Tannhäuser

American  

[tan-hoi-zer, -hou-, tahn-hoi-zuhr] / ˈtænˌhɔɪ zər, -ˌhaʊ-, ˈtɑnˌhɔɪ zər /

noun

1. a German lyric poet of the 13th century: a well-known legend tells of his stay with Venus in the Venusberg and his later repentance.

2. (italics) an opera (1845) by Richard Wagner.

---

Tannhäuser British  

/ ˈtænˌhɔɪzə /

noun

1. 13th-century German minnesinger, commonly identified with a legendary knight who sought papal absolution after years spent in revelry with Venus. The legend forms the basis of an opera by Wagner

---

Example Sentences

And soprano Lise Davidsen captivated the hall with the rich beauty of her voice, as she reprised the aria that propelled her to fame in 2015: Dich, teure halle, from Wagner's opera Tannhäuser.

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2023

Tannhäuser, no longer louche but styled with a shaved head and dressed in baggy black, comes across as a sad sack hanging out at the piano.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2021

“Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 24, 2019

The Met has assembled an exceptional cast, headed by the tenor Johan Botha as Tannhäuser, the knight minstrel who, when we meet him, has been dwelling in the realm of Venus, basking in her love.

From New York Times • Oct. 9, 2015

How glad Henry Tannhäuser will be to hear that his two best friends are to be married.

From Melomaniacs by Huneker, James