

Its prelude’s opening with the famous yearning “Tristan chord” is often cited as the birth of modern music, unleashing an unstoppable wellspring of musical possibility. He conveyed his musings on love, sex and death in intensely chromatic music of deferred resolution, conveyed in tidal waves of full-throated singing and lush orchestral sound. Wagner wrote Tristan und Isolde under the twin influences of the gloomy philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and of Mathilde Wesendonck, his married lover - both of whom taught him a thing or two about unfulfilled longing. Soto, who is a longtime collaborator with Robert Wilson. Rounding out the creative team is costume designer Carlos J. “Opera is the field where all disciplines collide,” Winokur observes, “…and I want to smash these different methods of performance and expression together to produce a thing of power, meaning, matter and beauty.” The timeless set, designed by the cutting-edge architects Charlap Hyman & Herrero, serves as a canvas for a masterful play of light and shadow by lighting designer John Torres and projections designer Greg Emetaz. Debuting directors Zack Winokur and Lisenka Heijboer Castañón conjure a mesmerizing production of eloquent, elemental simplicity which emphasizes character, emotion and ideas. It will be presented in a new production opening on July 23, 2022.


Tristan und Isolde will be a company premiere and the first piece by Richard Wagner to be seen on the Santa Fe Opera stage in over 30 years. James Gaffigan, who in 2018 conducted Ariadne auf Naxos at the Santa Fe Opera, will return to lead productions of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde starring Tamara Wilson, Jamie Barton, Simon O’Neill, Nicholas Brownlee, Eric Owens and David Leigh. The 65th Festival Season of the Santa Fe Opera runs July 1 through August 27, 2022. The Santa Fe Opera Announces an Ambitious 2022 Season on Sale Now
