| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 23-Feb-2013 Chicago Symphony Center | Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra deliver a fresh Tristan und Isolde |
 When one hears an Esa-Pekka Salonen interpretation one expects no less than a keen and original approach tempered by an incredible ear for accuracy. This no doubt comes from his prolific work as a composer, work which has of late dominated his professional life.
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| 8-Feb-2013 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts | Ancient magic updated: Peter Sellars' Tristan with the Canadian Opera Company |
 Peter Sellars successfully updated the ancient magic in Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde. Wagner had already modernised the medieval tale by focusing on the middle of the story, where the passion of the doomed lovers catches fire. Wagner treats the mythic origins of the romance as back-story recollected while passions are flaring. Sellars tightens that focus by stripping away sets, scenery and costumes. He restricts action and staging to bare gestures. The actors, often uniformed in black, are illuminated by rectangles of spotlight on a stage, bare except for a black box podium.Read full review... | |
| 1-Aug-2012 Bayreuther Festspielhaus | Tristan und Isolde at Bayreuth |
 When audiences first heard Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, they were stunned by the sustained, passionate eroticism of the score, with the musicians amongst them amazed by the variety of novel compositional devices. A century and a half later, the novelty of chromaticism and extended use of suspension has somewhat worn off, but the music’s ability to project passion remains, particularly in the hands of all-star players such as the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, hand-picked from the top orchestras in Germany.
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| 30-Jun-2011 Grange Park Opera, Northington | “Such dangerous fascinations” Tristan & Isolde at Grange Park Opera |
 History has cast a complex light on Wagner’s music and on Wagner the man. But Tristan & Isolde (Wagner’s enormous vision of erotic love) is an opera that can still resonate today. Nietzsche referred to its “dangerous fascinations”, “spine-tingling and blissful infinity“ and “voluptuousness”. This was Grange Park Opera’s first foray into Wagnerian opera. They are based in an award-winning built opera house tucked away behind the imposing bulk of The Grange, a partially ruined mansion in glorious Hampshire countryside.Read full review... | |
