The Philadelphia Orchestra’s full-length concert performances of Tristan und Isolde on June 1 and 8 marked several milestones in the contemporary opera scene: the first time Yannick Nézet-Séguin had conducted the full score and the last time Nina Stemme, per her announcement, sang the complete role of Isolde. And it is the Orchestra’s first performance of the full opera since giving the U.S. premiere of the uncut version in 1935.
Wagner hid his Bayreuth orchestra in an invisible pit so that the musicians would not distract from the drama, but the Philadelphia Orchestra, in a stunning success, has enhanced, rather than distracted from, the story. There was a sense of mystery in the way Nézet-Séguin made the music feel sensuous and sinuous, unstable and unpredictable, as if a different ending was possible. This approach captured an essential element of the unfolding tragedy as the characters strove desperately, but without success, to change the course of events.
The bare bones but effective staging by Dylan Evans placed the principals above the orchestra on an elevated platform. Above the singers, an easy-to-read screen displayed supertitles, making the performance highly accessible. Free of an idiosyncratic directorial concept, the singers were able to interpret their roles as they wished, with splendid results.
In the first act, the rear balcony served as the ship’s upper deck for the excellent men’s chorus under the expert direction of Donald Palumbo. Tenor Jonghyun Park also appeared in a balcony for his solos as a Sailor and a Shepherd, sung with a fresh, gleaming tone. The only time this staging presented a problem was during Brangäne’s warning in the second act when mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill was located so high up and off to the side that she was difficult to hear. The outstanding cast included Tareq Nazmi as King Marke, Brian Mulligan as Kurwenal, Nathan Schludecker as a Steersman, and Freddie Ballentine as Melot. It also afforded a rare opportunity to see and hear the English horn, played by Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia and placed in a prominent position in a balcony.
Stuart Skelton has had a long and distinguished career as Tristan, and more than half of his past performances in this role have been with Nina Stemme in a collaboration of more than ten years, so when the lovers sang about being united by “und.” This little word had special meaning and guaranteed a blazing second act duet. Even after several hours of projecting his voice over a huge orchestra, Skelton still had power to spare for the long and heartbreaking final scene when Tristan’s prolonged suffering finally came to a transcendent end.
The June 8 performance in Philadelphia marked the 126th time that Stemme has sung this role since her 2003 role debut in Glyndeborne. Stemme’s voice is still in excellent shape and sounded as fresh in the final Liebestod as at the beginning of the evening. Stemme did not just act with her voice, however, but with her whole being. Her facial expressions were an essential element in her personification of the character: beautiful eyes that could blaze with fury, or gleam with tenderness, an enigmatic but irresistibly enticing smile that made everyone fall in love with her. For the second act she wore a gunmetal-gray sequined gown, representing her glowing passion.
Looking ahead for Nézet-Séguin: he will conduct seven Met performances of Tristan next season – March 9 to April 2, with Lise Davidsen and Michael Spyres. Stemme and Skelton will perform excerpts on October 23, in a program entitled “Concert Wagner and Stravinsky” in Reykjavik, Iceland, conducted by Eva Ollikainen with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, as part of “Wagner Days in Iceland.”
© Wagner Notes, July 2025. A publication of the Wagner Society of New York. All rights reserved.