More than a decade passed from the time Wagner first took an interest in ‘Tristan and Isolde’ to its premiere. Celebrated as one of the finest in operatic history, it boasts a level of artistry that influenced the birth of modern music. This production features the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in their first operatic performance in nearly a decade, led by Music Director and Chief Conductor Jaap van Zweden, known for his musical strength and gravitas. The production is directed by Stephan Märki, who has been expanding his Wagner repertoire by staging at Germany’s Staatstheater Cottbus in 2023 and at Switzerland’s Theater Bern during the 2015/16 season.​

Tristan and Isolde

Seoul Arts Center

Inspired by his romantic love for Mathilde Wesendonck, Richard Wagner created one of the most beautiful operas in music history. This season, the Hamburg State Opera revives its legendary production by Ruth Berghaus of 1988.

EPSG:4326

Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)

Staatsoper Hamburg

According to Hugo von Hofmannsthal in a 1911 letter to Richard Strauss, in which he set out his idea for another collaboration between the two men, their next opera would be to THE MAGIC FLUTE what THE KNIGHT OF THE ROSE had been to FIGARO. And the work that premiered a full eight years later did indeed have strong echoes of Mozart’s »grand opéra«: there is the clash of different social classes, the fairytale-like, highly symbolic storyline and above all the strong feeling that ground-breaking change is underway which is challenging accepted orthodoxy and forcing issues of human interaction and values to the top of the political agenda. And in both cases enlightenment is gained only through ordeal and adversity. Here the shadow has a pivotal function as a metaphor for female fertility: the barren Empress and her nurse bargain with the dyer’s wife for her shadow. Only when the Empress rebels against achieving marital happiness and maternal contentment at someone else’s expense does a path to social harmony open up.

The Woman Without a Shadow

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Die Walküre

Bayreuth Festival Theatre

In a courtyard of the Mycenaean palace servant girls speak disparagingly about Elektra. Elektra has not got over the murder of her father, Agamemnon, and the idea of revenge dominates her thoughts. Only one of the maidservants shows sympathy for her and is punished as a result. Elektra is yearning for the moment when vengeance will be hers and fully believes that it will come about by the actions of her brother, Orest, who was brought up in a distant region. Her sister, Chrysothemis, finds Elektra’s existence hard to bear and attempts to protect her from their mother, who has evil intentions. Chrysothemis wants to leave that awful place along with her sister so that they can live in freedom. Their mother Clytemnestra, who has been plagued by nightmares since she killed her husband, asks her daughter Elektra for help and while their conversation lasts it seems as if the two women might be reconciled. But Elektra’s hatred flares up again when Clytemnestra lies to her daughter over the whereabouts of her son, Orest. Elektra replies ambiguously to Clytemnestra’s question about the remedy for her anguish and fear, telling her mother that once the proper animal has been sacrificed under the axe her bad dreams will cease. Two strangers arrive and report the death of Orest. Elektra expresses her desire to ally with Chrysothemis in committing the deed, but her sister cannot contemplate such a thing. Determined to avenge herself, Elektra resolves: “Fine, then, I’ll do it alone!” One of the strangers moves closer to Elektra; shaken at the sight of her physical and emotional state, he allows her to see who he is: Orest. He exits to do the deed and presently Clytemnestra’s screams can be heard as she dies. Whereupon Elektra lures Aegisthus into the palace and he is killed by Orest as well. Agamemnon has been avenged. Nonetheless, Elektra stays in the palace feeling no sense of relief; she dances herself to death.

Elektra

The final part of the tetralogy sees another broadening of the horizon. Siegfried sallies forth »to new glories«, encountering people driven by a desire for power and riches and without scruple in their determination to acquire them. Without Brünnhilde on hand to help him, the hero succumbs to a conspiracy at the Gibichung hall, also triggering the beginning of the end of the old world, which is still beset by the curse placed by Alberich in THE RHINEGOLD on the ring, which confers great power on its wearer. With Brünnhilde realising what has happened, she sees self-sacrifice as the only path to redemption: by eradicating herself through immolation and returning the stolen gold to the Rhine, she will be clearing the way for a new beginning for all. From Brünnhilde’s ashes Wagner rekindles the love theme, which until then has only been played in Act 3 of THE VALKYRIE. This charges the final moments of TWILIGHT OF THE GODS with an atmosphere of hope rather than simply the gloom of destruction. The game can begin again; will it take a different course next time?

Catherine Foster

Events

Upcoming events

4 - 7 Dec, 2025

Tristan and Isolde · Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

21 - 27 Feb, 2026

Elektra · Deutsche Oper Berlin

25 - 31 May, 2026

Der Ring des Nibelungen – Götterdämmerung · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Past events

4 - 7 Dec, 2025

Tristan and Isolde · Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

May 29 - Jun 15, 2025

Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde) · Staatsoper Hamburg

Future and recently performed repertoire

The Dyer's Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten by Strauss

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Isolde in Tristan and Isolde by Wagner

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

Isolde in Tristan und Isolde by Wagner

Staatsoper Hamburg

Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung by Wagner

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Elektra in Elektra by Strauss

Deutsche Oper Berlin

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