“The subject is loosely derived from a medieval 13th-century romance, connected to the mythical saga of King Arthur. Wagner was inspired to the work by the experience of a deep mutual understanding and (probably platonic) love affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of a rich patron in Zurich. The central theme is the contrast of the mundane “day” (ambitions and thriving for honor and glamour) with the “night” (the quest for truly deep emotions in the mystical merging of two persons into one, a sort of afterworld where all human longings finally come to rest). The influence of Wagner’s new approach to treat the orchestra as an autonomous symphonic force rather than accompanying the singers and his pushing the boundaries of harmonic rules to the verge of atonality caused a revolution in the history of music. The famous ‘Tristan Chord’ that opens the prelude and forms one of the central leitmotifs of the opera represents a dissonance that cannot be solved but leads constantly to new dissonances. It is the expression for an impossible love and the yearning for unlimited union with the loved one that seems to be possible only in some other world.”

“The subject is loosely derived from a medieval 13th-century romance, connected to the mythical saga of King Arthur. Wagner was inspired to the work by the experience of a deep mutual understanding and (probably platonic) love affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of a rich patron in Zurich. The central theme is the contrast of the mundane “day” (ambitions and thriving for honor and glamour) with the “night” (the quest for truly deep emotions in the mystical merging of two persons into one, a sort of afterworld where all human longings finally come to rest). The influence of Wagner’s new approach to treat the orchestra as an autonomous symphonic force rather than accompanying the singers and his pushing the boundaries of harmonic rules to the verge of atonality caused a revolution in the history of music. The famous ‘Tristan Chord’ that opens the prelude and forms one of the central leitmotifs of the opera represents a dissonance that cannot be solved but leads constantly to new dissonances. It is the expression for an impossible love and the yearning for unlimited union with the loved one that seems to be possible only in some other world.”

“The subject is loosely derived from a medieval 13th-century romance, connected to the mythical saga of King Arthur. Wagner was inspired to the work by the experience of a deep mutual understanding and (probably platonic) love affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of a rich patron in Zurich. The central theme is the contrast of the mundane “day” (ambitions and thriving for honor and glamour) with the “night” (the quest for truly deep emotions in the mystical merging of two persons into one, a sort of afterworld where all human longings finally come to rest). The influence of Wagner’s new approach to treat the orchestra as an autonomous symphonic force rather than accompanying the singers and his pushing the boundaries of harmonic rules to the verge of atonality caused a revolution in the history of music. The famous ‘Tristan Chord’ that opens the prelude and forms one of the central leitmotifs of the opera represents a dissonance that cannot be solved but leads constantly to new dissonances. It is the expression for an impossible love and the yearning for unlimited union with the loved one that seems to be possible only in some other world.”

“The subject is loosely derived from a medieval 13th-century romance, connected to the mythical saga of King Arthur. Wagner was inspired to the work by the experience of a deep mutual understanding and (probably platonic) love affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of a rich patron in Zurich. The central theme is the contrast of the mundane “day” (ambitions and thriving for honor and glamour) with the “night” (the quest for truly deep emotions in the mystical merging of two persons into one, a sort of afterworld where all human longings finally come to rest). The influence of Wagner’s new approach to treat the orchestra as an autonomous symphonic force rather than accompanying the singers and his pushing the boundaries of harmonic rules to the verge of atonality caused a revolution in the history of music. The famous ‘Tristan Chord’ that opens the prelude and forms one of the central leitmotifs of the opera represents a dissonance that cannot be solved but leads constantly to new dissonances. It is the expression for an impossible love and the yearning for unlimited union with the loved one that seems to be possible only in some other world.”

“The subject is loosely derived from a medieval 13th-century romance, connected to the mythical saga of King Arthur. Wagner was inspired to the work by the experience of a deep mutual understanding and (probably platonic) love affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of a rich patron in Zurich. The central theme is the contrast of the mundane “day” (ambitions and thriving for honor and glamour) with the “night” (the quest for truly deep emotions in the mystical merging of two persons into one, a sort of afterworld where all human longings finally come to rest). The influence of Wagner’s new approach to treat the orchestra as an autonomous symphonic force rather than accompanying the singers and his pushing the boundaries of harmonic rules to the verge of atonality caused a revolution in the history of music. The famous ‘Tristan Chord’ that opens the prelude and forms one of the central leitmotifs of the opera represents a dissonance that cannot be solved but leads constantly to new dissonances. It is the expression for an impossible love and the yearning for unlimited union with the loved one that seems to be possible only in some other world.”

“The subject is loosely derived from a medieval 13th-century romance, connected to the mythical saga of King Arthur. Wagner was inspired to the work by the experience of a deep mutual understanding and (probably platonic) love affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of a rich patron in Zurich. The central theme is the contrast of the mundane “day” (ambitions and thriving for honor and glamour) with the “night” (the quest for truly deep emotions in the mystical merging of two persons into one, a sort of afterworld where all human longings finally come to rest). The influence of Wagner’s new approach to treat the orchestra as an autonomous symphonic force rather than accompanying the singers and his pushing the boundaries of harmonic rules to the verge of atonality caused a revolution in the history of music. The famous ‘Tristan Chord’ that opens the prelude and forms one of the central leitmotifs of the opera represents a dissonance that cannot be solved but leads constantly to new dissonances. It is the expression for an impossible love and the yearning for unlimited union with the loved one that seems to be possible only in some other world.”