Waltraud Meier will sing the role of Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde on December 12, replacing Katarina Dalayman, who is ill. Ms. Meier is a renowned Isolde who has frequently sung the role with Daniel Barenboim, the conductor for the Met performances. This will be her first performance of Isolde at the Met. She is arriving this evening from Munich.
Meier first sang Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival in 1993, a performance preserved on DVD, conducted by Maestro Barenboim. She has also sung the role with Barenboim at the Berlin State Opera, La Scala, and in concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition, her Isolde has been heard at Munich's Bavarian State Opera, Paris Opera Bastille, Dresden Opera, Madrid's Teatro Real, Vienna State Opera, Zurich Opera, and the Salzburg Festival.
Meier made her Met debut as Fricka in Wagner's Das Rheingold in 1987 and has since sung here in the title roles of Carmen and Fidelio, and as Fricka in Die Walküre, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Kundry in Parsifal, and Venus in Tannhäuser. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Met Orchestra both in New York and on tour in Europe.
After missing two performances due to illness, Peter Seiffert will sing the role of Tristan as scheduled. Other members of the cast include Michelle DeYoung as Brangäne, Gerd Grochowski as Kurwenal, and Kwangchul Youn as King Marke. The production is by Dieter Dorn with sets and costume designs by Jürgen Rose.
