It was much anticipated: Tristan und Isolde at Nationale Opera en Ballet, the revival of the production that the late Pierre Audi (1957-2025) directed in 2018. The revival was rehearsed with respect and precision by Lisenka Heijboer Castañón, who was his directing assistant in Amsterdam at the time.
The production is stylized and suggestive, very much the hallmark of most of Pierre Audi's productions. The set has a number of constants throughout the three acts: a grey-tinted back wall that varies in shade according to the story and can represent a horizon, sea, forest…, at the back a floor edge suggesting a natural environment, wall panels with rusty drawings, sometimes glossy, sometimes matte, evoking a harsh sometimes bellicose, sometimes mysterious world. In the first act there are black panels that slide across the stage, like walls or the bottom of a ship, but it remains suggestive, albeit a suggestion that works very efficiently.
There are also attributes that suggest an archaic or perhaps medieval past, in which the original story of King Marke, Tristan and Isolde unfolds. 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 booklet explains) evoke a world in decay, a perception that permeates the entire opera and of course culminates with the death of Tristan and Isolde. A rectangular panel regularly forms the back wall of the stage and alternately serves to conceal or emphasize.
Highly striking is 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 lets the black rock block in front of it metamorphose into a transparent metal mesh. A beautiful image that accentuates the enchanting love duet. The irregular rock blocks lying on the stage in the third act are the broken solid rock that formed the back wall in the love scene. The lighting plays an essential role, accentuating the metaphysical quality of the love story.
The interplay between light and night is deeply considered, culminating in the sublime ending with the unforgettable shadow image of Isolde in her aria Mild und leise. The costumes also fit beautifully into the time concept: luxurious satin cloaks of Isolde and Brangäne in the first act, sad black in the second, and "casual" clothing 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 makes the various orchestral passages with the beautiful woodwinds sound wonderfully.
His utmost precision makes the performance with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra a unique experience. Add to this the brilliant soprano and tenor pairing of Malin Byström (who incidentally is performing her first Isolde on stage!) and Michael Weinius. Byström seems to have a natural talent for both the lyrical and regularly strongly dramatic aspects of the Isolde role.
The clear and powerful voice of Michael Weinius as Tristan is never forced. He performs his part with poignant expressivity and maintains his vocal intensity to the very end. The other roles are very well cast, of which we should mention Brangäne by Irene Roberts and Jordan Shanahan as Kurwenal. Liang Li is an impressive King Marke, emphasizing rather the harsh character of the character than the charismatic. Thus musically too the production reaches great heights.
Moving is the final image in which the black frame is projected with a beautiful photograph 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]
