It was a much-anticipated Tristan und Isolde at Nationale Opera en Ballet, the revival of the production directed by the late Pierre Audi (1957-2025) in 2018. The revival was rehearsed with respect and precision by Lisenka Heijboer Castañón who was his assistant director in Amsterdam at the time.
The production is stylized and suggestive, quite the hallmark of most of Pierre Audi's productions. The set has a number of constants throughout the three acts: a grey-tinted backdrop that shifts in tone as the story progresses and can represent horizon, sea, forest…, at the back a ground edge that suggests a natural environment, wall panels with rusty drawings, sometimes glossy, sometimes matte, alluding to a harsh sometimes warlike, sometimes mysterious world. In the first act there are black panels that slide across the stage, like walls or the hull of a ship, but it remains suggestive, albeit a suggestion that works very efficiently.
There are also attributes that evoke an archaic or perhaps medieval past, in which the original story of King Marke and Tristan and Isolde takes place. In the second act, the ribs of a ship's bow (or bare whale ribs – as the article by dramaturge Willem Bruls in the program notes teaches us) evoke a world in decay, a perception that permeates the entire opera and of course reaches its climax with the death of Tristan and Isolde. A rectangular panel regularly forms the backdrop of the scene and alternately serves to hide or emphasize.
Particularly striking is that in the scene of the great love duet of Tristan und Isolde in which the square gradually – from the beginning of Sink hernieder Nacht der Liebe – slides upward and allows the black rock block standing in front of it to metamorphose into a transparent metal grid. A beautiful image that underscores the bewitching love duet. The irregular rock blocks lying on the stage in the third act are the broken solid rock that formed the backdrop in the love scene. The lighting plays an essential role, accentuating the metaphysical content of the love story.
The interplay between light and night is profoundly considered, culminating in the sublime finale with the unforgettable shadow image of Isolde in her aria Mild und leise. The costumes also fit beautifully into the time concept: rich satin robes of Isolde and Brangäne in the first act, somber black in the second and "casual" attire in the third.
The most beautiful work of art in the world
A quote from Tarmo Peltokoski, the just 26-year-old conductor of this grandiose Wagner opera. Phenomenal how the man achieves the right balance between orchestra and voices and how he lets the various orchestral passages with the beautiful woodwinds sound wonderfully.
His utmost precision makes the performance with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra a unique experience. And this is coupled with the splendid soprano-tenor pairing of Malin Byström (who notably makes her stage debut as Isolde!) and Michael Weinius. Byström seems to be a natural talent for both the lyrical and regularly strongly dramatic aspects of the Isolde role.
The bright and powerful voice of Michael Weinius as Tristan is not forced anywhere. He interprets his role with moving expressivity and maintains his vocal intensity to the end. The other roles are very well cast, of which we would like to mention Irene Roberts as Brangäne and Jordan Shanahan as Kurwenal. Liang Li is an impressive King Marke, emphasizing rather the hard character of the character than the charismatic one. Thus the production also achieves great heights musically.
Moving is the final image in which the black frame is projected with a nice photo of Pierre Audi and the text: "Thank you Pierre Audi (9-5-1957/3-5-2025)". Thus the production becomes an immense homage to the director and his surrealist world.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ctjHadoFA[/embed]