wagner was in paris completing "the flying dutchman" when he began thinking about writing another opera. a friend suggested tannhäuser as a subject. wagner did not like the tale. back in germany however, he gathered materials by tieck, heine, and others about tannhäuser. vacationing in bohemia, he had a change of heart. he began preparing an outline for "tannhäuser". returning home to dresden, he immersed himself in the tale. he completed the opera in october 1845. he conducted the first performance that month at the royal opera house.