The Wagner Journal
Katherine Syer, Echoes of the Green Hill: Detecting the Influence of Bayreuth in Three Contrasting Productions of ‘Tristan’
Katherine Syer, Echoes of the Green Hill: Detecting the Influence of Bayreuth in Three Contrasting Productions of ‘Tristan’
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July 2008, Volume 2, Number 2, 55–65.
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s 1981 production of Tristan (he began his directing career with this work in Düsseldorf, in 1962) stretches back to an era in which some innovative productions from the Wagner festival claimed key positions in the newly emerging videotape market.
Patrice Chéreau’s collaboration on Tristan with Daniel Barenboim (who made his Bayreuth debut conducting Ponnelle’s production) marks his first return to Wagner after more than thirty years. Inaugurating the La Scala season this past December – one of the most exclusive and prestigious openings in Europe – the premiere was broadcast live on television and subsequently in over sixty cinemas across North America, the UK and Norway.
Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s recent production of Tristan und Isolde also reflects a career-long engagement with Wagner and an association with Bayreuth through his work as assistant (1962–6) to Wieland Wagner. Premiered in 2003 and filmed during its first revival at Glyndebourne, in 2007, the Lehnhoff production was then mounted in Baden-Baden and broadcast in ten UK cinemas late last October.