Wagner: Tristan und Isolde: Act 3; Colin Davis (1978) Jon Vickers, Roberta Knie

Colin Davis, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
(Recorded 29th May, 1978, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden)

Tristan — Jon Vickers
King Marke — Gwynne Howell
Isolde — Roberta Knie
Kurwenal — Donald McIntyre
Melot — Thomas Allen
Brangäne — Josephine Veasey
Shepherd — Paul Crook
Steersman — Malcolm King
Young Sailor — David Rendall

The production was originally by Peter Hall. This revival was directed by Elijah Moshinsky. The stage designs and costumes were by John Bury.

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Harold Rosenthal in "Opera" magazine wrote about the performance on the 25th of May:

"This was one of the truly great operatic evenings in Covent Garden's post-war history; it certainly was one of the finest "Tristan und Isolde" performances I have ever attended. As far as Jon Vickers was concerned, his acting and singing throughout the long evening, culminating in a last act of searing intensity, made him the best Tristan I have ever seen or heard—and that includes the legendary Lauritz Melchior, who was never much of an actor anyway! Vickers's Tristan was the greatest piece of operatic acting I have experienced—and I have been going to opera since the 1930s.
In recent years Vickers's voice had lost some of the ring and even individuality it had during the late 1950s and most of the 1960s; but it was as if the clock had been turned back, and here was that personal Vickers sound again: lovely, rich, burnished tone, allied to a wonderful feeling for the text, amazing breath control, and a ringing top—in fact the true "Heldentenor" sound.
Sharing in the evening's triumph were the magnificent Covent Garden orchestra and Colin Davis, whose fiery, committed and exciting account of this wonderful score would alone have made this an evening to remember. Five years ago when Mr Davis conducted his first Covent Garden "Tristan", I suggested that his was a young man's "Tristan"; although it has now become a mature man's "Tristan", it has lost none of its youthful enthusiasm, which is now tempered with a consideration for the singers and an ear for the most beautiful sonorities and balance.
Roberta Knie, the new Isolde, besides being a real Wagnerian dramatic soprano, is also a highly intelligent singer. Her powerful top notes rang out confidently in act one, and the "Narration" and "Curse" were thrillingly delivered. This was Miss Knie's best act, for she was the proud, arrogant, almost vindictive young princess to perfection; however, after drinking the love potion she still remained a rather hard Isolde, and I missed the melting tenderness that one was longing for in the love duet; here too the voice tired, and the was some off-pitch singing. The end of the "Liebestod" too did not quite come off—though in the broadcast performance a few nights later she sounded much more at ease.
Josephine Veasey's warm, womanly Brangäne, beautifully vocalised, especially in the Tower Warning, and Donald Mcintyre's faithful if rather gruff Kurwenal added to the evening's pleasure; and so did Gwynne Howell's gloriously sung King Mark, which made the often boring act two monologue seem so short that one regretted it coming to an end. My only criticism about Mr Howell's performance is that he looked far too young for the character he was supposed to be portraying.
I also enjoyed Elijah Moshinsky's handling of his principals, even though I regretted the loss of much of Peter Hall's original conception. John Bury's settings, beautifully lit by David Hersey, are still effective—none more so than the magnificent ship in act one."

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0:00:00 — Announcement
0:00:40 — Prelude
0:08:27 — Scene 1: "Kurwenal! He! Sag', Kurwenal!"
0:12:37 — Scene 1: "Die alte Weise; — was weckt sie mich?"
0:18:24 — Scene 1: "Dünkt dich das? Ich weiß es anders"
0:26:23 — Scene 1: "Noch losch das Licht nicht aus"
0:31:44 — Scene 1: "Noch ist kein Schiff zu sehn!"
0:37:53 — Scene 1: "Sterbend lag ich stumm im Kahn"
0:42:04 — Scene 1: "Mein Herre! Tristan! Schrecklicher Zauber!"
0:46:41 — Scene 1: "Wie sie selig, hehr und milde"
0:53:06 — Scene 2: "O diese Sonne! Ha, dieser Tag!"
0:56:09 — Scene 2: "Ich bin's, ich bin's, süßester Freund!"
1:01:52 — Scene 3: "Kurwenal! Hör'! Ein zweites Schiff"
1:10:04 — Scene 3: "Mild und leise wie er lächelt"

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"Tristan und Isolde" ("Tristan and Isolde") is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner, with a German libretto by the composer. The libretto is based on the medieval romance "Tristan" by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was first performed at the Royal Court and National Theatre in Munich on 10th June, 1865.