Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Bayreuth Festival (2024) [Blu-ray]

The annual new production at the Bayreuth Festival is always one of the most eagerly awaited events in the operatic calendar. Presenting Wagner's revolutionary work of music theatre, Tristan und Isolde, Icelandic director Thorleifur Orn Arnarsson made his Bayreuth debut and was celebrated for his psychologically penetrating interpretation, as was his splendid cast featuring Andreas Schager and Camilla Nylund as ill-fated lovers. 2-Disc Blu-ray set

Icelandic director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson made his Bayreuth debut with this enigmatic new staging, which was conducted by Semyon Bychkov. The title roles were played by Andreas Schager and Camilla Nylund, heading an excellent cast that also included Günther Groissböck (King Marke), Christa Mayer (Brangäne) and Olafur Sigurdarson (Kurwenal). The dark ambiguity of Arnarsson’s vision was heightened by the sets of Vytautas Narbutas, lighting designs of Sascha Zauner and costumes of Sibylle Wallum.