A great Wagnerian evening at the Liceu with Lise Davidsen

Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, ​​January 12, 2026. 11:05 p.m. Lise Davidsen tackles the opening bars of Mild und leise, he Liebestod with which Wagner closes the opera Tristan and IsoldeIt's the crowning moment of a musically historic night at the Rambla theater: the birth of a new Isolde, following in the footsteps of Flagstad, Nilsson, Behrens, and Meier. The throne of Wagnerian soprano is now undoubtedly occupied by a young Norwegian woman (38 years old), who is returning to the stage for the first time since giving birth to twins. It is an honor and a privilege that he has chosen our theater For that comeback and for the debut of a role she will soon sing at the Metropolitan Opera, the anticipation was palpable, with an extraordinary group of journalists and music critics from all over the world present at the Liceu. And Davidsen not only did not disappoint, but gave it her all: hers is an expressive, committed, musically perfect, technically immaculate Isolde, and also possesses a full, compact, and exquisitely beautiful voice. Phrases like Der Mutter Rat gemahnt mi recht in the first act or does so sustained in pianissimo over the Lust! The concluding number that closes the opera will remain in the memory of many, especially those who, standing, repeatedly cheered a dreamlike performance.

When this production of Tristan and IsoldeMore than one person was perplexed by the choice of stage director: a new production by Bárbara Lluch, when The Liceu had premiered Àlex Ollé's workThe show, which received good reviews and hasn't been seen here since its initial performances in 2017, wouldn't it have made sense to repurpose a successful, in-house production? The response at the press conference announcing the 2025-2026 season was that it was all due to a desire to please Lise Davidsen, who wanted to debut in the co-title role of the Wagnerian musical drama in a new production, directed by a woman and conducted by a woman. Hence the choice of Bárbara Lluch and Susanna Mälkki in the pit. And also the appointment of a prompter from Vienna to assist Davidsen, who declined the services of Jaume Tribó, the Liceu's prompter for fifty years.

The staging disappoints due to its poverty and lack of ideas: Lluch doesn't seem to have engaged with the drama and excuses and justifies herself by focusing on the concept of desire between two suffering lovers who strive to escape the reality that surrounds them. The result is that the characters are left indistinct and adrift. Only Isolde seems minimally developed, while the stage movement of the rest is so precarious it would be laughable if we weren't dealing with a drama like Wagner's. The director's easy solution is complemented by a minimalist set design and occasionally attractive lighting design by Urs Schönebaum. Clara Peluffo's costumes don't help matters either, so the musical excellence contrasts sharply with the barely passable (and still just barely) overall staging.

Excellent musical direction by Susanna Mälkki

Musical excellence that, in addition to Davidsen, includes the work of Susanna Mälkki, who would have been a dream principal conductor for the Liceu orchestra. After that hugely applauded Triptych of 2022The Finnish director signs a Tristan and Isolde of great intensity and quality, against a more than inspired resident orchestra. The meticulous work by small sections (for example, the woodwinds) gives rise to an occasionally chamber-like reading, of great refinement, without sacrificing the intrinsically Wagnerian corporeality. And with consistently successful results throughout four and a half hours of symphonic-vocal orgy. Good choral interventions at the end of the first act.

On stage, Davidsen is fortunate to have Clay Hilley's Tristan, who not only dies vocally alive at the end of the third act, but does so with a textbook Heldentenor voice. He holds back a bit in the first act, and his involvement is total in the second and throughout the marathon third, with a Verflucht! that take your breath away and with a Und drauf Isolde Simply fantastic. It's a shame that the free rein imposed by Lluch's direction and the insulting costumes in that same third act don't help her shine theatrically.

Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova's vibrato doesn't prevent her from delivering a top-notch Brangäne, with an extraordinary first act and some Habet acht In the second act—sung from a goosebump-inducing upper proscenium.

The baritone Tomasz Konieczny's volume and expressiveness in service to Kurwenal were generous (his understanding and chemistry with Clay Hilley in the third act were phenomenal), and Brindley Sherratt's pathetic accents as a King Marke of hewn stone were perfectly fitting. The house tenors, Roger Padullés (Melot) and Albert Casals (Shepherd/Mariner), gave fine performances for a musically historic night. The audience confirmed this with ovations for the singers and the musical director, and protests directed at the stage crew.