Tristan und Isolde Facts for Kids

Tristan und Isolde (which means Tristan and Isolde) is a famous opera by Richard Wagner. It has three parts, called acts. Wagner wrote both the music and the story for this opera himself. He got the idea from an old legend told by a German poet named Gottfried von Strassburg.

Wagner created the music for the opera between 1857 and 1859. It was first performed in Munich on 10 June 1865. Hans von Bülow was the conductor. Many musicians believe it's one of the best operas from the 19th century. Wagner's way of telling the story greatly influenced other composers. His new harmonies were also a big step forward in Romantic music. Not everyone liked it, though. A music critic named Eduard Hanslick even said he couldn't understand it.

The story of Tristan and Isolde is one of the great romances from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Many poets told this story, each adding their own twists. But the main ideas of chivalry (being a brave knight) and courtly love (a special kind of love between a knight and a lady) are always there.

The Opera's Exciting Story
The Famous Tristan Chord
Prelude and Liebestod: A Concert Piece
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The Opera's Exciting Story

Act I: A Dangerous Journey

Isolde, an Irish princess, and her maid, Brangaene, are on Tristan’s ship. They are sailing to King Marke’s lands in Cornwall. Isolde is going there to marry the King. The opera starts with a young sailor singing about a "wild Irish maid." Isolde thinks he is singing about her. She gets very angry and wishes the sea would sink the ship, killing everyone.

She is especially angry with Tristan, the knight who is taking her to the King. She asks her maid to bring Tristan to her. But Tristan won't come because he is busy steering the ship. His loyal helper, Kurwenal, speaks sharply to Brangaene. He reminds her that Isolde’s previous fiancé, Morold, was killed by Tristan. Tristan even sent Morold's head back to Ireland.

Brangaene returns to Isolde and tells her what happened. Isolde sadly explains how, after Morold died, a man named Tantris was brought to her. He was badly hurt, and she used her healing powers to make him better. However, she then found out his real name was Tristan. He was Ireland’s worst enemy, and he was the one who had killed Morold. Isolde tried to kill him with a sword. But when Tristan looked into her eyes, her heart filled with love, and she dropped the sword.

Tristan was allowed to go back to Cornwall. But now, it seemed he had told his uncle, King Marke, all about the beautiful Isolde. He had come to get her so his uncle could marry her. Brangaene tries to make Isolde see that Tristan is doing an honourable thing by making her Queen of Cornwall. But Isolde won't listen. She is furious. She wants Tristan to drink a special potion. Her mother had made it as a love potion for King Marke and Isolde. But Isolde wants it to be a death potion for Tristan.

Kurwenal now appears and says that Tristan has agreed to see Isolde. When Tristan arrives, Isolde tells him she knows he was Tantris. She says he owes her his life. Tristan agrees to drink the potion, which Brangaene has prepared. He knows it might kill him. As he drinks, Isolde quickly takes the rest of the potion from him and drinks it herself. They both think they are about to die, and they tell each other how much they love one another.

Kurwenal then comes and says that King Marke is arriving. Isolde asks Brangaene which potion she prepared. Brangaene tells her it was not the death poison, but a love-potion! Outside, the sailors cheer for the arrival of King Marke.

Tristan und Isolde by Ferdinand Leeke

Act II: A Secret Meeting

It is night, and a group of people are hunting. King Marke’s castle is empty except for Isolde and Brangaene. They stand by a lighted torch. Isolde keeps thinking that the hunting horns are far enough away. She wants to put out the flames, which is the signal for Tristan to join her. Brangaene warns Isolde that one of King Marke’s knights, Melot, has seen Tristan and Isolde looking at each other lovingly.

Isolde, however, believes that Melot is Tristan’s best friend. She is desperate to see Tristan, so she puts out the flames. Brangaene goes to the castle walls to keep a look-out as Tristan arrives.

Tristan and Isolde can now tell each other they are madly in love. They are so lost in their love that they don't notice the night is ending. Melot then leads King Marke to find the two lovers in each other’s arms. King Marke is incredibly sad. He feels betrayed by Tristan, and he also had come to love Isolde himself.

Tristan now asks Isolde if she will follow him again into the night, and she agrees. Melot and Tristan begin to fight. But then Tristan throws his sword to the side and is seriously wounded by Melot.

Act III: A Final Farewell

Kurwenal has brought Tristan home to his castle at Kareol in Brittany. A shepherd plays a sad tune on his pipes. He asks if Tristan is awake. Kurwenal says that only Isolde’s arrival can save Tristan. The shepherd says he will keep watch and play a happy tune if he sees any ship arrive. Tristan now wakes up and is sad that it is daylight. His sadness turns to joy when Kurwenal tells him that Isolde is coming. He asks if her ship is in sight, but only the shepherd’s sorrowful tune is heard.

Tristan sinks back again. He remembers that the shepherd’s tune is the same one he heard when his father and then his mother died. He collapses. The shepherd now pipes the arrival of Isolde’s ship. As Kurwenal rushes to meet her, Tristan, in his excitement, tears the bandages from his wounds. As Isolde arrives at his side, Tristan dies while speaking her name.

Isolde collapses beside him as the appearance of another ship is announced. Kurwenal sees Melot, Marke, and Brangaene arrive. He furiously attacks Melot because he had killed Tristan. In the fight, both Melot and Kurwenal are killed. Marke and Brangaene finally reach Tristan and Isolde. Marke is terribly sad. He explains that he has heard about the love-potion from Brangaene. He had come because he had decided that Tristan and Isolde should be together. Isolde seems to wake. But, in a last aria describing her vision of Tristan risen again (this part is called the “Liebestod”), she then falls lifeless next to his body. This unites the two lovers in death.

The Famous Tristan Chord

The very first musical chord in this opera is very famous. It has become known as the Tristan chord. Even though similar chords had been used before, the way Wagner used it here was quite new. It makes the harmony sound very unclear, or "hazy." The listener doesn't know what key the music is in for many bars. This creates a lot of musical tension. There are many other moments like this in the opera. This feeling of tension goes right through the whole opera. The story itself tells of a tension that can only find peace through death.

The famous opening notes of Tristan und Isolde

Prelude and Liebestod: A Concert Piece

The Prelude and Liebestod is a special concert version of the opera's overture (the music played at the beginning) and Isolde's Act 3 song. Wagner himself arranged it. It was first performed in 1862, even before the opera itself premiered in 1865. The Liebestod can be played just by the orchestra, or with a soprano singer performing Isolde's vision of Tristan coming back to life.