The Metropolitan Opera is set to premiere a new production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” The new production will be directed by Yuval Sharon in his company-debut and will star Lise Davidsen in her long-anticipated company role debut as Isolde. She will be joined by tenor Michael Spyres stars as Tristan, mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova as Brangäne, bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny as {…}
Barcelona’s venerable Teatro Liceu hasn’t experienced this level of anticipation in a decade. It may be surprising that Wagner would stimulate such activity in a Mediterranean city, but the city of Gaudí is the most Wagnerian of Spanish locales and it’s long had a connection to the composer’s works. But that aside, the likely reason for the excessive buzz was {…}
This week the Gran Teatre del Liceu will open a new production of “Tristan und Isolde” with an all-star cast and featuring one of the most anticipated role debuts of the year. Headlining the cast is Lise Davidsen who will sing her first Isolde. The performances also mark her return to the opera stage following a hiatus due to pregnancy. {…}
(Credit: © Hugo Thomassen) The Dutch National Opera is set to revive a production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.” The production by Pierre Audi will be conducted by Tarmo Peltokoski, who leads his first complete run of Wagner’s revolutionary work. The cast will include soprano Malin Byström, who makes her role debut as Isolde and Michael Weinius as Tristan. They {…}
(Credit: Enrico Nawrath) “They enter into blinding darkness those who worship chaos; into greater darkness still those who delight in shadow.” Upanishad, Verse IX Coming to Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” for the first time must always remain a unique, emotional, musical experience. It is an opera of subtle interpretations, not only regarding the music and dramatic action, but perhaps more {…}
(Photo: Rudolph Tang) If music is the art of time, Wagner’s opera is the art of a great deal of time—and gaining access to it at its shrine demands an extraordinary investment of time. For many years, a single ticket to the Bayreuth Festival was among the most coveted prizes for serious Wagnerians. It was rumored that applicants might wait up to {…}
The Shanghai Opera House has announced a cast change for its upcoming production of “Tristan und Isolde,” which will launch Bayreuth in Shanghai. Last week, the company announced that soprano Nina Warren will make her house debut as Isolde in the 2022 Bayreuth Festival production, directed by Roland Schwab. Nina replaces Song Qian, a soloist of the Shanghai Opera House, {…}
On June 1 and 8, the Philadelphia Orchestra will present Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” with Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducting the opera for the first time. The conductor has lined up an all-star cast of Wagner titans who have performed the work on numerous occasions. Among them is Stuart Skelton, who is recognized as one of the great Heldentenors of his generation. {…}
For years, Nina Stemme has been regarded as one of the great interpreters of the Wagner repertoire. Her Isolde has been widely admired by audiences around the world at some of the greatest theaters such as the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, and Berlin. In May 2004, she bid farewell to the role in a stage production, and now June 1, she {…}
(Photo: OMC Marco Borrelli) On Sunday March 2nd, 2025, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo presented a concert performance of Act two of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.” The concert was billed as a prelude to the annual music festival Le Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, which will open on March 12th. The evening began with the {…}
Creative director, designer, and producer Clint Ramos is set to join Lincoln Center as Artist-in-Residence. Ramos is set to be the costume designer for the Met Opera’s recently announced 2026 production of “Tristan und Isolde.” Other projects on campus include leading curation for the 2026 edition of “American Songbook;” developing a new public art and theater piece set for premiere {…}