There is no other composer who aroused so many mutually exclusive passions, but at the same time – no other composer built such a staggering, yet coherent vision of his own work. Another exceptional achievement of Wagner is dragging a number of artists and thinkers of all sorts into his orbit. (…) In the discipline of musical theatre, aesthetic thought was forced to clearly state whether it is for or against for the next century; and even the most vehement opponents (…) were, in fact, Wagnerian.
The protagonists of the opera – Tristan, who is a knight at the court of King Marke, and the Irish princess Isolde – are on their way to Cornwall. The man wants to ask the king for the woman’s hand, but she decides to poison him as vengeance for the death of her fiance, Morold, whom Tristan killed. However, as a result of secretive interference by the handmaiden Brangäne, the woman and the knight consume a love potion instead of the poison. The realization of their love is impossible, and the way to it – through the schemes of fake friends and bad luck – leads only to death. The opera premiered on 10th June 1865 in Munich, and the Polish premiere took place in Warsaw in 1921.
The scenography was designed by Boris Kudlička, a Slovakian artist who has been working with Treliński for almost 20 years now. The artists created over twenty opera realizations together, including Madame Butterfly, Don Giovanni, Orpheus and Eurydice, Iolanta, Bluebeard’s Castle, Traviata, Turandota, Flying Dutchman and Salome. The visual aspect of Tristan und Isolde is a huge asset of the play, as Anna S. Dębowska noticed in her review for muzyka.onet.pl:
The first two acts take place on a warship, on which Isolde, abducted to become King Marke’s wife, travels to Cornwall, guarded by Tristan. It is a war and the director does not shun brutality. The scenography in the first act is a huge construction divided, like a shelf, into segments which perform the function of various places: the claustrophobic cabin, where Isolde is trapped; Tristan’s cabin; the space beneath the deck, carrying explosives. The characters are observed incessantly, every few moments Isolde’s cabin is displayed on monitoring screens. They are also kept watch on through a night vision device. These ideas are all very interesting, comprehensible and expressive, similarly to the visualizations of the black sphere, a planet of death or melancholy, evoking associations with Melancholia by Lars von Trier (in which the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde was used) or a warship cutting through the waves.
The choir and orchestra is directed by Stefan Soltesz from Hungary. Tomasz Wygoda authored the choreography, Marek Adamski is responsible for the costumes, and Piotr Gruszczyński and Adam Radecki were the literary consultants.
Starring: Jay Hunter Morris (Tristan), Reinhard Hagen (King Marke), Melanie Diener (Isolde), Tómas Tómasson (Gorwenal), Michaela Selinger (Brangäne), Mateusz Zajdel (Melot), Zbigniew Malak (Shepher / Young sailor) and Mikołaj Trąbka (Steersman).
Sources: PAP, onet.pl. Written by AL, translated by NS, June 2016.
