Tristan und Isolde Is the April 8, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The April 8, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Tristan und Isolde, a three-act opera of love and death by Richard Wagner.

Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde airs as the April 8, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Twitter Sept. 19, 2016

Tristan und Isolde, a three-act opera of a love potion-triggered, overpowering passion that transcends death by German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883), is the April 8, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

His assumption of dual roles as composer of the score and writer of the libretto attests to Richard Wagner’s commitment to complete creative responsibility for the opera’s unusual music and themes. The literary source for Wagner’s libretto is Tristan, a Middle High German (1050-1350) courtly romance, by Gottfried von Strassburg (died ca. 1210). The medieval German poet’s treatment of the Celtic legend exists as an incomplete work of 19,548 lines. Gottfried’s source is Tristan, an Old French poem by 12th century poet Tumas de Britanje (Thomas of Brittany).

The philosophical overview giving expression to the opera’s music and themes comes from the final denial of the will to life as presented by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (Feb. 22, 1788-Sept. 21, 1860). The way to salvation from suffering lies in denial of the will to life. Schopenhauer explains: “§. . . to those in whom the will has turned and has denied itself, this our world of ours, which is so real, with all its suns and milky-ways -- is nothing.” (Book IV, p. 532)

In his Zukunftsmusik (“Music of the Future”) essay, published in 1861 as a letter to Marie-Joseph Frédéric Villot (Oct. 31, 1809-May 27, 1875), engraver and Louvre Museum paintings curator, Wagner explains his opera’s metaphysical imperative:
“Life and death, the whole import and existence of the outer world, here hang on nothing but the inner movements of the soul. The whole affecting Action comes about for reason only that the inmost soul demands it, and steps to light with the very shape foretokened in the inner shrine.”

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde premiered June 10, 1865, in Munich, Bavaria, southeastern Germany. The venue was the Königliches Hof- und Nationaltheater. In 1825, German neoclassicist architect Leo von Klenze (Feb. 29, 1784-Jan. 26, 1864) designed the now-defunct opera house in the neoclassical style, with Neo-Grec, elements, as a replacement for the first theatre, which had been destroyed Jan. 14, 1823, by a fire. A third theatre, opened in 1963, replaces von Klenze’s building, which was destroyed during an air raid conducted Oct. 3, 1943.

Wagner sets Tristan und Isolde in the British Isles and, across the English Channel, in Brittany, northwestern France. Act one takes place during a crossing of the Celtic Sea from Ireland to Cornwall, South West England. King Marke’s castle in Cornwall hosts act two. Act three unfolds in Tristan’s castle in Brittany.

The Metropolitan Opera’s staging of Tristan und Isolde for the 2016-2017 season relinquishes the Celtic legend’s medieval setting popularized by Anglo-Norman literature during the 12th century. As director of this season’s Tristan und Isold, Polish opera director Mariusz Trelinski fast forwards the set and costumes to an unspecified modern wartime setting.

The Saturday matinee broadcast of Tristan und Isolde begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (5 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time). The estimated run time for the performance is about 4 hours 47 minutes.

The opera, sung in the original German, comprises three acts and two intermissions. Act I is timed for 80 minutes. A 30-minute intermission succeeds Act I.

Act II is timed for 70 minutes. A 30-minute intermission follows Act II.

Act III is timed for 77 minutes. The opera ends with Act III’s final notes.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts Tristan und Isolde. His birthplace is Liverpool, North West England. The English conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2010 production of Pelléas et Mélisande by Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918).

Sir Simon Rattle shares the role of conductor with Asher Fisch this season. He was born in Jerusalem, Israel. The Israeli conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2000 production of The Merry Widow by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár (April 30, 1870-Oct. 24, 1948).

Nina Stemme appears in a title role as Irish Princess Isolde. Her birthplace is Stockholm, southeastern Sweden. The Swedish dramatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2000 Senta in Richard Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer. Nina Stemme’s appearance Oct. 27, 2016, marked her 100th career performance of the role.

Stuart Skelton appears in a title role as Tristan, a Breton nobleman adopted heir of King Marke of Cornwall. He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, southeastern Australia. The Australian operatic heldentenor (“heroic tenor”) debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2011 as the Drum-Major in Wozzeck by Austrian composer Alban Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Ekaterina Gubanova appears as Brangäne, Princess Isolde’s maid. Her birthplace is Moscow, northwestern Russia. The Russian mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2007 as Hélène Bezubenkov in War and Peace by Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953). This season Ekaterina Gubanova also appears as Amneris in Aida by Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

René Pape appears as King Marke of Cornwall. He was born in Dresden, Saxony, east central Germany. The German operatic bass debuted Dec. 2, 1995, at the Metropolitan Opera as a Speaker in Die Zauberflöte by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). His first Met Opera appearance happened June 1, 1992, in Seville, Spain, during the 1991-1992 Metropolitan Opera Tour. He appeared as Don Fernando in Fidelio by Ludwig von Beethoven (baptized Dec. 17, 1770-March 26, 1827).

Evgeny Nikitin appears as Kurwenal, Tristan’s servant. His birthplace is Murmansk, northwesternmost Russia. The Russian bass-baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as Dolkhov in Prokofiev’s War and Peace.

Evgeny Nikitin shares the role of Kurwenal with German bass-baritone Carsten Wittmoser this season. Born in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Germany, Carsten Wittmoser marks his Metropolitan Opera debut Oct. 13, 2016, with his appearance as Kurwenal.

Operabase, an online database, finds that Richard Wagner places fifth in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Tristan und Isolde places at 44, with 489 performances worldwide, in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Tristan und Isolde holds place 19, with 463 performances, for the period from first Met performance, Dec. 1, 1886, to last performance, Oct. 27, 2016. The Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday matinee broadcast for the 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

The takeaway for Tristan und Isolde as the April 8, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is the complex, metaphorical, metaphysical opera’s compelling atmosphere, innovatively expressed by Richard Wagner’s libretto and music.

A love potion overpowers Isolde (Nina Stemme) and Tristan (Stuart Skelton) with a death-transcending love in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Facebook Jan. 29, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde airs as the April 8, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Twitter of Sept. 19, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/777877459303890944

A love potion overpowers Isolde (Nina Stemme) and Tristan (Stuart Skelton) with a death-transcending love in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Facebook Jan. 29, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158272375760533/

For further information:

“The Birth of Tristan und Isolde: Wagner’s Letter to Liszt 1854.” The Wagnerian. Oct. 1, 2012.
Available @ http://www.the-wagnerian.com/2012/10/the-birth-of-tristan-und-isolde-wagners.html

Chafe, Eric. The Tragic and the Ecstatic: The Musical Revolution of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. New York NY: Oxford University Press Inc., 2005.

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

Dannreuther, Edward, trans. “The Music of the Future,” A Letter to M. Frédéric Villot, by Richard Wagner. London, England: Schott & Co., 1873.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/musicoffuturelet00wagn

Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera. “Plans Tonight in #NewYork? Tristan und Isolde 6:30pm.” Twitter. Oct. 13, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/786651268668395520

Metropolitan Opera. “Gallery Met Shorts: Tristan und Isolde.” YouTube. Oct. 10, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFu7idYkNOk

Metropolitan Opera. “Mariusz Treliński on His New Production of Tristan und Isolde.” YouTube. Feb. 24, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgFbZpXywS8

Metropolitan Opera. “Tristan und Isolde: ‘Mild und Leise’ (Nina Stemme).” YouTube. Sept. 30, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQjee4Myrsg

Metropolitan Opera. “Tristan und Isolde: Trailer.” YouTube. Sept. 30, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Au0p8ikoBY

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “1 Week Today Is Opening Night of #Met50! What Are You Most Excited for This Season?” Twitter. Sept. 19, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/777877459303890944

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “5 Days Until #MetON! Join Us for Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde Starring Nine Stemme.” Twitter. Sept. 21, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/778708994303008768

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “It Takes Every Cell of Your Body. @NStemme Singing Isolde . . . for the 100th Time on 10/27.” Twitter. Oct. 27, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/791644251264286720

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Opening Night = 2 Months Away! Season Kicksoff w #TristanUndIsolde starring @NStemme! What Are You Most Excited For?” Twitter. July 26, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/757968755292987392

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "TODAY, 1/29 on PBS: Tune-in to t 12:00 PM EST, the 2016-17 production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde starring Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton. Find your location station here: bit.ly/2jeOwey Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Jan. 29, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158272375760533/

Moss, Stephen. “Why Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde Is the Ultimate Opera.” The Guardian > Arts > Classical > Opera. Sept. 23, 2016.
Available @ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/23/tristan-und-isolde-wagner-opera-met

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

Ranke, Friedrich, ed. Tristan und Isold. Second edition. Berlin, Germany: Weidmann, 1930.

Schopenhauer, Arthur. “Fourth Book: The World as Will.” The World as Will and Idea. Vol. I: Containing Four Books. Translated from the German by R.B. (Richard Burdon) Haldane and J. (John) Kemp. Seventh edition. London, England: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., n.d.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/theworldaswillan01schouoft#page/532/mode/2up

Thomason, Paul. “Program Note: Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde.” The Metropolitan Opera > Season 2016-17. Oct. 27, 2016.
Available @ http://www.metopera.org/metoperafiles/season/2016-17/operas/tristan_und_isolde/programs/102716%20Tristan.pdf

Wagner, Richard. Quatre Poèmes d'Opéras Traduits en Prose Française, Précédés d'une Lettre sur la Musique. Paris, France: Librarie Nouvelle, 1861.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/quatrepomesdop00wagnuoft