TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, Royal Opera House, 5 December 2014

Richard Wagner, TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Friday 5 December 2014

Cast

Sailor                                                           ED LYON

Isolde                                                          NINA STEMME

Brangaene                                                  SARAH CONNOLLY

Kurwenal                                                     IAIN PATERSON

Tristan                                                         STEPHEN GOULD

Melot                                                           NEAL COOPER

King Marke                                                 JOHN TOMLINSON

Shepherd                                                    GRAHAM CLARK

Steersman                                                  YURI YURCHUK

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Conductor                                                    ANTONIO PAPPANO

Director                                                         CHRISTOF LOY

It is perhaps a good thing that TRISTAN UND ISOLDE is performed comparatively rarely, as it would be difficult to cope with the emotional strain of seeing and hearing it more than once a year! (Once every five years in the case of this production).

This is the second time I have seen the production, and I still love the actual staging - spare, minimalist, stripped to its essentials, so that the drama and the music flourish unimpeded.  I realise it caused (and still causes) some controversy, and I am happy  the unnecessary canoodling between Kurwenal and Brangaene has been toned down so that it is no longer obtrusive. ( I didn't see the point, but that was my only criticism of the production).

As I said when I wrote about this production last time, nothing much 'happens' in TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, in terms of stage business.....the first act is narrative, the exposition....and, crucially, it is about Isolde's misunderstanding of her own feelings, not being able to admit that she doesn't hate Tristan, she loves him with a deep passion, and this is why she sees death as the only way out. And how eloquently Nina Stemme conveyed all the tangled complications of Isolde's feelings - angry, passionate, almost hysterical at times, and bitterness at the beginning of her confrontation with Tristan It isn't only that she has a beautiful voice, she brings such commitment to the characterisation of Isolde, the storms of emotion that batter her soul. At the beginning of the opera, she is wearing a white (wedding?) dress, then changes into black for her confrontation with Tristan. The simplicity of the costumes (for all the characters) is another characteristic of this production.

What I have said about Nina Stemme in fact applies to all the performers - they all meshed wonderfully together, with excellent rapport, and all were experts at characterisation. Sarah Connolly in beautiful voice as Brangaene, her mezzo a perfect foil to the soprano of Nina Stemme, and a very sympathetic, warm character, who obviously has her own ideas as to how deep-rooted Isolde's aversion to Tristan really is.

Stephen Gould distinguished himself as Tristan, rising to heights of intensity   especially in the delirious ravings of Act III, almost frightening, it was so believable. He also created a good balance of tenderness and passion during the Love Duet . I love this image from Act II - she starts setting the table for them, but then they get so involved in their discussion of the nature of love that they forget about it....

Iain Patterson was good as Kurwenal, bluff, soldierly, managing to convey his dislike of Isolde (and Brangaene) with body language as much as tone of voice. But - I am very much afraid we are witnessing the beginning of John Tomlinson's vocal decline. True, the shakiness of his voice did add to the poignancy of King Marke's lament (I always grieve for King Marke, whom Wagner portrays as a much more noble character than his counterpart in the medieval sources). But he just no longer has the ringing sonority he had when he was in his prime, although he did convey very movingly the idea of an older man crushed by grief. Think how sad it is for him - he loved and admired Tristan, he adored Isolde, even though he had apparently never tried to consummate the marriage.....and they repay him like this.

I have to say that this time I was rather disappointed with Pappano's conducting of the Prelude, it seemed rather hesitant and tentative, and didn't immediately plunge you into the world of strange chromaticism that Tristan and Isolde inhabit. But I can't fault the orchestral playing in later Acts - the Love Duet opens out onto a plateau of utter gorgeousness. (Pity about the idiot behind me who had FORGOTTEN TO TURN OFF THEIR PHONE).

I'll finish with an extract from Swinburne's TRISTRAM OF LYONESSE which he could not have written without Wagner. (Probably reading Swinburne's version wasn't the best way to come down from my Wagner-induced high, but there you are!!)

And with strong trembling fingers she strained fast

His head into her bosom; till at last

Satiate with sweetness of that burning bed,

His eyes afire with tears, he raised his head

And laughed into her lips; and all his heart

Filled hers; then face from face fell, and apart

Each hung on each with panting lips, and felt

Sense into sense and spirit in spirit melt.

   "Hast thou no sword? I would not live till day,

O love, this night and we must pass away,

It must die soon, and let not us die late."

   "Take then my sword and slay me; nay, but wait

Till day be risen; what, wouldst thou think to die

Before the light take hold upon the sky?"

   "Yea, love; for how shall we have twice, being twain,

This very night of love's most rapturous reign?

Live thou and have thy day, and year by year

Be great, but what shall I be? Slay me here;

Let me die not when love lies dead, but now

Strike through my heart: nay, sweet, what heart hast thou?

Is it so much I ask thee, and spend my breath

In asking? nay, thou knowest it is but death.

Hadst thou true heart to love me, thou wouldst give

This: but for hate's sake thou wilt let me live."

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, Royal Opera House, 2 October 2009

Richard Wagner, TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Cast

YOUNG SAILOR.............................Ji-Min Park (Jette Parker Principal)
ISOLDE...........................................Nina Stemme
BRANGAENE................................Sophie Koch
KURWENAL..................................Michael Volle
TRISTAN........................................Ben Heppner
MELOT...........................................Richard Berkeley-Steele
KING MARKE..............................John Tomlinson (29 Sept, 2, 5 Oct)
                                                      Matti Salminen (9, 15, 18 mat Oct)
SHEPHERD...............................Ryland Davies
STEERSMAN............................Dawid Kimberg (Jette Parker Young Artist)

Chorus and orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

CONDUCTOR........................................Antonio Pappano
DIRECTOR.............................................Christof Loy


I absolutely LOVED this peformance, including the staging....of which more later, since it has proved so controversial....but I will discuss the music first! (That's what I went for....the staging  was an added bonus).

Antonio Pappano could be the greatest Wagner conductor of our times. The prelude was so intense, so FOCUSED, reaching a pitch of almost unbearable tension at the climax......I was literally on the edge of my seat at this point, and it wasn't the last time; Pappano has great sensitivity to the nuances of the strange sound-world of TRISTAN, and transports us there right from the TRISTAN-chord. In fact it's the day after, and I am still trying to come down from my Wagner-induced high!
Right, the production....yes, it IS very sparse, austere, almost minimalist, and this is what I loved about it. I wasn't expecting to like it quite so much, although I did like Loy's LULU as well. What he did in LULU he has done again in TRISTAN, stripped it to its essentials so that the audience can concentrate on the text and the music, which was Wagner's point. After all, nothing 'happens' in TRISTAN, in the sense of stage business, it is nearly all narrative, as in Greek tragedy.

Behind the curtain that covers the back of the stage there is a dining room, so they are not really on a ship (although some irreverent souls suggested that it reminded them of the dining room on the TITANIC).
The drama unfolds in front of the curtain. Isolde (Nina Stemme) comes in front of the curtain wearing a white dress (possibly a wedding dress....some it has been suggested that the dining room represents the wedding breakfast of Marke and Isolde). She changes into a black dress for her confrontation with Tristan.

She is joined by Brangaene (Sophie Koch).

There is a striking contrast between the soaring soprano of Nina Stemme and the burnished mezzo of Sophie Koch....Stemme brings such passion and conviction to the role, as well as beauty of tone and soaring high notes; a really exciting, convincing portrayal of Isolde's confusion and desperation, her unwillingness to admit that she doesn't hate Tristan, she loves him. The Brangaene of Sophie Koch is an ideal foil to Stemme's Isolde.

There is one chair, on which sometimes Isolde sits, sometimes Brangaene....one of the fascinating pieces of stage business (with ONE CHAIR, and an almost bare stage!) is that when Kurwenal (Michael Volle) comes to summon them to land, he sits on the chair, stretches his legs out and puts his hands in his pocket....showing his dislike for Isolde even in body-language. He has a stong, ringing baritone, plays Kurwenal as a straightforward character, perhaps with a military background.
Ben Heppner, unfortunately, could not quite match Nina Stemme's achievement, his voice tended to crack rather alarmingly on the high notes.

But he recovered at the end of Act II, and sang "Wohin nun Tristan scheidet, willst du, Isolde, ihm folgen?" with beautiful serenity. And at this point, Kurwenal starts to shiver and pulls his jacket close, as if he is slowly realising....this isn't just rhetoric, he really means it.

 So yes, perhaps he could have been a bit more passionate in the Love Duet, but the orchestra under Pappano was really where the focus was, a very nuanced and sensitive portrayal of....well, it's not passion or love, really, is it, it's obsession. Neither singer was overwhelmed by the orchestra, but the music reached the heights of intensity which Heppner sometimes couldn't quite manage.

It must be admitted that John Tomlinson's voice has developed a noticeable wobble, but I thought in the final analysis this didn't detract from his portrayal of King Marke, torn between grief and anger, not really wanting to take the vengeance that Melot keeps urging on him...in the end it is the grief rather than the anger that gains the upper hand with this tragic figure.

At the end of the act, neither of them having swords, Melot pulls a knife and Tristan runs on to it....

I will just mention, before turning to discussing Act III in general, that perhaps the staging of this could have been better managed, and the fact that at the end of Act III one of the chorus ends up bludgeoning Kurwenal to death was the one flaw in this otherwise excellently staged production...there is really no reason why he shouldn't die off-stage. But this is so minor, really, as the production - the staging, was generally of such a high standard.

Act III is Tristan's act, just as Act I is Isolde's. It is true that Heppner was still a little bit plagued by the cracks in the high notes, but in a way this was almost in character for the dying, hallucinating Tristan. Again the scenery is reduced to a minimum, a chair for Tristan and a table, on which sometimes Kurvenal sits while he is listening to Tristan, trying to make sense of what he is saying...but Tristan isn't really communicating with anyone, except in his mind with Isolde. Heppner achieved a melancholy beauty of tone when Tristan thinks back to his orphaned childhood.....and then Nina Stemme crowned the evening with her passionate, soaring performance of the Liebestod, at the end of which she falls exhausted into the chair......

A final moment of searing tension, again supported with great intensity by the orchestra under Pappano.

I will finish by saying that I found this staging brilliant and inspirational...I literally do not understand why people booed it. I found that it went right to the heart of the drama, supporting and emphasising every nuance of the text and the music.