Lohengrin (2018): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2018, Lohengrin is a music film directed by Olivier Py, running about 217 minutes.

What it’s about. ‘In reality, this Lohengrin is an entirely new phenomenon for the modern consciousness!’ Richard Wagner himself understood the innovative character of his sixth piece of music theatre, completed in 1848, the year of revolutions. Although it is reckoned among his ‘romantic operas’, his new vision of musical drama is already clearly heralded in this work. In his hands, the mediaeval saga of the Knight of the Swan becomes a meditation on the true love that asks no questions. Alain Altinoglu, our Music Director, who has already conducted this work in Bayreuth, guarantees the quality of the music, while the director Olivier Py, known at La Monnaie for his brilliant productions of Les Huguenots and Hamlet, can be relied on not to downplay Wagner’s revolutionary political side. Wagner’s own opinion was that ‘one can only understand Lohengrin if one can liberate oneself from any modern-looking, generalising form of representation so as to see the phenomena of real life’. A challenge to us all?

Who’s in it. Lohengrin stars Gábor Bretz as Heinrich der Vogler, Eric Cutler as Lohengrin, Ingela Brimberg as Elsa von Brabant and Andrew Foster-Williams as Friedrich von Telramund, among others.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Lohengrin page.

If you liked it. Fans of Lohengrin tend to enjoy Whiplash, Coco, Green Book and The Legend of 1900.