Tristan and Isolde. Richard Wagner at the Gran Teatre del Liceu

One of the cultural references of the Middle Ages and, in Wagner's hands, a cultural revolution.

Tristan und Isolde is an immense dramatic-musical poem; an endless song of love and death inspired by the medieval legend of Celtic origin from the 12th century, compiled by Jofre d'Estrasbourg, which became one of the cultural references of the Middle Ages and, in Wagner's hands, a cultural revolution.

The first scene places us on the ship where Tristan is leading Isolde to Cornwall to meet her betrothed, King Marke. The death potion that the princess carries to consummate her revenge against Tristan for causing the death of her betrothed Marold, is unexpectedly replaced by the handmaid Brangäne with a love potion, triggering the buried passion of the protagonists who, in the second act, present one of the most extraordinary love ecstasy scenes in opera history. Fate leads the lovers to reveal their impossible love. After Tristan's death, Isolde is left only with her Transfiguration (Verklärung): a death of love (Liebestod) that occurs both musically and existentially, resulting in one of the most sublime moments.

Written between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich in 1865, the opera takes as its starting point the tragic loves of Tristan and Isolde. With libretto by Wagner himself, it expresses the most powerful expression of passionate love that asserts itself, uncontrollable, despite one's own will, moral norms, and divine laws, and which, as described by Denis de Rougemont in Love in the Western World, finds its fulfillment only in death.

Articulated from a rich constellation of references that include from Buddhism to the theater of Calderón de la Barca and Schopenhauer's philosophy, Wagner tensions a series of opposed binary constructs: eros/thanatos, duty/instinct, consciousness/subconsciousness, and proposes a groundbreaking dramatic framework that anticipates modern psychology.

Wagner presents very new approaches that will represent a point of no return in the evolution of music: rich chromaticism, orchestral color palette, audacious harmonic suspension, irresistible climaxes, overlapping rhythms... After her success with Puccini's Il trittico, Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki will lead the musical formations of the Gran Teatre del Liceu to decipher the mysteries of this score: one of the five most influential operas of all time.

In the new production of Bárbara Lluch, Tristan and Isolde, with an unattainable desire, are two people who try to abandon the vital roles assigned to them, who want to escape daily lies. They are two people who suffer and find in love the repair and restoration of their lives. They rise and challenge the status quo; but losing their connection with reality they will end up failing.

Lise Davidsen will debut in the role of Isolde at the Liceu. Undoubtedly, it is one of the roles that the operatic world has been dreaming of and that will mark a before and after in the world panorama. Alongside her, heldentenor Clay Hilley will embody the character of Tristan, one of the toughest, yet most fascinating roles in the repertoire. The promise of these unforgettable performances highlights the Liceu as a Wagnerian temple par excellence.