Where do one start? The massive production directed by Peter Sellars and with video by Bill Viola promised something that (at least in theory) looked larger than life. Sadly, in reality, it was a huge disappointment.
The singers: screeching was apparently on the agenda, not singing. And when the strangely geriatric and bloated Tristan started to completely loose his voice in the 2nd act it was embarrassing. He went on through most of the 3rd act, by the way.
The orchestra: solid.
The video: why? If I’d wanted to stare at grainy, shaky black-and-white footage of a tree, and then another tree, and then some waves, I’d go out and shoot some footage of exactly that myself. Almost 5 hours of video and it didn’t add to the work, but rather seemed to function as a… distraction perhaps?
Verdict: not a disaster, but you’d at least expect to have capable singers when the tickets were 1.300 kronor.
