Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde
Stephen Gould (Tristan),
Evelyn Herlitzius (Isolde),
Georg Zeppenfeld (König Marke),
Iain Paterson (Kurwenal)
Raimund Nolte (Melot)
Christa Mayer (Brangäne)
Tansel Akzeybek (Ein Hirt)
Kay Stiefermann (Ein Steuermann)
Tansel Akzeybek (Junger Seemann)
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Christian Thielemann (conductor)
Katharina Wagner (stage director)
Deutsche Grammophon BluRay 00440
073 5254
This splendid production of Tristan und Isolde, recorded live at the
Bayreuth Festival in 2015, is the first issue in a multi-year collaboration
between Deutsche Grammophon and the Bayreuth Festival, which will see the label
exclusively releasing new productions at the Festpielhaus. On the strength of
this recording, this initiative is looking most promising. Katharina Wagner and
Christian Thielemann have produced one of the most satisfying Tristans in recent years.
Purists may balk at Katharina
Wagner’s production, but (on this occasion) I have little sympathy with them. If
there is a concept to the production, it is Fate and Necessity. No potion is
needed for the first embrace between Tristan and Isolde in Act 1, for example –
they fall into each other’s arms as soon as they see each other, and in Act II Mark
and his men are plainly in view above the stage, so that their eventual
appearance is more of an inevitable consequence of the great duet than a
surprise. The production is revisionist, but in a thoughtful way plainly
intended to illuminate the drama rather than to score political or other points.
During the Prelude the camera takes
the viewer on a tour of the set, which for Act 1 is the interior of a ship –
all metal stairs and railings. Usually I actively dislike visuals during the Prelude,
but here they work well, with camera angles used to good effect. The lighting
designer (Richard Traub) is the star of the production in Act II, where the
torch is a spotlight and Tristan and Isolde sing ‘O sink herneider’ against a
backdrop of avatars walking into pools of light (with the avatars turning into
little children at Brangäne’s entrance). Lighting is also very important during
Tristan’s delirious monologue in Act III, where Isolde is a constant on-stage
presence in a triangle of light, constantly disappearing only to reappear in
different places and elevations. It is very imaginative and also (not to give
anything away) on occasion macabre.
Stephen Gould is a terrific
Tristan. He sings with great delicacy in Act II after the arrival of Mark and
his men, and offers a commanding performance in Act III. There is currently no
shortage of heldentenors who can belt out a heroic-sounding Tristan, but few
with Gould’s combination of powerful projection, expressiveness, and careful
phrasing. He is well matched in all these respects by Evelyn Herlitzius’s
Isolde, who enters ferociously in Act 1 and sings with great intensity
throughout. Herlitzius does not have the most classically beautiful voice, but
nor did a number of the great Wagner sopranos of the past. She acts and sings
with power, plainly living her role.
König Marke has not been done any
favors by the costume designer (Thomas Kaiser), and I was not convinced by his
dragging Isolde off-stage in the closing bars. But the role is sung very well
by George Zeppenfeld, who strikes the right balance between anger, grief, and
resignation. The other two principal roles are very well sung – Iain Paterson
as Kurwenal and Christa Mayer as Brangäne.
There are not many Wagner
conductors who rank with Christian Thielemann when he is on form, as he most
definitely is in this performance. The Act I Prelude is rich and dramatic and
sets up a flow and pace that the Orchester der Bayreuther Festpielhaus maintains
throughout. Thielemann maintains the balance between orchestra and soloists,
not just in “showpieces” such as ‘Mild und leise’ but also (and even more
tellingly) in busy scenes such as the arrival of König Marke and his men in Act
III. The orchestra maintains a high level of dramatic movement, even though the
characters are actually standing still on the stage. The ending is beautifully
placed.
All in all, I was very enthusiastic
about this first production on first hearing and subsequent listening confirmed
first impressions. The sound and audio quality on the BluRay are excellent (I
listened in PCM stereo, but DTS 5.0 is also included). Highly recommended.
