Richard Wagner | Tristan und Isolde (Overture)

Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg.

First conceived in 1854, the music was composed between 1857-1859 and premiered at the Königliches Hoftheater und Nationaltheater in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting.

Gustav Klimt | The Kiss, 1908 | Österreichische Galerie Belvedere

While performed by opera companies, Wagner preferred the term Handlung (German for "plot" or "action") for Tristan to distinguish its structure of continuous narrative flow ("endless melody") as distinct from that of conventional opera at the time which was constructed of mundane recitatives punctuated by showpiece arias, which Wagner had come to regard with great disdain.

Richard Wagner (German composer, 1813-1883)

Wagner's composition of Tristan und Isolde was inspired in part by the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, as well as by his relationship with his muse Mathilde Wesendonck.

The opera, which explores existential themes such as that of mankind's insatiable striving and the transcendental nature of a love beyond death, incorporates spirituality from Christian mysticism as well as Vedantic and Buddhist metaphysics, subjects that also interested Schopenhauer.

As such, Wagner was one of the earliest Western artists to introduce concepts from the Dharmic religions into their works.

Tristan und Isolde is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest achievements of Western art music, intriguing audiences with philosophical depths not usually associated with opera, and the "terrible and sweet infinity" of its musical-poetic language.

Salvador Dali | Costume Pisentlit pour Tristan Fou,⁣ 1944

Its advanced harmony, immediately announced by the famous opening Tristan chord of its prelude, marks a defining moment in the evolution of modern music, characterized by unprecedented use of chromaticism, tonal ambiguity, orchestral colour, and prolonged harmonic suspension.

While these innovations divided audiences initially, the opera grew in popularity and became enormously influential among Western classical composers, providing direct inspiration to Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, and Benjamin Britten.

Other composers such as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky formulated their styles in contrast to Wagner's musical legacy.

John Duncan | Tristan and Isolde

Tristano e Isotta (Tristan und Isolde) è un dramma musicale di Richard Wagner, su libretto dello stesso compositore.

Costituisce il capolavoro del Romanticismo tedesco ed, allo stesso tempo, è uno dei pilastri della musica moderna, soprattutto per il modo in cui si allontana dall'uso 'tradizionale' dell'armonia tonale.

A tale proposito, Carl Dahlhaus ha messo in rilievo che "Wagner non anticipa l'atonalità ma dà sviluppo a forme e strumenti del pensiero grazie a cui un fenomeno come l'atonalità può divenire per la prima volta razionalmente possibile".