Tannhäuser's plot concerns the knight Tannhäuser's infatuation with the goddess Venus; through the course of the opera he sings a Hymn to Venus in a singing competition, undertakes a pilgrimage to Rome and finally dies by the side of Elisabeth who has loved Tannhäuser throughout. The Prelude encapsulates the main musical themes of the opera, contrasting the processional hymns of the pilgrims with the sensual world of Venus's court, which is also depicted in the Venusberg music.






