OPERA HEADLINERS OF THE YEAR                                                                                            From the Desk of Ronald Bloom Ehprem Gourion, Ben Zorab, Judy Goldsmith 

A New Isolde Had Been Born. Voight Takes Vienna By Storm.

VIENNA, Austria - Voight Gets 23-Minute Ovation As 'Isolde'Runners in the Vienna Marathon passed the State Opera House on the Ringstrasse at midday Sunday. A few hours later, Deborah Voigt had amarathon of her own inside the house — singing her first staged performance as the heroine of Wagner's epic "Tristan und Isolde." Sunday night's performance marked a triumph for the 42-year-old soprano from Illinois, who boosted herself into the ranks of the finest Wagner interpreters with heft of voice and beauty of tone throughout the register. The audience at the Vienna State Opera kept applauding for 23 minutes. A new Isolde had been born, and people wanted to make sure she knew how they felt. Unfortunately, despite a gripping staging of Isolde's final solo, the "Liebestod," many of director Guenther Kraemer's other ideas misfired in a new production that was more distracting than insightful. Patrons also let the production team know their feelings, with about three-quarters of the sellout audience booing each time Kraemer walked on and off stage during curtain calls with Gisbert Jaekel, who designed the scenery, and Falk Bauer, who created the costumes. With Kraemer's coaching, Voigt had deepened her interpretation significantly since her concert performance of Act Two with the New York Philharmonic in February 2002, and her voice wasn't held back by a staging that had her sing on her back, on her stomach, on her knees and with most of her weight on her wrists. There were a few moments with tentative approaches, but she raised her level during the love duet and the "Liebestod." Thomas Moser's Tristan wasn't quite her equal. He tired during the final act, sounding strained and imprecise in his softer singing. Kraemer had this Tristan under Isolde's thumb after they drank the love potion, a boy toy roped in by a firetruck-red scarf.

The "Liebestod" (Lovedeath) began with Tristan slumped on a chair, back to the audience, and Voigt facing him while sitting in another chair, about five feet away. She slowly rose, as conductor Christian Thielemann swelled the music from the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, and approached his lifeless body, cradling his head against her bosom and then in her hands. Then, as she sang "Hoere ich nur diese Weise" ("Do I alone hear this melody") she moved past him, in front of his chair, her back to his, a moment filled with emotion. Finally, with the concluding bars, she moved to Tristan's side, put a hand over his face, as if to pull his eyes closed, and covered her own eyes with her other hand. And then, 4 hours, 55 minutes after the first notes, the lights went out. At other times, the stage was filled with far too many ideas with no obvious connection.Tristan's ship looked like the lobby of a Philippe Starck hotel, with white walls and an overhead fluorescent light. King Marke's castle looked a bit like a contemporary museum, with a video projected against a wall of waves crashing. Tristan and Isolde spun around the stage like children to demonstrate their ecstasy, but during the love duet stood side by side, staring ahead. Tristan's castle in Brittany was simpler, with just a collapsed beam, and was the most effective set. Kraemer said that, in his mind, the final act was just a dream of a mortally wounded Tristan, that Isolde was already dead. But that idea didn't play into the staging. Isolde, the Irish princess, was dressed as a Southern belle, in a black-and-green hoop-skirt dress with a train that made her look like Scarlet O'Hara in mourning. Brangaene, her attendant, was in black topped by a bonnet, looking like a Puritan. Kraemer said earlier this month that the production would seem radical in New York but was perhaps conservative for Vienna. Perhaps the audience was more reactionary than he expected. But the singing and orchestral playing (except for some shaky horns) were glowing. Petra Lang, with her outfit and wild-eyed looks, was a memorable Brangaene, and Peter Weber a sturdy Kurwenal. Robert Holl (Marke) and Markus Nieminen (Melot) sang well, but were more constricted in their acting. Seconds after walking off stage, Voigt was greeted by Metropolitan Opera assistant general manager Sarah Billinghurst and Seattle Opera general director Speight Jenkins. While she hasn't committed to singing Isolde outside Vienna, Voigt's portrayal is likely to be a staple of major houses during the decade ahead.