‘Tristan’ at Glyndebourne is musical perfection 

At one time Glyndebourne did not do Wagner. Then, some twenty years ago, they staged a production of Tristan und Isolde by Nikolaus Lehnhoff that has stood the test of time. This year sees yet another revival of that production, under the baton of their excellent music director, Robin Ticciati. It is a musical tour de force. 

Wagner created what he called a Gesamtkunstwerk (meaning a work of art embracing several different forms), and wrote the libretti for all his own operas. This particular one was inspired by his amorous attachment to Mathilde Wesendonck, the author of numerous literary works, including a set of poems that Wagner set to music (now known as the Wesendonck Lieder ). Tristan und Isolde was composed between 1857 and 1859 while he took a break from his work on his tetralogy, The Ring .

As an opera, Tristan deals with the numinous. More than any of Wagner’s works, it reaches into the realm of metaphysics, realised in terms of suffering for a love that remains forever out of reach, unrealisable in one life, but inspiring a quest that leads into a domain of non-existence. Musically, the chords progress without final resolution. The pianist and composer Clara Schumann (wife of Robert) found it a trial to sit through such music, describing it as “the most repugnant thing I have heard or seen in my entire life”.  

Yet audiences then and now are hugely moved, and that after all is the measure of a work of art. It is not whether the cognoscenti love it, but whether the public will pay to attend, and for Tristan they most certainly will. The central motif is a death wish, and when Tristan asks Isolde if she will follow where he goes, that is what he means. In this production, when Melot finds the lovers together, Tristan forces Melot’s sword into his own body. Death is the solution, and indeed the resolution that finds its final expression in Isolde’s “love-death”, her Liebestod . 

In the meantime we have tremendous musical action, and Glyndebourne’s production involves beautifully placed off-stage musical effects: for example the horn calls in Act III, Brangäne’s warning in Act II, and the arrival of the sailors towards the end of Act I. Some of these can be located on-stage, but here, under the revival director Daniel Dooner, they are heard from various parts of the auditorium to excellent effect.

These and the subtle lighting changes by Robin Carter made for an marvellous audience experience, to say nothing of the power projected by the singers themselves, with the Finnish soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä as Isolde and the Australian Heldentenor Stuart Skelton as Tristan. The staging involves concentric ellipses, but stepping from one to another is not easy for such a large singer as Skelton. Wagner’s music dramas are famous for the size of many of their performers and the very first Tristan at the premiere in 1865 was Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld, a large young singer who had already received acclaim in the title roles of Tannhäuser and Lohengrin . His wife Malvina played Isolde. At Glyndebourne, as Tristan’s devoted friend and retainer Kurwenal the Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang makes a powerful vocal and stage presence, Samuel Sakker is a fine Melot, and Caspar Singh a beautifully toned Young Sailor and Shepherd. Sadly, Karen Cargill had to withdraw from the role of Isolde’s confidante Brangäne, but her replacement Marlene Lichtenberg showed a very fine, smooth contralto. The appearance of Franz-Josef Selig as King Marke is a treat. His stage aplomb and authoritative bass produces a moving dialogue with Tristan after the lovers have been disturbed in Act II, and his Act III contributions as a bringer of peace are magnificent.

The wonderful acoustics of the Glyndebourne Opera House were shown to tremendous advantage, and I can only look forward to a later Wagner opera that demands such contrast between gentle and forceful music, again conducted by the estimable Robin Ticciati. The composer’s final work,  Parsifal , is scheduled for summer 2025.

A Message from TheArticle

We are the only publication that’s committed to covering every angle. We have an important contribution to make, one that’s needed now more than ever, and we need your help to continue publishing throughout these hard economic times. So please, make a donation.