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Tristan und Isolde

Inspired by Wagner’s own tortured affair with the wife of his patron, this searing masterwork is based on Arthurian legend and tells of an illicit romance between a Breton nobleman and the Irish princess betrothed to his uncle and king. The composer’s larger-than-life sensibilities are on full display throughout the score: Along with intoxicating orchestral music that surges in tandem with the couple’s burgeoning passion and a chord left symbolically unresolved until the last moments of the opera, the opera also features one of the repertory’s most soaring and ecstatic final climaxes, as Isolde surrenders to a love so powerful that she transcends life itself.

Top Cast

  • Ben Heppner

    Ben Heppner

    Tristan

  • Jane Eaglen

    Jane Eaglen

    Isolde

  • Katarina Dalayman

    Katarina Dalayman

    Brangäne

  • Hans-Joachim Ketelsen

    Hans-Joachim Ketelsen

    Kurwenal

  • René Pape

    René Pape

    King Marke

  • James Levine

    James Levine

    Self - Conductor

  • Brian Davis

    Brian Davis

    Melot

  • Anthony Dean Griffey

    Anthony Dean Griffey

    A Sailor's Voice

  • Mark Schowalter

    Mark Schowalter

    A Sheperd

Overview

Inspired by Wagner’s own tortured affair with the wife of his patron, this searing masterwork is based on Arthurian legend and tells of an illicit romance between a Breton nobleman and the Irish princess betrothed to his uncle and king. The composer’s larger-than-life sensibilities are on full display throughout the score: Along with intoxicating orchestral music that surges in tandem with the couple’s burgeoning passion and a chord left symbolically unresolved until the last moments of the opera, the opera also features one of the repertory’s most soaring and ecstatic final climaxes, as Isolde surrenders to a love so powerful that she transcends life itself.

Rating

9.5 / 10
2 Reviews
0 Popular

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