WAGNER Tristan und Isolde (Bayreuther Festspiele 2024) | Deutsche Grammophon

“It is a Tristan well worthy of the Wagner shrine … The Bayreuth cast was peerless, the orchestra shone in the theater’s acoustical magnificence.” (Opera Today)  

We release today the filmed version of last summer’s Bayreuth Festival production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde on Blu-ray video. The set provides 3 sound formats, including Dolby Atmos, and an extensive booklet with photos, an insightful conversation about the work and production between director, conductor and dramaturgue, the synopsis as well as more information.  

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. 

Following its live-stream last year, the production can also be viewed on our audio-visual streaming platform STAGE+. It returns to Bayreuth for a revival this summer. The Festival opens on 25 July with a new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, directed by Matthias Davids – making his Bayreuth debut – and conducted by Daniele Gatti, and will also be live-streamed on STAGE+.  

Previous releases within this partnership include: Tristan und Isolde (2015), Parsifal (2016), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2017), the Grammy nominated Lohengrin (2018), Tannhäuser (2019), concert Wagner at Wahnfried (2020), Der fliegende Holländer (2021), Götterdämmerung from the 2022 production of Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal in 2024.