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Rating:  -
I've seen/heard Tristan und Isolde on stage four times, in Italy, in the USA, and twice in Germany. The performance on this DVD is easily the most successful of all; I can hardly imagine a substantive change that would improve it. The sets are evocative and functional. The blocking of the actors, always a pitfall in Wagner stagings, is effective most of the time; there is none of the hideous lumbering that mars other Wagner DVDs. The camera work is excellent; the close-ups especially of Tristan's bleakly despairing face bring emotional impact. The orchestra plays superbly; every tempo, every crescendo seems intentional and apt. The singing is magnificent; no fatigue distorts the voices; Isolde in particular grows in lush musicality until one feels that she is truly as beautiful as Love demands her to be. The recording technology is top-notch. There might be ample reason to question the director's decisions about the reality or unreality of Isolde's arrival at Tristan's death, but this is musically the best Tristan und Isolde available.
However, watching/hearing Wagner is not unlike watching the Gordo Plate subduct in real time. There are messages rumbling in the profundities but there's no foretelling when they will emerge. Wagner's compositional resources are seldom equal to the demands of his dramatic ideas. The sublime melodic/harmonic moments - and there are sublime moments - are too long separated by spells of tectonic inactivity. In the end, Wagner was a minor composer of major operas. Most viewers will be bored, and wonder what's wrong with their appreciation.
Rating:  -
In spite of the lack of hugh voices that have dominated Tristan in the past, the cast of the Barenboim Tristan reflects the lack of what we would think of as truly Wagnerian. This is also true of Barenboim Ring, John Tomlinson excepted. In fact, the reviewer in the Metropolitan Guide, Jon Alan Conrad, refers to this performance as "Tristan Lite". Even so it is a document to the art of Johanna Meier an undervalued, under used and underrated artist. Ideally the heaviest Wagnerial role she should sung would have been Elsa, Elizabeth Sieglinde and Eva. Having said that she sings a very beautiful lyrica Isolde. The production is magical and the Brangane and Tristan are evenly matched in terms of vocal decibals with the leading lady. Kollo makes a handsome Tristan and is clearly taxed, but not to the detriment of the performance.
Critics at the time felt that the production would have served Hansel and Gretel, so yes, there is a magical element that is quite beautiful. The camera, however, is unkind to Meier, making her look older than she was. The voice, however, is youthful, beautiful and appropriate given the parameters of this production. Ponnelle's conceit about the third act--Isolde isn't really a presence but appears only in Tristan's imagination so that after the Liebestod Isolde disappears. This is Bayreuth so I suppose a director is expected to bring something different to the table. Ultimately this is a minor point and one that is easily disregarded. Given the competition (the Vickers/Nilsson Orange performance excepted) this is easily the best Tristan in the catalogue. This may change when Opus Arte releases the Glyndebourne production with Stemme but for the nonce this is a performance that is essentially conservative, well sung and acted given the current state of Wagner singing today.
Rating: -
Although Wagner looked on 'Tristand und Isolde' as a tragedy, there is much to be said for this lushly romantic view of one of the greatest works in the operatic canon.
Kollo's 'hyper' acting in the last act apart, it is a pleasure to view and Barenboim's early take on the score is the perfect accompaniment. Perhaps it is his unfamiliarity with the score that leads him to forego 'the depths' of the music and simply keep it moving with a romantic gloss totally keeping with Ponnelle's visual concept.
In Ponnelle's world, there are, apparently, no chairs and so you get the singers either standing or rolling around on the floor (only the shepherd gets to sit on a conveniently shaped tree root) which causes some strain on the singers but nothing that should make anyone interested in this opera hesitate.
The singing is excellent. Kollo is not the Heltentenor of one's dreams but he's handsome and navigates (and scales down) the vocal line. Meier (an American) is more in the mold of the silver voiced Traubel and her appearance enhances the romance aimed for by the entire production.
The Prelude is accompanied by a visual of the sea that I could watch again and again. Classical MTV at it's best. Some other of Ponnelle's visual 'stamps' don't quite come off but they are so fleeting (in an opera almost four hours in length) that they hardly matter.
All the other currently available visual presentations of this opera, with their visual and aural shortcomings, must, I'm afraid, take their places far behind this one for the sheer enjoyment of a magnificent score.
Rating:  -
Amazon reviewers of this Jean-Pierre Ponnelle "Tristan" are consistently hailing it as the best on DVD. It certainly has its merits and will likely hold the field against its competition in the Amazon catalog for a while. Nonetheless, my personal choice for the finest "Tristan" available on DVD remains Daniel Barenboim's second Bayreuth effort: Heiner Muller's restrained, abstracted, but strangely beautiful and ultimately moving version, with an attractive, passionate pair of lovers in Siegfried Jerusalem and, especially, the beautiful Waltraud Meier, both of them assuming these roles for the first time (Meier's Isolde is definitely not "wasted" here, as one reviewer complained about her appearance in the notorious Peter Konwitschny "yellow sofa" DVD). Unfortunately, for the time being Amazon does not offer this production, and the only DVD version currently available comes with minimal packaging, a slightly soft video image, and, sadly, no subtitles (along with an unbeatable price). If nothing else, though, a comparison of the two productions further underscores the strengths and weaknesses of the Ponnelle.
That earlier Bayreuth staging definitely appears as the more overtly "romantic," naturalistic (albeit highly stylized), and ultimately conservative (save of course for the famous ending). Ponnelle coaxes committed though not always entirely subtle performances from his principals. Johanna Meier is a formidable vocal artist, if a bit matronly (in purely visual terms, it is hard to escape the impression that she should be the Brangane to Hanna Schwarz's Isolde). Rene Kollo similarly sings with distinction and looks striking all in black, though I don't find him quite as convincing a young warrior and lover as does another reviewer. The aforementioned Hanna Schwarz has long been a favorite of mine, and I was privileged to see one of Matti Salminen's first Met performances of King Marke many years ago. Their presence, along with the assured conducting of Barenboim (though perhaps not quite up to the stature he would later attain in this work), contribute to making this the most recommendable "Tristan" in the Amazon catalog. It would not hurt for prospective buyers to bear in mind, though, that the Muller production is also available, and at a bargain price--if only as a contrast and complement to the Ponnelle.
Rating: -
I have just watched this Tristan and Isolde on DVD. I was not disappointed, Its a sound production with both Kollo and Meier in fine voice. This has to be the definitive filmed version so far. Wonderful stuff!
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