Hamburg Philharmonic brings Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde to Bogotá

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A performance of Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner (Photo Provided)
A performance of Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner (Photo Provided)

A single 40-foot cargo container from German carrying all the scenography and props for Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde recently arrived in Colombia, announcing upcoming performances by the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and this legendary opera.

This symbolic journey parallels the ship arriving on the coasts of Ireland in the story written by the poet Gottfried von Strassburg, with two protagonists on board: Tristan and Isolde.

The story follows Tristan, a knight who killed Isolde’s former fiancé and later promised her hand in marriage to the king. Conflicted, Isolde forces Tristan to drink to his attonement, but rather than poison, Tristan drinks a love potion.

Tristan and Isolde has a unique and almost invincible nature in the history of opera. Richard Wagner was a controversial genius of his time, rendering the unbearable truth of an ephemeral existence into notes of an extraordinary composition. For refined and unrefined ears alike, it is one of the most majestic masterpieces of opera and composition ever known.

Wagner approached opera to depict life as it is, in unresolved circles, rises and falls and ultimately imperfection. The medieval text Tristan and Isolde, by Gottfried von Strassburg, gave him a foundation for his perception about what both opera and music should reveal: the deepest dramatic state.

Wagner´s life itself was a story of forbidden love. During his marriage to actress Minna Planer he had a secret relationship with the wife of his patron. All in life seemed to be under the will of others, not his own. But one thing appeared to have the capacity of objectifying his will: music.

The Colombia performances star Tenor Robert Dean Smith of Switzerland as Tristan and Riccarda Merbeth, a soprano of Germany as Isolde. Kent Nagano, the music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra directs this masterpiece.

Teatro Julio Mario Santo Domingo – Oct. 4 and 7th at 7 p.m.

CALLE 170 NO. 67-51

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