[GioCar]

My favorite recordings:

 

[GioCar]

I saw it staged twice, both times at La Scala.
The first time when I was a teenager, C. Kleiber conducting. I was with my grandma and unfortunately I cannot remember much of that evening
Then, some years ago, Daniel Barenboim conducting, Waltraud Meier singing Isolde. A Patrice Chereau's production.
I was thrilled from the beginning to the end, and particurarly during the liebestod when Meier/Isolde started bleeding as if the trascendent and unbereable grief had been leaving a tangible sign in her body.

In this video, at the very end someone in the audience just ruined everything. Luckily not in the evening I was there...

 

[GioCar]

As I posted in the other thread, my absolute favorite Tristans on CD are by Bohm and Bernstein - both the fastest and slowest on record. Modern-day Isolde for me is Waltraud Meier, but not in the La Scala production... the bleeding is awful... just to make sure you know what's going on... because modern-day opera goers are so clueless.

I went to see live that production and I found it awesome... Maybe I'm clueless...

 

[GioCar]

Okay, I understood there was an ironical smilie missing from my post, sorry
Just can't understand the desire to "enhance" the plot adding these "details". Looks more like a horror movie snippet.

No problem, Azol

Re. the La Scala production (Barenboim/Chereau) I'd strongly suggest to read this book

Barenboim, Chereau: Dialoghi su Musica e Teatro - Tristano e Isotta (2008)
Honestly I don't know if it has been translated in English.

You may also be interested in reading some reviews - here's one from the NYT, there are many others online

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/arts/music/10scal.html?_r=0

Believe me, that production was everything but a horror movie...