Wagner’s Six‑Hour Masterpiece “Tristan und Isolde” Given Korean Premiere
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
The Korean National Opera and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will present the first full staged Korean production of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Seoul Arts Center Opera House from December 4–7. The three‑act music drama, completed in 1859 and famous for its revolutionary use of endless melody and leitmotifs (recurring musical themes), runs about six hours with two intermissions and will begin at 3 p.m. Conductor Jaap van Zweden leads the performance; Swiss director Stefan Märki reimagines the medieval sea voyage as an expansive journey through space. Veteran Wagner singers are double‑cast: Stuart Skelton and Bryan Register as Tristan, and sopranos Katharina Foster and Eliška Weissová as Isolde, some with long histories at the Bayreuth Festival (a major festival devoted to Wagner). Organizers say the full staging marks a milestone for Korea’s readiness to engage deeply with Wagner’s demanding music and ideas.
