The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Donald Runnicles performed the final act to complete their season-long exploration of Tristan. Robert Dean Smith resumed his traversal of Tristan. Petra Maria Schnitzer and Markus Eiche made their local debuts, and Matthew Best, in the past a Kurwenal with Scottish Opera, returned to sing Mark. Jane Irwin stepped in at the last minute as Brangäne, and the three young soloists all made an impression in their small roles.
The evening began with Metamorphosen, the harrowing lament composed by Richard Strauss. In this he mourned the destruction wreaked by the war, which included the loss of his beloved Dresden and Munich Opera Houses, the latter being the theatre where Tristan was first performed in 1865. This Strauss piece worked remarkably well as an introduction to the Wagner.
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