Madrid, Spain - Teatro Real - Tristan Und Isolde

Music and libretto by Richard Wagner
Semi-staged concert version

Artistic team
Musical Conductor – Semyon Bychkov
Chorus Director – Andrés Máspero

Cast
Tristan – Andreas Schager
The King Marke – Franz-Josef Selig
Isolde – Ingela Brimberg
Kurwenal – Thomas Johannes Mayer
Melot – Neal Cooper
Brangäne – Ekaterina Gubanova
A shepherd – Jorge Rodríguez-Norton
A sailor – Alejandro del Cerro
A helmsman – David Lagares
Principal Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real

Based on a medieval legend of Celtic origin, the libretto of Tristan und Isolde – written by Richard Wagner himself – expresses a rich constellation of cultural references which range from Buddhism to the theatre of Calderón and the philosophies of Feuerbach and Schopenhauer. Arranged around the pairs of eros/thanatos, obligation/instinct and conscience/ subconscious, these associations suggest a vanguard dramatic setting which looked nearly half a century ahead to the birth of modern psychology. With his score, Wagner not only marked a point of no return in the evolution of tonality and, with that, of Western music, but he also expressed in musical terms – by means of ample crescendos, compelling climaxes and profound anticlimaxes – the distinct moments of our most basic impulse: sexuality.

Definitely considered one of the five most influential and indisputable operas of all time, we will enjoy a semi-staged version, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, who is a most sought after conductor of Wagner at present. (text from Teatro Real)