In Act I, the signifier representation is cluttered, the meaning unclear. This is an each excessively acquainted contented astatine the modern Met, which, nether the aegis of Peter Gelb, the wide manager, much oregon little mandates clutter: hulking sets (by Es Devlin, successful this case), choreography (by Annie-B Parson), video and unrecorded projections (by Ruth Hogben and Jason H. Thompson). The assemblage is often near unsure astir what it should beryllium looking at. Lost successful the melee of imagery—ocean waves, bottles and potions, knives, and truthful on—is the crux connected which the opera turns: Isolde’s uncontainable rage astatine being carted disconnected to wed King Mark, successful the clutches of the antheral who killed her beloved.
Later on, Sharon’s conception snaps into focus. In Act II, Devlin’s acceptable becomes a floating phantasy realm wherever the lovers suffer themselves successful their forbidden desires. They sing from the wrong of a conelike apparatus that has the spot of amplifying their voices. At times, segments of the cone abstracted and transportation the lovers successful other directions—an fantabulous ocular metaphor for the narcissism of their passion. In Act III, arsenic the wounded Tristan suffers, hallucinates, and dies, helium is seen some lying connected a infirmary array and wandering successful a passageway populated by white-clad figures. The vocalist and his treble alteration places arsenic the quality passes successful and retired of consciousness. At the end, Isolde is seen giving commencement to a kid and joining Tristan successful the beyond. The images are astatine erstwhile affecting and jarring—dream and nightmare intermingled. The confusions of Act I notwithstanding, Sharon has passed the “Tristan” challenge. He volition adjacent instrumentality connected the “Ring,” opening successful the 2027-28 season.
The main philharmonic pleasance of this “Tristan,” connected the 2nd nighttime of the run, was Michael Spyres’s portrayal of the damaged hero. This Missouri-born, Vienna-trained tenor has the capableness to sing astir anything, his repertory encompassing Handel, Mozart, bel canto, expansive opera, and Wagner. Even much remarkably, helium tin presume baritone roles arsenic good arsenic tenor ones. He calls himself a “baritenor,” and the statement fits. He is frankincense good suited to Tristan, whose euphony often borders connected the baritonal. Lauritz Melchior, the part’s astir storied interpreter connected recording, had a likewise wide range. If Spyres cannot lucifer Melchior’s trumpeting precocious notes, helium traversed the people with unfaltering stamina, retaining clarity of diction and breadth of operation throughout. I don’t deliberation I’ve ever heard Tristan sung truthful securely and truthful musically.
The heavy promoted Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen proved problematic arsenic Isolde. She has been appointed the Met’s starring woman successful Wagner and is slated to sing Brünnhilde successful Sharon’s “Ring.” Her precocious notes are glorious, spurring comparisons with Birgit Nilsson and different legends. But Isolde isn’t astir precocious notes. Large tracts of the relation prevarication little successful the voice, wherever mezzo-ish resonance is required. Davidsen’s powerfulness drops disconnected markedly successful the octave supra mediate C. Often, the portion jumps successful and retired of that zone, arsenic connected the words “Fluch deinem Haupt” (“A curse connected your head!”), which falls from the G astatine the apical of the unit to the G beneath and past climbs up again. The fluctuating measurement successful specified passages—“FLUCH deinem HAUPT”—made for a weirdly uneven line. Beyond that, Davidsen’s diction was mushy, and she lacked the expressive fury of Meier and different large latter-day Isoldes. Yes, the precocious registry is phenomenal, but I’d alternatively perceive an Isolde who has squeaky precocious C’s and tin sing the remainder astatine afloat strength.
The subsidiary roles were a likewise mixed lot. The seasoned bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny delivered Kurwenal with roughshod interpretive conviction; helium is simply a calved Wagner singer. Ryan Speedo Green, arsenic King Mark, whitethorn not person matched Pape’s earthy grandeur successful the role, but helium supplied an affecting consciousness of shattered nobility. Ekaterina Gubanova, who sang Brangäne glowingly successful 2016, was little lustrous this clip around.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s euphony director, mightiness person resolved immoderate of the evening’s inconsistencies if helium had shown much information for the singers and generated much strength astatine the climaxes. Yet agelong stretches, the awesome Prelude included, unspooled with nary consciousness of urgency. For decades, the Met orchestra was the prize of the institution; idiosyncratic players stay excellent, but the corporate present lacks distinction. One of Sharon’s brightest inventions is to bring Pedro R. Díaz, the Met’s English-horn player, onstage for his agelong solos successful Act III, truthful that helium becomes a denizen of Tristan’s passageway of delirium. His melancholy seems symbolic connected different level. Under Gelb’s leadership, the Met has steadily mislaid money, audiences, and creator eminence. The institution is not yet successful its decease throes, but it is successful request of drastic intervention. ♦
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