My father and I had just finished lunch at the Shangri-La when we hopped, skipped and jumped across University Avenue and found ourselves standing in front of the Four Seasons Centre. We had arrived just minutes before the doors opened to the public. It was a chilly afternoon and the wee space in front of the main doors was crammed with fur coats and Michael Kors bags. A hot box for perfume addicts. Once the doors were unhinged these colourful characters spilled into the lobby and hovered around the bar.
I was delighted to take my father to his first opera. He had done his research on Tristan and Isolde and actually printed off the wikipedia scene synopsis which sat in his coat pocket for easy referencing throughout the afternoon. We made our way up to the second floor where opera fans congregate before the show to hear a synopsis and history of the show. While listening in I did a few lunges in an attempt to stretch and prepare my body for Wagner’s five hour opera.
The Canadian Opera Company opened its winter season with the epic love story of Tristan and Isolde which also marks Peter Sellars’ company debut and the first time his original, awe-inspiring production has appeared in North America. The shows multi-sensory experience features video imagery by internationally renowned video artist Bill Viola, who “has come up with an image of the scale and scope, grandeur and immensity, and genuine transcendence that Wagner was imagining,” says Sellars.
The design features a large screen suspended above and behind a humbly lit space, featuring only a square platform for a set piece. Accompanied by video, performers have minimal staging as they project the emotional depth of the storyline through their voices. They are dressed in muted black and grey, an interesting contrast to the grandiose costuming so often associated with these productions.
Based on the tragic medieval tale of two lovers fated to share a forbidden but undying love, Tristan and Isolde features two of the most strenuous roles in all of opera. The video imagery created for this production provided literal, metaphorical and spiritual compliments to this tragic love story. I found my eyes darting throughout the performance, entertained by both the talent on stage and video footage as backdrop. These simultaneous performances forced spectators to often choose what version of the story they wished to focus. While both complimentary, it created a space for introspection and interpretation.
Bill Viola’s video exploration clearly uses metaphor to emulate the story unfolding on stage. In Act I he presents the theme of Purification which is represented through the disrobing of characters, their nakedness and the ritualistic water cleanse. Act II features a raging fire which emulates The Awakening of the Body of Light – the release, through the cleansing illumination of love. Act III concludes with The Dissolution of the Self in the stages of dying, the delicate and excruciating process of the separation and disintegration of the physical, perceptual and conceptual components of conscious awareness. Water meets fire. Light meets darkness.
I was very pleased with Sellars’ interpretation of Wagners work. It was refreshing to experience a classical opera willing to explore its storyline through new media. As for my “five hour opera endurance,” I can most certainly thank my glass of Trius Brut. A crisp and cool glass of sparkling sipped at intermission will easily get you from start to finish.
