James Gaffigan receives praise for “Tristan und Isolde” from The New York Times

James Gaffigan leads Wagner's “Tristan und Isolde” at the Santa Fe Opera (Photo credit: Curtis Brown)

Review: A ‘Tristan und Isolde’ Plays Out in Shadows and Light
By David Allen
The New York Times
July 29, 2022

The play of light has always been part of the show at the Santa Fe Opera: its majestic, open-sided theater in the foothills making drama out of the darkening of the sky and the brightening of the stars, even the flash of a hopefully distant storm.

But in Santa Fe’s admirably understated, lovingly faithful new “Tristan und Isolde,” the summer house’s first Wagner for more than 30 years and its only foray thus far into the composer’s dramas beyond “The Flying Dutchman,” light moves center stage.

Photo credit: Curtis Brown

James Gaffigan, typically lively on the podium, sparked up a feisty intensity that supplied the energy the staging tended to resist, pushing the drama hard but not harshly. His was a take on the score both muscular and swift, blessedly so for a show that ended well after midnight.

The signs are promising for Gaffigan, who takes charge of the Komische Oper in Berlin next year.

To read the full review, click here.

Photo credit: Curtis Brown