Tristan and Isolde: rapturous and uncompromising lovers

It is one of those pieces to which I have devoted myself completely, the one into which I was finally able to put all my dreams and the passions of my youth," Frank Martin once said about his secular oratorio Le vin herbé, whose great success came to him after its premiere in 1942 at the already set age of over 50. The work is youthful above all in its choice of subject matter: the fate of the rapturous and uncompromising lovers Tristan and Isolde, whose future together is surrounded by obstacles.

The basis for Martin's oratorio is the work of the Romanist Joseph Bédier, who retold the Celtic story closer to the medieval tradition and found archaic, antique sounds for the action. Although Le vin herbé, named after the magic potion that ignites Tristan and Isolde's love for each other, enjoyed great success on the opera stage, Martin himself preferred to perform it as an oratorio.
June 16, 2024

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