Bayreuth Festival: Of love and betrayal

An opening weekend full of surprises silenced even notorious critics at the Bayreuth Festival. Firstly, there was the eagerly awaited premiere of "Tristan and Isolde" — an age-old story of star-crossed lovers — directed by Icelandic director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson.

There was resounding applause for the singers, above all for Camilla Nylund as Isolde and tenor Andreas Schager as Tristan, as well as for Christa Mayer as Brangäne, Isolde's chambermaid.

Russian conductor Semyon Bychkov was also applauded for not neglecting Richard Wagner's subtler tones and for giving the singers the space they needed.

Director Arnarsson and dramatic adviser Andri Hardmeier, on the other hand, received rather lukewarm applause. What began with atmospheric scenery and music became somewhat tedious over time. Not much happened on the consistently gloomy stage, and the sets themselves remained static.

Acclaimed debut for Australian conductor

With 60,000 international visitors every year, the Bayreuth Festival is Germany's most important opera festival, with critics and Richard Wagner fans watching the productions very closely.

Australian conductor Simone Young made her Bayreuth Festival debut with flying colors. There was loud cheering, stomping and even a standing ovation for her musical interpretation of the first part of the great Nibelung saga.

Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelung" cycle lasts some 16 hours and is performed in four parts. Young is the first woman to conduct the work in the nearly 150-year history of the festival.

 Last year, director Valentin Schwarz was jeered for his production, which was dismissed as a "Netflix series."

Besides Young, two other women are conducting in Bayreuth this season: Oksana Lyniv with "The Flying Dutchman" and Nathalie Stutzmann with "Tannhäuser". This is a further break with the male domination of the conductor's podium that has largely prevailed since the festival's launch in 1876 — Lyniv became the first woman to conduct there as recently as 2021.

'Pushes the boundaries of tonality'

The focus of this year's festival is the new production of Richard Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde," with six further performances to come in the remaining four weeks of the event.

Wagner called his love story a "drama ("Handlung") in three acts." It deals with the emotions of two lovers who are torn between blissful ecstasy and inner torment.

The opera itself is no easy fare and was initially considered unplayable as well.

"It was not premiered until 1865 in Munich, six years after its completion," explains Wagner expert and director of the Richard Wagner Museum in Bayreuth, Sven Friedrich, in an interview with DW. In its composition, Wagner transcended the limits of tonality and harmony of his time.

"It's music that grabs you and that you can't escape," according to conductor Semyon Bychkov. "Wagner pushes the boundaries of tonality, but the music always remains tonal," he said in an interview with the festival.

The third act in particular is a great challenge for the tenor, with Tristan singing almost completely solo for some 40 minutes about his suffering, his torment and his longing for Isolde. It is probably the longest opera part ever written for a tenor.

A story of love and betrayal

The opera's backstory is tricky: Tristan, a knight from England, has murdered the fiancé of the Irish king's daughter, Isolde, but the two nevertheless fall in love. However, Tristan later promises Isolde to his uncle King Marke as his wife. The plot of the opera begins when Tristan wants to bring Isolde to Marke by sea. For Isolde, the planned forced marriage is a betrayal of their love.

Director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson takes the audience into the past of the two protagonists below the deck of what seems like a wrecked ship, and highlights the social constraints that do not allow their union. In the end, their hope dies and the two seek death with the help of poison.

Influenced by other cultures and Buddhism

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) liked to draw on the myths and legends of other cultures. The story of Tristan (which means "the sad one") and Isolde is based on a Celtic legend.

Wagner had also had an affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of his patron Otto Wesendonck. Wagner and Mathilde were both married to others, thus this was also a "forbidden love." 

The composer was also fascinated by India and Buddhism throughout his life, coming to the latter via Schopenhauer's philosophy.

"Life is suffering because it is dominated by a will, a driving force that holds people captive,” explains Sven Friedrich. This will and this driving force, which also includes the sexual drive, can be overcome only through asceticism and renunciation to reach nirvana — the state, according to Buddhism, in which there is no more suffering.

Wagner had modified this somewhat for himself. For him, the will is overcome not only through renunciation, but also through the power of love, a love that goes all the way to death, the redemption of all suffering.

Looking ahead to the 150th anniversary in 2026

A new production of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" is planned for 2025.

Wagner fans are already looking forward to the 150th anniversary of the festival in 2026, when all 10 Wagner operas from the rotating festival repertoire will be performed.

In addition, his early opera "Rienzi" — whose staging Wagner forbade during his time — will be performed for the first time at the Festspielhaus. 

This article was originally written in English.