Davidsen stars in Tristan
Lise Davidsen is headlining the Met’s spring run of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde while reportedly juggling motherhood of infant twins — critics are noting her vocal and dramatic control. The production has also sparked debate after the director rewrote the opera’s famously tragic ending into a happier resolution, drawing both praise and controversy. (sitkasentinel.com) (washingtonpost.com)
Yuval Sharon’s Met debut of Tristan und Isolde premiered on March 9, 2026 with Yannick Nézet‑Séguin conducting and a Live in HD cinema transmission scheduled for March 21, 2026. (metopera.org) The run originally listed seven performances between March 9 and April 2, 2026 and—after strong demand—the Met added an eighth performance on April 4, 2026 with Stuart Skelton and Stephen Milling stepping in for Tristan and King Marke on that date. (metopera.org) Lise Davidsen returned to this role after a six‑month maternity leave and the Met run followed a period when she prepared the part while newly parenting twins in Norway, according to reporting from the Associated Press. (seattlepi.com) Major reviews praised the cast and orchestra while also parsing Sharon’s staging choices: OperaWire called Davidsen and Michael Spyres “sublime,” Vulture highlighted “some of the best moments of opera” in the performances, and Playbill aggregated broadly positive notices alongside mixed takes on the production concept. (operawire.com) (vulture.com) (playbill.com) Sharon’s most talked‑about intervention replaces Wagner’s traditional death tableau with a sequence staged as a metaphysical “rebirth” in which a modern Isolde gives birth and Brangäne cradles the infant as the Liebestod music continues, a change that has provoked both praise and sharp criticism in recent commentary. (seenandheard-international.com) (msn.com) The Met bills Sharon’s Tristan as part of a larger artistic collaboration that anticipates his planned Ring cycle at the house in the 2027–28 season, positioning this Tristan as both a standalone event and a precursor to that future project. (yuvalsharon.com)
