By Daniel Buckwalter

(#commonmanatthesymphony)

A small victory for me occurred in 2016 when I sat mostly still for four hours one Sunday afternoon and watched Richard Wagner’s epic opera, Tristan und Isolde, performed at the Metropolitan Opera.

I will qualify that to say this: It was on television as part of the PBS series Great Performances, and I had the luxury of restroom breaks and kitchen breaks. If I recall correctly, I even had lasagna baking in the oven on a cold, rainy day. I wasn’t going anywhere.

And I was mesmerized, first with Swedish soprano Nina Stemme playing the part of Isolde, then with enormity of Wagner’s transformative text and music, completed in 1859. From start to finish, Wagner’s work — aggressive and soaring, yet lyrical and sorrowful, sometimes from one phrase to the next — plunges audiences even today to the depths of storytelling that had not previously been seen or heard in operas. It still resonates.

So it was with great anticipation on April 21 that the Eugene Symphony Orchestra — with four vocal soloists as well as the tenors and basses of the Eugene Symphony Chorus — performed Act 1 of Tristan und Isolde for an appreciative audience in the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall. It didn’t disappoint.

Yes, it was just the 80-minute Act 1. Acts 2 and 3 will be performed later this year and in the 2023-24 season, respectively, but the performance on this night was emotionally draining and a perfect setup for the tense tragedy to come.

Francesco Lecce-Chong, artistic director and conductor of the Eugene Symphony, made the correct decision to stage Wagner’s masterpiece in stages. Any more than that, and I would have headed to the snack bar in the lobby.

But it was a lovely Act 1 performance. As she will throughout the romantic saga, Isolde (the wonderful Nina Warren on this night) carried the story of her lover’s murder at the hands of Tristan, her fury at Tristan’s return, and of their unlikely love that results from a love potion substituted for a death potion. Isolde boards a ship which is taking her away from Ireland, bound for Cornwall in England, where she is fated to become the wife of King Mark, accompanied by her handmaiden Brangäne (Ola Rafalo).

In Act 1, Isolde again meets Tristan (Roy C. Smith), along with his aide Kurwenal (Gary Simpson), and soon enough the outline of a tragic love tale between Tristan and Isolde becomes clear.

The ending comes in 2023-24 season, so if you’re not familiar with Tristan und Isolde, be patient and try not to look it up. It is wrenching and memorable.

For Act 1, that dark-of-the-night trip by sea in the bowels of a ship to Cornwall, a special nod goes to Daniel Ordower, the lighting designer for this performance. The entire stage was mostly dark, save for where the singers performed and the small lamps on the stands of the musicians. With the wall paneling surrounding the stage, there was a feel of foreboding that was a nice touch.

As noted, Act 1 of Tristan und Isolde is, by itself, emotionally draining, and I am glad for the breaks. I hope everyone is able to catch Act 2 on Nov. 17, 2022, and Act 3 the following season.