Tristan und Isolde

This is a modern interpretation of Tristan and Isolde. Some poeple might not like the modern sets and slight changes to the standard story line. But the music is beautifully performed and captured with high quality. The video is well done, with many closeups and interesting shots. There are absolutely no extras on the DVD; only the performance with subtitles, which is a bit disappointing since there is an hour of free space on the second DVD that they could have used for something, but this is a minor complaint. This is a superb performance, and I highly recommend it.

My vote is 8/10 for the singing only; the production was a bit of a distraction. Modern dress is OK for many operas, but the risk is falling into the absurd when dealing with mythical subjects like the Tristan saga. The opening act is set aboard a cruise ship: the two lovers drink the magic potion out of cocktail glasses with little umbrellas in them. Only the ecstatic singing and playing kept me from laughing.

Jon Fredric West doesn't have a heroic build, nor does he look like Jon Vickers or Rene Kollo, two great Tristans of the past, but he sings with taste. Waltraud Meier is astonishing: her voice, her body are the Isolde of my dreams (I think of Birgit Nilsson on the 1966 Bayreuth set). Pity that the director used so many tight closeups on the principals--you can almost see Meier's tonsils when she sings the Liebestod.