jan 1, 1865 - Tristan und Isolde

Description:

an opera 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.

The Ultimate Experience: Tristan und Isolde
1. Thinking that he would never be able to have the Ring performed, Wagner took a break
while composing Siegfried and wrote two other works: Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger.
2. The story of Tristan comes from the Middle Ages and was rather famous.
3. The tension is palpable from the opening prelude, which features the “Tristan” chord.

How Far Can You Stretch a Dominant?
1. Wagner’s real tonal innovation was not the Tristan chord but the failure to resolve the
dominant seventh to which it moves.
2. In Act II, after spending the night together, Tristan and Isolde sing a song cursing the
sunrise.
3. The third act ends with the famous Liebestod in which Isolde is transfigured by an
orgiastic death by love.

Life and Art: Beyond Good and Evil
1. The moral conventions that Wagner disobeys in Tristan und Isolde (and elsewhere) in
part reflect what was going on in his own life.
2. Wagner believed a great artist should be allowed to do what he needed to do to inspire
his art.
a. This derives partly from Nietzsche’s famous “beyond good and evil” comment that artists were not subject to the same rules as everyone else.
3. Wagner frequently explores the forbidden and suppressed.
4. He was very persuasive at convincing his listeners of his views. Many of these are scary:
a. German identity leading to xenophobia
b. Bigotry (against Jews, enlightened French, etc.)
c. Against internationalism and rationality
5. The end of Die Meistersinger illuminates Wagner’s aggressive nationalism.

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