Opera Scotland

Tristan und Isolde 2005Edinburgh International Festival

Read more about the opera Tristan and Isolde

The Bamberg Symphony and its conductor Jonathan Nott were the orchestra in residence at the 2005 festival, and played several concerts showing off their varied repertoire, including new work. The visit ended with an ambitious undertaking in the form of a concert performance of Tristan. As with the 1990 performance in the same hall, the drawbacks (mainly of voices being overwhelmed by occasional floods of orchestral sound) were very much outweighed by the benefits of the performance. The conducting was generally fast, occasionally rushed, but always dramatic. Most of the singing was well up to standard, from a team of notable Festival favourites, which included Christine Brewer, Jane Irwin and John Relyea.