richard wagner wrote the words to wagner's opera tristan und isolde.
richard wagner wrote the words to wagner's opera tristan und isolde.
who wrote the words to wagner's opera tristan und isolde?
richard wagner
tristan und isolde ("tristan and isolde", or "tristan and isolda", or "tristran and ysolt"), wwv 90, is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by richard wagner to a german libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance "tristan" by gottfried von strassburg. it was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered at the königliches hof- und nationaltheater in munich on 10 june 1865 with hans von bülow conducting. wagner referred to the work not as an opera, but called it "eine handlung" (literally "a drama", "a plot" or "an action"), which was the equivalent of the term used by the spanish playwright calderón for his dramas.
tristan und isolde
in 2004, viola embarked on "the tristan project". at the invitation of opera director peter sellars, he created video sequences to be shown as a backdrop to the action on stage during the performance of wagner's opera tristan und isolde. using his trademark extreme slow motion, viola's pieces used actors to portray the metaphorical story behind wagner's story, seeing for example the first act as an extended ritual of purification in which the characters disrobe and wash themselves before finally plunging headlong into water together (in wagner's story, the two characters maintain the facade of being indifferent to each other (necessary because isolde is betrothed to tristan's uncle) before, mistakenly believing they are going to die anyway, and reveal their true feelings). viola trademarks such as fire and water are much in evidence here. the piece was first performed in los angeles at disney hall on 3 separate evenings in 2004, one act at a time, then given complete performances at the bastille opera in paris in april and in november 2005. the video pieces were later shown in london without wagner's music in june to september 2006, at the haunch of venison gallery and st olave's college, london. the tristan project returned, both in music and video, to the disney hall in los angeles in april 2007, with further performances at new york city's lincoln center in may 2007 and at the gergiev festival in rotterdam, the netherlands, in september 2007. it will be seen at the canadian opera company in toronto in february 2013.
bill viola