Tristan und Isolde (1999)

Inspired by Wagners own tortured affair with the wife of his patron this searing masterwork is based on Arthurian legend and tells of an illicit romance between a Breton nobleman and the Irish princess betrothed to his uncle and king The composers largerthanlife sensibilities are on full display throughout the score Along with intoxicating orchestral music that surges in tandem with the couples burgeoning passion and a chord left symbolically unresolved until the last moments of the opera the opera also features one of the repertorys most soaring and ecstatic final climaxes as Isolde surrenders to a love so powerful that she transcends life itself