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WAGNER'S
TRISTAN & ISOLDE
VIRGINIA OPERA
FEBRUARY 20, 2005
Reviewed by: Joseph Giannino
OperaOnline.us
THE STORY:
Tristan is sent to bring a reluctant Princes Isolde from Ireland to Cornwall to wed King Markes. During the trip Isolde tells Brangane (her servant) to prepare a ‘death’ potion which she will drink and give to an unsuspecting Tristan. Unknown to Isolde, Brangane switches the potion from ‘death’ to ‘love’ and Tristan and Isolde begin meeting secretly, even after Isolde is brought to wed the King. During one of their nocturnal meetings they are tricked by Tristan’s friend, Melot, who brings the King to witness the secret rendezvous. Melot and Tristan engage in a swordfight and Tristan is mortally wounded. Kurwenal, Tristan’s companion, saves his friend by bringing him back to his homeland to await Isolde’s reunion. She arrives in time to witness Tristan speak her name before he dies. King Marke arrives, along with Brangane, and the King, having been told that Brangane switched potions, now wants to ‘bless’ the union, though he is too late. Slowly Isolde sinks upon Tristan’s body and dies of a broken heart, transfigured in death.
WHERE I VIEWED IT:
The Virginia Opera travels to three different VA locations for each of its opera: Fairfax, Richmond and Norfolk. I attended the Richmond performance at the Landmark Theatre. Though I know little about the history of the theatre it is a wonderful place to see opera with good acoustics and sight lines. The interior is striking and has a mosque-like look, complete with mosaic tiles. With the exception of the very steep stairways, this is a great place for young and old.
THE PERFORMANCE:
This performance of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde by Virginia Opera was a very powerful and moving experience. It combined just the right mixture of beautiful music, strong vocal performances and clever and thoughtful stage direction, to make it a winner on all counts. As with any of Wagner’s works, this is not an undertaking for the weak, either on or off stage. Clocking in at four hours (with intermissions) and with some of the most demanding singing required in the standard repertoire, it is an ‘event’ each time it is presented -- and here, Artistic Director and Conductor Peter Mark did an exceptional job on both counts. The score rose from the pit in a slow yet appropriate tempo, giving us beautiful clarity from the string section and ominous sounding horns when called for from the brass, as when signaling the arrival of the lover’s ships.
In the leading roles were soprano Marjorie Elinor Dix, making her Virginia Opera debut, as Isolde and tenor Thomas Rolf Truhitte as Tristan. Ms. Dix was, in a word, exceptional. She maintained the difficult, long and vocally tasking music right up to her beautiful finale, the Mild und Leise. At no point did she appear stretched or tired. Indeed, even in the final moments of the opera her voice was strong; her delivery poignant; and her stage presence, commanding. As for Thomas Rolf Truhitte, I saw him years ago in Virginia Opera’s Walkure and thought he was an exciting heldentenor. He has lost nothing over the years. In this performance, however, he nailed only two of the three acts, but did so beautifully. Unfortunately I thought he was slightly out of voice in Act II, with a noticeable wobble in his delivery in an extremely important act giving us one of the longest love duets in all of opera. Whatever affected his delivery in Act II, his Act III performance was sung wonderful, providing a deep and passionate death scene, giving us a hint of the talent this singer possesses.
Both of the leads were perfectly fit for their roles and believable as heroes.
Mezzo Mary Ann Stewart as Brangane was also in wonderful vocal form maintaining her devotion to Isolde throughout the entire piece. I only wished that during her poignant and beautiful Act II aria where she warned the lovers to ‘beware’ she was directed to stand in one spot, even if off stage if she must, as opposed to walking back and forth as she did here. The constant movement detracted from the eerie atmosphere of the moment.
While the entire ensemble did a fine job, one singer who showed great promise was Nmon Ford, in the role of Kurwenal, Tristan’s friend. He was one of the performance’s unsung heroes. His baritone was fresh and powerful and his delivery balanced. He gave an enthusiastic performance that noticeably transferred to an audience which showed its appreciation in the end.
The stage design by Michael Ganio worked well using what seemed to be a twisted metal girder as the main prop throughout all three acts, giving the allusion of a ship’s hull in one scene, a forest setting in another and, finally, as the resting place for Tristan and Isolde. It was a little different, but did manage to meet all of the needs of the piece, enhanced throughout by some wonderful and imaginative lighting by Robert Wierzel. If there was any annoyance, it would have to be the pictures of Tristan and Isolde being projected onto the backdrop. It did seem a little corny. The costumes were based on appropriate attire of Wagner’s day, with long flowing period dresses for the women in the cast and swashbuckling outfits for the men, also well done.
Last observation: as the final moments of the score in the opera drew to a close, the audience showed good sense by waiting before applauding, allowing the final notes to be played, with Isolde slowly collapsing on Tristan’s lifeless body. One could feel that everybody from conductor to principles gave it their all today and reached for something special to attain it. On my drive home that evening I could not help but feel that I had witnessed a truly remarkable and memorable performance from an outstanding and increasingly appreciated opera company
Director, Lillan Groag
Set Design, Michael Ganio
Costume, Wig and Makeup, Robert Morgan and James McGough
Lighting Design, Robert Wierzel
Chorus Master, Joseph Walsh
