Wagner completed Lohengrin while living in exile in Switzerland in 1849. He dedicated the opera to Frnaze Liszt, who conducted the premiere in Weimar in August 1850, with the composer necessarily absent in exile. It is a medieval tale of chivalry and betrayal contrasting spiritual purity against striving against worldly evil and machinations.
 
The brilliantly jubilant Prelude to Act III introduces the wedding of Lohengrin and Elsa (and is followed in the opera by the famous bridal march) and is here transcribed for large brass ensemble by Michael Allen.