David Alden"s production of Wagner"s grand romantic opera was recorded at the National Theatre in Munich, with Bayerische Staatsoper, in September 1994. Shot over three days by leading opera director Brian Large, this recording benefits from the ideal technical conditions made possible by a closed session. Alden, one of the most iconoclastic interpreters of classical opera, stirs up the visionary, erotic, and archetypal elements in Wagner"s work. The cold, forbidding aspect of the stylized and predominantly monochrome sets and costumes by Roni Toren and Buki Shiff manifests the strait-jacket of tradition from which Tannhäuser seeks to free himself in this powerful opera. Cast René Kollo, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, Waltraud Meier, Bernd Weikl, Claes H. Ahnsjö, Nadine Secunde, Hans Günther Nöcker Conductor: Zubin Mehta Director: David Alden Bayerische Staatsorchester Chorus And Ballet Of The Bayerische Staatsoper Chorus Master: Udo Mehrpohl Costume Design: Buki Schiff Executive Producer: Dietrich Von Watzdorf Video Director: Brian Large