Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde is a hymn to the intense spirituality that accompanies transcendent earthly love. Musically and operatically innovative, it remains a watershed in the history of music; to hear its music live is an unforgettable experience. Andris Nelsons leads an outstanding cast of singers-including the great German tenor Jonas Kaufmann (taking the role of Tristan for the very first time) and the acclaimed Finnish soprano Camilla Nylund-in Act II of the opera, in which the title characters come together under the spell of a love potion, only to be discovered by King Marke, Tristan's uncle and lord, to whom Isolde is betrothed. The concert opens with one of Wagner's few purely instrumental works still heard today, the Siegfried Idyll, which he composed in 1869 and had performed as a surprise birthday gift for his wife Cosima. The "Siegfried" of the title is the couple's son, born the previous June, though Wagner later incorporated some of the Idyll's music into the third of his Ring operas, Siegfried.(Some emphasis added.)
See the performance detail page for the usual links to audio previews, program notes, and performer bios.
The reviews are lukewarm. The Globe likes Jonas Kaufmann's performance more than the Intelligencer does. Both praise the singers in the secondary roles of Brangäne and King Marke.
The broadcast and webstream over WCRB begin at 8:00 p.m. EDST, and the rebroadcast/stream will be at 8:00 on April 16. The rebroadcast on April 9 will be last week's concert of Mozart, Widmann (American premiere) and Strauss.)
No comments:
Post a Comment