sat 12/10/2024

Tristan und Isolde, Opéra de Lyon | reviews, news & interviews

Tristan und Isolde, Opéra de Lyon

Tristan und Isolde, Opéra de Lyon

La Fura dels Baus attempts visionary Wagner, with great singing-acting too

In the thicket of it: Wagner's lovers (Clifton Forbis and Ann Petersen) caught in flagrante by King Marke (Christof Fischesser)All photos by Bertrand Stofleth

Travelling by Eurostar, or plane, to the continent and buying a ticket, all for less than the cost of a Covent Garden stalls seat, might entice if you wanted to see a certain opera, singer or conductor. But to go so far for the look of a staging? Well, the Catalan company La Fura dels Baus’s phantasmagorical ENO production of Ligeti's Le grand macabre has left some of us hungry for more, which so far means going abroad to find it. Ultimately their latest Wagner doesn't always rise to the expected visionary heights, but it does boast world-class music-making and, wonder of wonders, real interaction between the singers on a human scale.

Travelling by Eurostar, or plane, to the continent and buying a ticket, all for less than the cost of a Covent Garden stalls seat, might entice if you wanted to see a certain opera, singer or conductor. But to go so far for the look of a staging? Well, the Catalan company La Fura dels Baus’s phantasmagorical ENO production of Ligeti's Le grand macabre has left some of us hungry for more, which so far means going abroad to find it. Ultimately their latest Wagner doesn't always rise to the expected visionary heights, but it does boast world-class music-making and, wonder of wonders, real interaction between the singers on a human scale.

We know we're in for a great third act in which the tenor doesn't die before his character's supposed to

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My investment in a Eurostar ticket for this weekend's performance is going to pay off then.

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