In February, the Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana will present Richard Wagner’s musical drama Tristan and Isolde in three acts, signed by the legendary and visionary artist Robert Wilson. At SNT Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, the production will be staged as a co-production with leading opera houses—the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Royal Theatre in Madrid, and the Wrocław Opera. Prior to the premiere, we will take a journey through Wagner’s musical drama in a lecture organized in collaboration between the Slovenian Theatre Institute and SNT Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, as part of the lecture series Insights into the theatre history.
The lecture by musicologist, composer, and music critic Prof. Dr. Gregor Pompe will shed light on Wagner’s musical drama Tristan and Isolde through the lens of Wagner’s commitment to Schopenhauer’s philosophy and, consequently, to the Buddhist tradition. This approach will make it possible to interpret passages in the libretto that may seem less clear, linguistically even baroquely overloaded or mystically miraculous. It will become evident that Wagner once again exploits the mythical narrative framework to articulate his own views—this time on love as the loss of the self in the other. In the final step, such an interpretation will also be applied to the music and to an examination of the central leitmotifs of the musical drama.
Free tickets for the lecture can be reserved by emailing at blagajna@opera.si or in person at the Opera box office.