Epic Wagner opera in the Old Fitz
Image: ISOLDE & TRISTAN rehearsals. Credit - Karl Elbourne
By HOPE PRATT
From the pages of myth to Wagner’s stage, Sport for Jove presents an intimate and decisive iteration of the opera Isolde & Tristan at the Old Fitz Theatre.
Written by German playwright, Esther Vilar and directed by Damien Ryan, the play explores love in conflict and love in death – Liebestod [literally “love death”, describing a love that is doomed.]
It tells the story of Isolde, an Irish princess, who is taken by Tristan, an English Knight, to wed King Marke of Cornwall. But as they cross the Irish sea between their countries, enemies must come face to face with one another in new ways.
Described by Director Damien Ryan as “sharp and succinct,” Vilar’s adaptation offers a stark retort to Wagner’s original work and by extension the Celtic myth from which it originates.
Filled with the tension of age-old conflicts and Medieval romance, Sport for Jove’s production blends operatic music with raw performance, condensing the grandiose potency of Wagner into a deeper, more visceral performance at the Old Fitz.
Actor Tom Wilson, who plays Tristan, describes the performance as “Dream-like-esque, where everyone will feel compacted into one moment in time.”
Featuring performances by Sean O’Shea (Marke, King of Cornwall), Tom Wilson (Tristan), Emma Wright (Isolde), and live opera from singer Octavia Barron Martin accompanied by pianist Justin Leong, Isolde & Tristan sets out to explore the passions and throws of love, brutality, and the sorrow and hilarity that comes of it.
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