Like many fairy tales, Wagner’s Lohengrin juxtaposes two female antagonists. The Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, now in her 37th year as a diva of the first magnitude, was long associated with the virginal Elsa. This season she graduates to the role of Elsa’s nemesis, the Mephistophelean Ortrud. Momentous. —L.J.

Lohengrin, by Richard Wagner was featured in the November 16, 2019 issue of Air Mail. Read on