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"If You Love Me, Kiss Me and Ask No Questions": Fantasy and the Pursuit of Dreams in Lohengrin

2025.06.23
"If You Love Me, Kiss Me and Ask No Questions": Fantasy and the Pursuit of Dreams in Lohengrin

© HansJoergMichel / Deutschen Oper am Rhein

 

by Wales
Just as sun cakes from Taiwan have only sugar and no sun, and just as panda eyes come from overtime and insomnia instead of an actual panda, there are no swans at the Neuschwanstein ("new swan stone") Castle in Germany.

So what is at the castle?

A king who spends all his time lost in fantasy, a dreamland consisting of a legend and music, a mysterious knight mounted on a swan, and a romantic relationship that is snuffed out because of just one question.

This all comes from an opera.

In 1859, 16-year-old Prince of Bavaria Ludwig II watched WAGNER's Lohengrin for the first time, after which he began to live in his own Lohengrin-esque fantasy world. Ascending to the throne three years later, he by no means became concerned with the sufferings of his people but remained a daydreamer who just loved to dress up and enjoy himself.

He had a castle built on a forest cliff and paid no heed to state affairs or defense; all his attention and thoughts were directed at Lohengrin, which he turned into an architectural miracle. On the walls of the castle are paintings of Elsa, Lohengrin, and the swan boat, and the light fixtures were carved with the image of swan feathers. Pretty much every corner of the castle seems to hum with WAGNER's music.  

The castle was not a royal palace per se but rather a dreamland built of music and myth.

So just what is Lohengrin, the opera that put this king into a lifelong trance, all about?

The setting is a medieval German town. The female protagonist, Elsa, has been framed for the murder of her younger brother, and as she is in the depths of despair, a mysterious knight arrives in a swan-drawn boat to set her free from her troubles—he also proposes to her, but on one condition: she may never ask who he is or where he comes from.

She agrees, but the night after the wedding, she asks anyway.

As soon as she asks, her dream falls apart. Lohengrin tells her his name and where he's from, and as prophesied, he leaves on his boat, disappearing into the fog. 

This is not a story of a hero saving a beautiful maiden but one of trust, silence, and an unfulfillable pledge.

WAGNER's four hours of this flowing river of music and fable divided into three acts touches the hearts of the audience. From the layered prelude of strings to Elsa's lonely soprano solos and then to "Bridal Chorus" (a song played commonly at weddings to this day), there is little in the music that can be relaxingly enjoyed; instead, it urgently questions the essence of love and triggers thought and a concept of beauty.   

Ludwig II built three castles, but his favorite was always Neuschwanstein. He rejected reality, state affairs, and marriage. Maybe he just wanted to be the knight who neither asks nor allows others to ask, and to live his own myth.

In the end, he was deposed and then drowned in a lake, though the circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear. He left behind that castle, dreams, and music that he could never escape from.

In comparison, how fortunate we are to be able to continue on the dream of his unfinished journey this September with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Weiwuying's production of Lohengrin. Set on a stage of a modern financial enterprise, this contemporary rendition of a classic fable about the Holy Grail and the struggle for power is the first time an unabridged version of the opera will go on in Taiwan, and it also marks the tenth anniversary of collaboration between the two performing arts centers. 

Whether you're an aficionado or new to the genre, Lohengrin will bring you to a world that is far away yet touches you deep inside. You'll notice that you're not just watching an opera but engaging in a conversation about trust, chasing dreams, and seeing that most vulnerable part of your inner self.

Come to the Weiwuying Opera House this September to watch the quiet arrival of a knight and the unfolding of a fantasy.

 

 

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