Tristan und Isolde Conductors in Bayreuth
1886
Felix Mottl
1889
The Bayreuth Festival (Richard Wagner-Festspiele Bayreuth)
Felix Mottl
1891
Felix Mottl
1892
Felix Mottl
1906
Michael Balling
Felix Mottl
1927
Karl Elmendorff
1928
Karl Elmendorff
One of the performances this year was recorded
and released on CD. Norwegians Gunnar
Graarud is Tristan and Ivar F. Andresen King Marke. Listen to Andresen
here (link will open your default MP3 player).
A list of Norwegians
in Bayreuth is available on Wagneropera.no
1930
On 26 June 1930, in the presence of Siegfried, Winifred, Daniela, Eva and the assembled musical directors and assistants, Toscanini took his first rehearsal. It turned out to be something of a shock. The maestro demanded the highest virtuosity, and was angry when he did not find it. Instead of being grateful, as a 'non-German', for being allowed to conduct on the 'hallowed' soil of Bayreuth, he complained - and in Italian, to boot. Lieselotte recorded that ' when he did not like the way the second violins played a particular passage, he brought his baton down so hard that it broke in half, and he threw the broken halves over his shoulder and stamped his foot ... the musicians are already grumbling about his intensive rehearsals. He sings, or rather croaks, loudly along with every part.' His frequent beating out of the time, accompanied by a furious 'no, no', earned him the nickname 'Toscanono'.
Brigitte Hamann: Winifred Wagner: A Life at the Heart of Hitler's Bayreuth
For Toscanini it was a great night, his Bayreuth debut.
To his presence—perhaps
his last engagement as an opera conductor —was ascribed an early
sell-out of admissions for the whole season. He is conducting all five
Tannhauser performances, the three of Tristan. Before him no South European
had held the conductor's wand at the Festspielhaus. Thus to him had fallen
the honor of bringing true Friedrich Nietzsche's words of long ago to Wagner: "We
must 'Mediterraneanize' music." Tannhauser had not been given in Bayreuth
in 25 years. It was an equally long time since Toscanini had conducted
it. After each act (and at following performances) the great audience cheered
tempestuously, threw hats, stamped, applauded, called for conductor and
cast. But they called vainly. There are no curtain calls at Bayreuth.
(Time
Magazine, Monday, Aug. 04, 1930)
1931
Wilhelm Furtwängler
1938
Karl Elmendorff
1939
Victor de Sabata
1952
Herbert von Karajan
1953
Eugen Jochum
1957
Wolfgang Sawallisch
1958
Wolfgang Sawallisch
1959
Wolfgang Sawallisch
1962
Karl Böhm
1963
Karl Böhm
1964
Karl Böhm
1966
Karl Böhm
A performance from this Festival was recorded, and is now a true Tristan
und Isolde classic recording. More info on Karl
Böhm's recording with Birgit Nilsson and Wolfgang Windgassen as
Isolde and Tristan.
1968
Karl Böhm
1969
Karl Böhm
1970
Karl Böhm
1974
1975
Carlos Kleiber
1976
Carlos Kleiber
Horst Stein
1977
Horst Stein
1981
Daniel Barenboim
A new production. Stage director: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.
1982
Daniel Barenboim
1983
Daniel Barenboim
This production by Jean-Pierre
Ponnelle was filmed and released on DVD
with Johanna Meier and René Kollo as Isolde and Tristan.
1985
Daniel Barenboim
1986
Daniel Barenboim
1987
Daniel Barenboim
1993
Daniel Barenboim
New production. Stage director: Heiner Müller.
1994
Daniel Barenboim
1995
Daniel Barenboim
This production by
Heiner Müller became a huge success. It was Waltraud
Meier's debut as Isolde. The production was filmed and released on DVD
with Waltraud Meier and Siegfried Jerusalem as Isolde and Tristan.
1996
Daniel Barenboim
1997
Daniel Barenboim
1999
Daniel Barenboim
2005
Eiji Oue
2006
Peter Schneider
2008
Peter Schneider
Tristan: Robert Dean Smith
Isolde Iréne Theorin
2009
Peter Schneider
2010
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde on CD
Tristan und Isolde on DVD
Parsifal conductors at Bayreuth