OPERA:Wagner's Tristan and Isolde is an epic work based on an Irish myth, and it's making a triumphant return to the stage in Dublin, writes SUZANNE LYNCH
AS HE STRIDES across the stage in the Exchange theatre in Dublin, it’s hard to distinguish director Peter Watson from the cast of Tristan and Isolde. It’s Act II, Scene III and Tristan’s uncle has just discovered that Tristan is romantically involved with his wife Isolde. Tristan’s friend Melot rushes forward with his sword, Tristan is slain, and the astonishing voice of Isolde soars above the action. It’s enthralling stuff.
It’s one week until opening night and rehearsals are in full swing for Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde. The production of the opera – regarded by some as the greatest operatic work ever written – will be the first to take place in Ireland for more than 50 years when it opens in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre tomorrow.
The reason for the prolonged absence of Tristan from the Dublin stage is partly economic: the huge scope and scale of Wagner’s operas makes his work not just notoriously difficult, but also expensive, to stage.
But the absence of the work in Ireland, is all the more surprising given the piece’s Irish connections. Tristan and Isolde is based on the medieval Irish myth of Tristan and Iseult. Wagner, who used Norse and Germanic myths in his Ring cycle, based his opera on a version of the story by the 13th century German poet Gottfried von Straßburg.
As he takes a break from conducting, artistic director Fergus Sheil explains that this may also be the first time Isolde has been played by an Irish singer. “We’re not 100 per cent sure, but we think that Miriam Murphy may be the first Irish person to ever sing the role of Isolde,” he says as we take a seat inside the makeshift costume room, wading through the sea of costumes, wigs, props and sets.
The idea of bringing the opera to Dublin is the brainchild of Sheil and his new opera company, Wide Open Opera. Having worked on performances of Tristan and Isolde in Scotland and Australia, he had a long-term vision of bringing the opera to Dublin.
An Arts Council grant awarded to Wide Open Opera in March this year, allowed him to make that dream a reality. The performance is a Welsh National Opera production, directed by Peter Watson. “What we’ve done is use the Welsh National Opera production and populate it with an Irish company,” he says. Although the costumes, sets, and design were imported from Wales, the 20-strong chorus and 40-plus technical staff are Irish, while the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra is also on board. Of the nine principals, six are Irish, including the characters of Isolde, played by Miriam Murphy and Brangane, played by Imelda Drumm.
Rehearsals have taken place over four weeks – including one week in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. According to Sheil, the availability of the theatre was a key reason why the opera could be staged in Ireland. “There really was no suitable venue before to put on an opera of this scale and to do it justice. The Gaiety wasn’t really suitable. The set, for example, wouldn’t fit anywhere else. The size of the stage in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre . . . the orchestra pit . . . it’s equipped for this type of production.”
As with the set, the costumes arrived in Dublin a few weeks ago. As wardrobe supervisor Mary Sheehan explains, there are around 50 individual costumes involved. “Four of the prinicpals have three costume changes for each of the three acts, though the fact that it’s an all-male chorus makes it a bit more straightforward.” She describes her role as a “voice between the designer and the production”.
Musically, the work is also a huge challenge. In parallel to the main rehearsals, Fergus Sheil has been meeting with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra periodically. Only two of the 80-plus orchestra members have played the work before. “They’re a fantastic orchestra, so it’s not a problem, but at the same time, it’s a massive score, though hugely enjoyable.”
The roles of Tristan and Isolde are also extremely demanding. “Only a handful of people in the world can play Tristan,” says Sheil. Swedish tenor Lars Cleveman, who is also in a Swedish underground rock group, plays Tristan. He previously sang the role at Covent Garden, and made his debut at Bayreuth opera festival last summer with the title role in Tannhauser.
The Irish soprano Miriam Murphy, who plays Isolde, says the opportunity to play the lead role has been hugely rewarding. The London-based Kerry native, who recently performed in Die Walkure with Opera North in the UK, has been making her name as a Wagnerian soprano.
Imelda Drumm, who recently returned to Ireland having spent 12 years with Welsh National Opera, says that it offers an opportunity for Irish singers to sing one of the great operatic works. “I came back to Ireland and, apart from Lyric Opera, with whom I worked last October, there was very little work here for singers so this is a fantastic opportunity.”
The vocal demands of Tristan is the main reason there are only three performances of this production, which are spread out across a week. The opera opens tomorrow evening, with two further performances on Wednesday and Saturday. “There is simply no way the singers could perform the role on consecutive nights,” says Fergus Sheil. “Physically it would be impossible. Usually, when Tristan is performed in opera houses around the world, there is a performance once a week, with other shows peppered in between.”
Sheil is mindful of making it easy for the audience too. Although a hefty five hours long, the production is divided into three acts of one hour and 15 minutes duration. After the first act, there is an interval of 25 minutes, while the second act is followed by a 45-minute interval, during which picnic baskets are available to purchase. The idea is to replicate the experience of Glyndebourne, the English opera festival which is famed as much for its strawberries and Pimms as its operatic programme.
“When people hear it’s five hours long, they find it off-putting, but it’s actually very manageable. The intervals give you time to absorb and think about the opera – it’s an intense work, musically and emotionally – so the intervals leave you re-charged for the next act.”
The idea of transporting the Welsh National Opera production into Dublin is not without its controversy. The scale of cutbacks in the arts, particularly to opera, means that the Arts Council’s major investment in the project has raised some eyebrows, though the decision to facilitate a particular production such as Tristan and Isolde, is symptomatic of a general Arts Council trend towards providing opera funding for projects rather than directly to arts group.
Ticket sales, according to Sheil, are going well, and the decision to perform the opera during the Dublin Theatre Festival should allow Wide Open Opera to appeal to a wider theatre-going audience than just opera buffs.
Sheil believes the opera is accessible to everyone. “Obviously there will be a cohort of people, die-hard opera lovers and Wagner fans, who will come to see it , but I’ve been encouraging people I know who have never been to an opera before to try it. It’s got the whole range of human emotions – love, betrayal, yearning – and the music is just a wash of sound. This really is a once in a lifetime experience to see this opera in Ireland. Try it out and give it a go.”
Tristan und Isolde is at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival, on September 30th, October 3rd and 6th
Epic story told over five hours
He’s usually associated – sometimes controversially – with German national identity, but Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde has strong Irish connections.
The opera, written in the late 1850s, is based on the Irish medieval legend of Tristan and Iseult. Wagner was a big fan of medieval myths – he mixed Norse and Germanic sources in his Ring cycle – and his knowledge of Tristan and Iseult came through his reading of German poet Gottfried von Straßburg’s 13th century romance, Tristan.
Tristan and Iseult tells the story of a forbidden love between English lord Tristan, and Irish beauty Iseult. The first act of Wagner’s three-act opera is set on a ship travelling from Ireland to England. Tristan, who is bringing Iseult to England to marry his uncle, the King of Cornwall, falls in love with the Irish heroine.
What follows is a tale of lust, betrayal and ultimately death. Iseult, the daughter of sixth century King Aonghus, is a central figure in Irish mythology. Her legacy is still evident across Dublin.
The Dublin suburb of Chapelizod – translated as Séipéal Iosóid – is named after her, and she is rumoured to be buried there. The remnants of the medieval defensive tower, Isolde’s Tower, remain in Essex Street in Temple Bar.
