Richard Wagner Festspiele - Applause and bravos for the new Bayreuth "Tristan"
Director Thorleifur OERN Arnarsson cancelled some bucks for his production of "Tristan and Isolde" at the Bayreuth Festival. His production, which was very static and dark over long stretches, did not exactly elicit enthusiasm from the audience.
However, there was much applause for the musical part. For conductor Semyon Bychkov, for tenor Andreas Schager as Tristan, a distinctly softer Camilla Nylund as Isolde, Christa Mayer as Brangane, and Olafur Sigurdarson as Kurwenal. Günther Groissböck as King Marke did not fare well with the audience.
"In 'Tristan' it's about a deeply human problem. That's definitely the most human of Wagner's subjects," the Icelandic director Arnarsson said before the premiere. "It's a balancing act between unsettling private moments and grand images. I therefore wanted to put the people in the foreground. That means working closely with the actors during rehearsals and developing this emotional journey with them." From the audience's perspective, it seems that only to a limited extent did this succeed.
Thorleifur Örn Arnarson, the Icelandic director, had previously expressed his excitement for his "Tristan and Isolde" production at the renowned Bayreuth Festival in Germany. Despite cancellations to some funds, Arnarsson aimed to highlight the human aspects of the opera by focusing on the actors' emotional journeys. However, his production, filled with static and dark scenes, did not resonate as expected with the Bayreuth Festival audience, particularly during its prolonged, less enthusiastic moments.
