Tristan und Isolde

"aberrancy" must not have much fun watching opera videos - the idea is that singers are normally cast because of their vocal abilities, not their youth and physical beauty - especially in Wagner. Yes, Kollo and Meier were in their 40's when this was filmed (no lying about ages here). And Ms. Meier's hair really is blonde - she was famous for having long blonde hair and not wearing wigs on-stage, unlike most other opera performers. God forbid that "they both have jowls"! Justin Timberlake and Brittany Spears may be more youthful looking, but they certainly couldn't sing their way out of the proverbial paper bag when up against a full Wagnerian orchestra. A certain amount of physical heft is required in order to produce enough vocal sound to be heard over the orchestra. For the most part, Kollo and Meier are up to the daunting task of singing this music - a rarity in 1983 or any other time. BTW, Hanna Schwarz is a mezzo, and unlike some of her colleagues, she has resisted the temptation to sing soprano roles, whether or not she looks "younger". A "romanticization of adultery" is it? Well, this little tale has been told for the past 850 years, so their must be numerous people without "aberrancy's" hangups about the subject matter. Yes, Wagner always took his time in presenting his music dramas - they're called "acts" by the way, not "scenes." His shortest stage works run 2 1/2 hours, and those are the ones with only one act! 4 to 5 hours is the norm for his operas. And since Wagner died in 1883, he could not have been a "Nazi" although he did have many bigoted views. Sorry you didn't enjoy "Tristan und Isolde" which is widely held to be one of the greatest creations of Western civilization!

This is supposed to be a tale of young lovers. The IMDb page of René Kollo, who plays Tristan, says he was born in '37, which would make him 46 when he made this. I think he's lying about his age - he looks like he's well into his 50's. His hair is obviously dyed. There was no information on Johanna Meir (sic) (I do believe her name is spelled Meier) on IMDb, but I googled her, and have found more than one source that says she was born in '38. That would make her 45. Ditto about the lying about the age (her, I'd say early 60's), and the dyed hair. They both have jowls! But still, Tristan and Isolde are supposed to be in their early 20's! I mean, Johanna is attractive in a matronly kind of way, but I think King Mark would be a little disappointed. Why didn't they have Hanna Schwarz, who plays Brangane, play Isolde? Her voice is just as good, and she's prettier, and even though her page says she was 40 when this was filmed, she looks about 30 (and 30 years younger than Johanna Meier). Not that this is the best literary material to draw from in the first place - it's a romanticization of adultery - but they just take 3 scenes from the story and then just stand in their respective places and sing - first about how much they hate each other and then about how much they love each other - for 81 min. per scene! And they sing about stuff that happened in the past and between scenes - why don't they act those parts out? I guess that's the fault of Wagner who wrote the thing, though, the Nazi. Only someone who knows the story will understand what's going on.

I love Tristan and Isolde very much, and this production directed by Jean-Pierre Ponelle is one of the best Tristans I've seen, much preferring over the very good but flawed 1974 version with Vickers(my favourite Tristan alongside Melchoir), Nilsson and Berry.

I do also heartily disagree with the negative reviewer about this Tristan. At the top of my head I can't think of anybody who played these two difficult roles in their 20s, and chances are if anybody attempted to sing them chances are after singing roles that heavy for about a decade unless they have great technique and stamina they may face the prospect of early retirement.

I loved Ponelle's stage direction, it is very romantically naturalistic and poetic, with the encircling robes symbolising Isolde's imprisonment and the gnarled tree trunk doubling as the ship and castle. The costumes and photography are excellent. The orchestra are wonderful, particularly in the Leibestod and I also haven't heard a more yearning or poignant first-act prelude since the brilliant 1972 Herbert Von Karajan recording with Vickers as Tristan. And Daniel Barenboim's conducting is magnificent.

The performances are simply terrific. Rene Kollo is towards the peak of his career, and he makes for a very expressive Tristan, really coming into his own in act 3 which is not easy at all. Johanna Meier is more than a perfect match for him as Isolde, she looks wonderful, she can act and she has a terrific(not not exactly huge) voice that doesn't feel pushed. Her Leibestod is just heart breaking. Hanna Schwarz is very intense as Brangane, but my favourite performance is Matti Salminen's deeply moving King Mark.

Overall, simply wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox