Tristan und Isolde
How does an opera house put together a Wagner opera during a pandemic?
Well in Germany, this is accomplished with a lot of rules. As the rules have evolved so much throughout the season, it is hard to remember every single one. The Deutsche Oper am Rhein reopened its doors on June 11 (last performance was on November 8) with a sold-out crowd of 330-ish people — out of 1342 seats. Amongst the “crowd” was a person assigned to attend events and make sure ALL the rules and regulations are being followed. Until things are “back to normal,” Tristan and Isolde will continue to sing their “love duet” meters apart from each other.
From the musical perspective…
Pre-pandemic Wagner: the orchestra pit capacity is approximately 80+ musicians
Pandemic Wagner: we have approximately 30 musicians in the pit with our reduced orchestration (published by Boosey & Hawkes) by Eberhard Kloke. He was commissioned to prepare this reduction for the Deutsche Oper am Rhein at the end of the 2019-2020 season and it was completed a few months later. Fun Fact: many opera houses in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden used his reductions of Der Rosenkavalier, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Bluebeard’s Castle and Wozzeck during the pandemic.
This reduction calls for 24 musicians in the orchestra pit. Additionally, there is a small ensemble consisting of a string quartet and english horn who are onstage about 95% of the time. Then there are horn players who play offstage and then a brass ensemble (trumpets and trombones) who perform on the stage. And for the Liebestod (final scene of the opera and Isolde’s famous aria), there are an additional 19 musicians who slowly and carefully walk on stage, surround Isolde and play until the end of the opera - memorized. The grand total? 63 musicians. Is the volume and sound from the orchestra drastically different with this reduction? At times, yes when the small ensemble performs alone on stage but don’t worry —there is plenty of sound coming out of the orchestra pit.
Here are the specifics:
Wagner/Kloke Orchestration
A. Small Orchestra (approximately 24 players)
2 Flutes (2nd also plays piccolo and alto flute)
2 Oboes (2nd also plays English Horn)
2 Clarinets (in B and A, 2nd also plays Bass Clarinet)
2 Bassoons (2nd also plays Contrabassoon)
2 Horns — 1 Trumpet — 1 Bass Trombone
Harp, Timpani, Percussion
Strings (2.2.2.2.1)
(2 1.Violin, 2 2.Violin, 2 Violas, 2. Celli and 1 Contrabass)
As the rules have relaxed a (tiny) bit, we have been able to squeeze in a few extra string players.
B. Small Ensemble
String Quartet and English Horn
C. Stage Music
6 Horns — 3 Trumpets —3 Trombones — 1 Holztrompete
D. Klangband (ensemble for the end of Act III)
Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet and Bassoon
2 Horns, Trumpet, Trombone and Tuba
Strings (2.2.2.2.1)
The original orchestration:
3 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet and 3 Bassoons
4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones and Bass Tuba
Timpani, cymbals and Triangle
Harp and Strings (Die Streichinstrumente sind vorzüglich gut und stark zu besetzen. [The string instruments are to be extremely good and strong in number.]) Pre-pandemic, the strings were usually 12.10.8.6.5 — 41 players.
On-stage: English Horn, 3 Trumpets and 3 Trombones
Because of the spacing and distance required between singers and musicians, the small ensemble (onstage) is at times positioned above the singers (the set moves up and down) or on the side of the stage or behind the set. This ensemble has solo moments with the singers but they also play with the orchestra in the pit so contact with the conductor is crucial. For the singers, it is an acoustical challenge as the music that normally comes from the pit is sometimes coming from above or from the side or from backstage.
From the piano bench, the piano/vocal score (Peters Edition by Felix Mottl) is probably one of the most difficult and yet most satisfying scores I have ever played. What made this rehearsal process most fascinating was having this small ensemble. Staging rehearsals sometimes turned into fun chamber music sessions except that I had to adapt very quickly for this new reduction. Sometimes I could play exactly what I had prepared and sometimes I did not have to play at all. Sometimes I only played the bass lines or harmonies (the orchestra part in the pit) or just instrumental solos. Because the small ensemble could not attend staging rehearsals everyday for 6 weeks (plus an additional 2 weeks before the premiere), I had to be prepared to play it all but also had to be prepared to play less for the “new” reduction.
Here is the “Making of Tristan und Isolde” - Part 1 which gives a little more insight into the musical process (auf Deutsch) and includes rehearsal footage with a familiar pianist (ca. 4:12) at the piano.
And a little interview with Eberhard Kloke himself…
The premiere date was initially planned for the beginning of December but it will finally open six months later on Friday, June 18th. Because of the pandemic, it will not be a long evening indoors but with one act per night. So what began as a somewhat optimistic (and very cautious) season will close with two cycles of Tristan und Isolde…hopefully.
Ich drücke die Daumen!