Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Bayerischer Staatsoper, 1998)
 

Cast: Waltraud Meier (Isolde), Jon Frederic West (Tristan), Marjana Lipovsek (Brangäne), Bernd Weikl (Kurwenal), Kurt Moll (König Marke), Claes H. Ahnsjö (Melot), Hans Wilbrink (Seemann), Kevin Conners (Hirt); Bayerischer Staatsorchester, Chorus of the Bayerischer Staatsoper, Zubin Mehta (conductor) Peter Konwitschny (director) Brian Large (video director)

Recorded on 4 (8) July 1998 at the Bayerischer Staatsoper. A Bayerische Runfunk production in association with RM Associates

Distributed by Image Entertainment in north America in 2001 (ID9277RADVD /NTSC/subtitles in English) and by Arthaus Musik in Europe in 2000 (100056 regions 2, 5 PAL/subtitles in English, German, French and Dutch, menus in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Swedish)

Technical Details:
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Sound: Dolby Digital, 5.1 surround, 2.0 stereo

Running time: 241 minutes

Sung in German
 
We have here a provocative performance and perplexing staging, one which may or may not appeal to the viewer but is unlikely to be forgotten. On the technical level, picture and sound are exemplary. Twenty-five chapter stops are offered on two discs, split between Acts II and III. Subtitles are large, garish and unavoidable. Orchestra and chorus are excellent, presenting no particular coloration. Mehta's direction is sound if uninflected and somewhat slow. However, those evaluations may be severely affected by the intensity of the onstage images.
 
Those images are a demanding mix of abstractions and specifics. From Tristan's cruise ship with Brangäne on a chaise longue through the love duet on and about a flowered chartreuse sofa tossed onstage by Tristan at his entrance to the surreal house in which the hero dies, there is hardly a moment without a visual distraction. Early on, the viewer gives up hope of grasping any significance to the stage picture and simply accepts it as it occurs. However, there are some situations which compel contemplation. It is all but inevitable during the change of discs to wonder why Brangäne and Kurwenal end Act II on the lovers' couch gazing back at Marke and his retinue.
 
Vocally, the performance is more solid than thrilling, more truthful than imaginative. Meier is stretched in the higher passages but satisfies overall with a thoughtful, solid reading. West's voice will not win many for tonal beauty, but he has the timbre, the understanding and the staying power to realize the character. Lipovsek plays the travelling companion more than the servant, but she does it persuasively with a voice quite similar to that of her mistress. Weikl sounds as tired as the character he portrays. Moll is regal in voice if not in costuming, but his years and the staging rob the role of the impact it can have.
 
Turning off the picture allowed this reviewer to luxuriate in the sound - but then to realize that it was soporific. There is little to fault, but nothing to praise. Overall, this is an inexpensive, sonorous, solid and provocative recording. It should not be your first video Tristan, but it may be worth a look. [NTSC/Image Entertainment version reviewed]
 
Related websites:
 
Image Entertainment www.image-entertainment.com
Arthaus Musik www.arthaus-musik.de
 
Michael Richter, 14 July 2002
mrichter@cpl.net
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.