the opera disappeared from the french stage for 34 years. a few years after the jockey club incident, wagner began revising the paris version. he produced a sophisticated sound version that was superior to the first draft. though there are several set pieces in the opera, the opera is closer to wagner's vision of complete independence from such set pieces. "tannhäuser" is on the threshold of the leitmotif, and the diminishing of the sound power of the orchestra in favor of the sung word.