James Levine conducts Wagner’s early masterpiece Tannhäuser in its first return to the Met stage in more than a decade.

You can experience it streaming “Live: in HD” at Orcas Center on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.

Today’s leading Wagnerian tenor, Johan Botha, takes on the daunting title role of the young knight caught between true love and passion. Eva-Maria Westbroek is Elisabeth, adding another Wagner heroine to her Met repertoire.

The title character was a real 13th-century Minnesinger who inspired a legend that Wagner used as the basis for the opera. Tannhäuser takes place in and around Wartburg Castle, in Thuringia in central Germany, and in the mythical grotto of Venus, the goddess of love. Wartburg was the setting of a – possibly legendary – 13th-century song contest as well as the home of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary (1207–1231), wife of the Landgrave of Thuringia.

It would later become associated with Martin Luther, who translated the New Testament from Greek into German there. The pagan–Christian dichotomy expressed in the twofold setting is central to the opera’s dramatic core.Check out trailers, behind the scenes, cast and photos at www.orcascenter.org.

Come join us for a rich and fulfilling Sunday afternoon,” says the staff at Orcas Center.

Tickets for The Met: Live in HD Tannhäuser are $18, $13 for students, $2 off for Orcas Center members, and may be purchased at www.orcascenter.org or by calling 376-2281 ext. 1 or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. There are $5 subsidized tickets available at the Box Office.