 1845, generation of listeners have delighted in such inspired selections as the "Pilgrim's Chorus," "Evening Star," "Shepherd's Song," "Bacchanal Music," "Entry of the Guests," "Elizabeth's Prayer," and other favorites.

This edition repr...