It is not easy to stage Tristan und Isolde: if it's too realistic, the story becomes unbelievable, if it's too conceptual, the story gets lost. So what to do?
Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s production and Roland Aeschlimann's set design (of 2003 revived this year) seem to have pulled it off. There was enough shapes on the set where one can project ones imagination (inside the ship's cabin, the Cornish coast, Tristan's home, etc.) The lighting (hues of blue and grey) gave it a somewhat ethereal feel. The costumes were medieval with a twist. All in all, it kind of worked.
Of course, the most important thing was the music. It's Vladimir Jurowski's first time conducting a full length Wagner opera. One dreads to think how many rehearsals the LPO must have had. The result came across as poised and controlled, punctuated by contrasting orchestral colours. The orchestral passages can sometimes come across as symphonic, but that goes away when the singing takes over. Anja Kampe was a fantastic and penetrative Isolde, with a big voice to fill the auditorium: one could hear shades of Brünhilde. Tristan was sung by Torsten Kerl who frankly didn't match that of Kampe - his voice was focused but lacked "meat" and was often lost in thick passages. Libestod was sensational at the end - Kampe vocal line rose above the orchestra as she glowed magically and other-worldly.
Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s production and Roland Aeschlimann's set design (of 2003 revived this year) seem to have pulled it off. There was enough shapes on the set where one can project ones imagination (inside the ship's cabin, the Cornish coast, Tristan's home, etc.) The lighting (hues of blue and grey) gave it a somewhat ethereal feel. The costumes were medieval with a twist. All in all, it kind of worked.
Of course, the most important thing was the music. It's Vladimir Jurowski's first time conducting a full length Wagner opera. One dreads to think how many rehearsals the LPO must have had. The result came across as poised and controlled, punctuated by contrasting orchestral colours. The orchestral passages can sometimes come across as symphonic, but that goes away when the singing takes over. Anja Kampe was a fantastic and penetrative Isolde, with a big voice to fill the auditorium: one could hear shades of Brünhilde. Tristan was sung by Torsten Kerl who frankly didn't match that of Kampe - his voice was focused but lacked "meat" and was often lost in thick passages. Libestod was sensational at the end - Kampe vocal line rose above the orchestra as she glowed magically and other-worldly.
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