I have said many times how much I love Tristan Und Isolde. While I love all of Wagner's operas I have always considered Tristan my favourite, the music is so rich and some of Wagner's most beautiful(the Act 1 prelude and Meistersinger Quintet are the most beautiful pieces Wagner ever wrote to me, with Wotan's Farewell in Die Walkure the most awe inspiring) and the story so moving.
This Tristan is pretty good. It is not the best I've seen, I consider the 1983(the best), 1967(legendary), 1995(for the best Isolde on DVD) and 1974(flawed technically but fascinating in terms of musical values and cast) performances superior. But it is better than the 1998, 2002(let down especially by bad Tristans) and 2009 productions(uninvolving staging), and also the 1993 performance which had a great supporting cast but the two leads were past prime, and perhaps on the same level as the 2001 Met production.
Does it have flaws? I think so. A couple are technical and one or two with the production. Starting with the technical flaws, I found the slow-motion technique where Kurwenal fights and kills Melot clichéd. While the surround sound for the horns has this haunting quality which was quite fitting, some of the sound for the singers is a little too distant at times. While the gauzes were effective in Isolde's Liebestod, it did feel too much in other scenes. In regard to the drama, it was mostly compelling actually. But a couple don't work. Kurwenal's fighting in Act 3 seemed very perfunctory and lacking the realism that one would expect for that scene, while the shepherd also doesn't work with an appearance that looks more at home at a stag party or something.
Flaws aside, while not the best of the Tristans I've seen on DVD, of the four productions seen in the past month or so(2002, 2009, 1993 and this) it is the best of the four. Visually it is a stylised albeit imaginatively lit and spacious production. Lehnhoff's stage direction does have some miscalculations and is not as compellingly real as his 2006 Lohengrin or 2004 Parsifal, but with Isolde's conflicted feelings, Tristan's nobility, Kurwenal's loyalty, Brangane's sympathy and King Marke's dignity he gets the basic thrust right, which is more than I can say for his 2008 Tannhauser.
Musically, the production is excellent. The orchestral playing has so much power, pathos and sensuality, all three of which is needed for a successful Tristan Und Isolde reading. The conducting is perhaps a little too slow in the Act 1 prelude(though not as much as Levine's) and too fast with the appearance of Isolde's ship in Act 3 but overall especially in the Act 2 love duet it is sensitive and firm.
The performances I found myself really impressed with. Nina Stemme is second only to Waltraud Meier as the best Isolde of the past twenty years or so. Her vibrato may not be for all tastes, though it is not as problematic as other sopranos in the role or any Wagner(or even Strauss) role for that matter, however I found the singing not only big and thrilling for her anger in Act 1 but also very expressive in the Liebestod. Her acting is also superb, perfectly showing Isolde's anger and sadness.
Robert Gambill is not one of the great Tristans(like Vickers and Windgassen), with some wobbly high notes and inelegant phrasing. But he is not bad at all, his baritonal sound is much warmer than it was as Tannhauser, just as punishing a role. And from a dramatic point of view, he is far better than Jon Fredric West and John Treleaven, the former blusters his way through the role and the latter constantly looked like a startled faun, he actually has the nobility, heroism and intensity that the two men don't have. His chemistry with Stemme is good also, they move at ease and actually look as though they care for one another.
Katarina Karnéus occasionally sounds underpowered, but still makes for a memorable Brangane. Her overall singing is lovely especially at the top, and her conflicted emotions and sympathetic personality makes for the most interesting supporting character of Tristan Und Isolde like she should do. Her scene with Stemme in Act 2 is especially compelling. Rene Pape is wonderful as King Marke. He is not as good as he was in the 2001 Met production, where he was the most sympathetic character of the production(here he doesn't quite), but his voice is of its usual beauty and warmth and he is appropriately dignified and moving.
Bo Skovhus' voice is perhaps too light for Kurwenal, though he thankfully doesn't bark or strain like some bass-baritones do when singing roles too heavy for them. Dramatically, apart from the odd case of melodramatic gesturing, he nonetheless sticks to the basic characteristics of the role, loyal and touching. Stephen Gadd sings very strongly as Melot, if perhaps too stolid.
All in all, a pretty good Tristan Und Isolde, if neither among the best or worst I've seen(the same goes for Wagner productions too, I put it around the middle in that regard). 7/10 Bethany Cox
This Tristan is pretty good. It is not the best I've seen, I consider the 1983(the best), 1967(legendary), 1995(for the best Isolde on DVD) and 1974(flawed technically but fascinating in terms of musical values and cast) performances superior. But it is better than the 1998, 2002(let down especially by bad Tristans) and 2009 productions(uninvolving staging), and also the 1993 performance which had a great supporting cast but the two leads were past prime, and perhaps on the same level as the 2001 Met production.
Does it have flaws? I think so. A couple are technical and one or two with the production. Starting with the technical flaws, I found the slow-motion technique where Kurwenal fights and kills Melot clichéd. While the surround sound for the horns has this haunting quality which was quite fitting, some of the sound for the singers is a little too distant at times. While the gauzes were effective in Isolde's Liebestod, it did feel too much in other scenes. In regard to the drama, it was mostly compelling actually. But a couple don't work. Kurwenal's fighting in Act 3 seemed very perfunctory and lacking the realism that one would expect for that scene, while the shepherd also doesn't work with an appearance that looks more at home at a stag party or something.
Flaws aside, while not the best of the Tristans I've seen on DVD, of the four productions seen in the past month or so(2002, 2009, 1993 and this) it is the best of the four. Visually it is a stylised albeit imaginatively lit and spacious production. Lehnhoff's stage direction does have some miscalculations and is not as compellingly real as his 2006 Lohengrin or 2004 Parsifal, but with Isolde's conflicted feelings, Tristan's nobility, Kurwenal's loyalty, Brangane's sympathy and King Marke's dignity he gets the basic thrust right, which is more than I can say for his 2008 Tannhauser.
Musically, the production is excellent. The orchestral playing has so much power, pathos and sensuality, all three of which is needed for a successful Tristan Und Isolde reading. The conducting is perhaps a little too slow in the Act 1 prelude(though not as much as Levine's) and too fast with the appearance of Isolde's ship in Act 3 but overall especially in the Act 2 love duet it is sensitive and firm.
The performances I found myself really impressed with. Nina Stemme is second only to Waltraud Meier as the best Isolde of the past twenty years or so. Her vibrato may not be for all tastes, though it is not as problematic as other sopranos in the role or any Wagner(or even Strauss) role for that matter, however I found the singing not only big and thrilling for her anger in Act 1 but also very expressive in the Liebestod. Her acting is also superb, perfectly showing Isolde's anger and sadness.
Robert Gambill is not one of the great Tristans(like Vickers and Windgassen), with some wobbly high notes and inelegant phrasing. But he is not bad at all, his baritonal sound is much warmer than it was as Tannhauser, just as punishing a role. And from a dramatic point of view, he is far better than Jon Fredric West and John Treleaven, the former blusters his way through the role and the latter constantly looked like a startled faun, he actually has the nobility, heroism and intensity that the two men don't have. His chemistry with Stemme is good also, they move at ease and actually look as though they care for one another.
Katarina Karnéus occasionally sounds underpowered, but still makes for a memorable Brangane. Her overall singing is lovely especially at the top, and her conflicted emotions and sympathetic personality makes for the most interesting supporting character of Tristan Und Isolde like she should do. Her scene with Stemme in Act 2 is especially compelling. Rene Pape is wonderful as King Marke. He is not as good as he was in the 2001 Met production, where he was the most sympathetic character of the production(here he doesn't quite), but his voice is of its usual beauty and warmth and he is appropriately dignified and moving.
Bo Skovhus' voice is perhaps too light for Kurwenal, though he thankfully doesn't bark or strain like some bass-baritones do when singing roles too heavy for them. Dramatically, apart from the odd case of melodramatic gesturing, he nonetheless sticks to the basic characteristics of the role, loyal and touching. Stephen Gadd sings very strongly as Melot, if perhaps too stolid.
All in all, a pretty good Tristan Und Isolde, if neither among the best or worst I've seen(the same goes for Wagner productions too, I put it around the middle in that regard). 7/10 Bethany Cox
