Richard Wagner: Tristan and Isolde

“Dangerously fascinating, frighteningly and sweetly infinite,” was how Friedrich Nietzsche characterized the opera, Tristan und Isolde, written by Richard Wagner to his own libretto between 1857 and 1859. He drew inspiration from the epic, Tristan und Isolt, by Gottfried von Strassburg (d. around 1210), who in his turn based it drew on an ancient Celtic legend. The first company to show interest in staging the work was the Court Opera in Vienna. At the end of a string of 70 harrowing rehearsals between 1862 and 1864, though, the work was declared unperformable. Only after the intercession of Wagner’s admirer, Ludwig II of Bavaria, did the premiere take place, at Munich, on June 10, 1865, under the baton of Hans von Bülow. The Prague State Opera building saw four previous productions of Tristan und Isolde, premiered on September 1, 1896, March 31, 1907, March 9, 1912 (by Alexander Zemlinsky), and June 21, 1934. All of these stagings were mounted by the then New German Theatre. This means the anticipated new production will return Tristan und Isolde under this roof after an absence of 76 years!

Premiere: May 20, 2010