Tristan und Isolde
Longborough Festival Opera
2015, 2017, 2026
"One of the most exalting operatic experiences I have had"
★★★★★
The Observer
★★★★★
The Arts Desk
★★★★★
Classical Source
★★★★★
Music OMH
★★★★
The Times
★★★★★
Plays to See
Photos (2015) by Matthew Williams-Ellis
Praise for the 2026 revival
It was the whole conception that really gripped you; the feeling that words, images and Negus’s soul-shaking conducting were all working upon each other to create the total and overwhelming drama that Wagner envisioned. LFO is famous for its Ring cycles but there’s a reason why serious Wagnerites go starry-eyed when you mention their Tristan
The Spectator, 11 July 2026
Stunningly intense take on one of opera’s most compelling love tragedies…The second-act love scene is powerfully intimate, and Tristan’s unhinging over the course of 75 minutes in the third is a visceral tour de force
The Stage, 22 June 2026 ★★★★★
Jakobi's intimate staging finds fresh depths in Wagner's score
Music OMH, 23 June 2026 ★★★★★
Thanks to director Carmen Jakobi, the ‘hate-to-love-to-obsession’ story remains at the forefront of the drama throughout. The staging is simple, with bright, strong colours in both the costumes and the backdrops…What a pleasure it was to be part of an audience that rightly greeted the final chords of the Liebestod with a few moments of reflective silence before the applause began
Plays to See, 21 June 2026 ★★★★★
The staging is by Carmen Jakobi…stripping the work down to its bare essentials…A fine achievement and one to satisfy even the most demanding Wagner pilgrims who had journeyed from far and wide to the Cotswolds
Bachtrack, 3 July 2026 ★★★★
With the dream husband and wife team of conductor Anthony Negus and director, Carmen Jakobi, this long-awaited revival of Longborough’s 2017 production of Tristan und Isolde more than lives up to expectations…this is one of the finest Jakobi/Negus collaborations since 2017
Seen and Heard International, 22 June 2026
Wagner’s ‘Tristan’ finds perfection at Longborough
The Article, July 2026
This revival of Longborough's 2017 production of Wagner's great Romantic opera is well deserved, as it is inspired and succeeds in illuminating the work, as well as being profoundly moving and thrilling. Directed by Carmen Jakobi and conducted by devout Wagnerian Anthony Negus, it involves us in the drama more intensely than any other production I have ever attended
Oxford Prospect Arts, July 2026
a stupendous Tristan und Isolde, its intelligence and inspiration owed once more to the miraculous team of director Carmen Jakobi and conductor, Wagner supremo Anthony Negus
Classical Music Daily, 7 July 2026
these were real people not archetypes and throughout the opera Jakobi was clearly able to enliven the stage with details…this was a Tristan und Isolde where you felt every gesture was thought through and meant something
Planet Hugill, 11 July 2026
Rather than overwhelming the audience with theatrical gimmickry, Jakobi allows the music and relationships to breathe, trusting that Wagner's own psychological drama remains more than enough… In a converted barn nestled among the Cotswold hills, Wagner's impossible dream of love beyond death felt utterly believable
Opera Spy, 27 July 2026
Photos (2026) by Matthew Williams-Ellis
Praise for 2015 and 2017
The most compelling Tristan und Isolde I can remember...Jakobi’s grasp of the trajectory and destination of the lovers’ passion – of all passion according to Wagner – was absolute
Peter Reed, Opera Magazine
Jakobi’s intelligent, detailed direction stands up to unsparing scrutiny, miraculously sustained over the time-spans involved ★★★★★
Peter Reed, Classical Source
Carmen Jakobi’s production of Tristan und Isolde is the strongest argument imaginable for small-theatre Wagner...Kimie Nakano’s set designs, simple but atmospheric, and exquisitely lit by Ben Ormerod, are a joy ★★★★★ Stephen Walsh, The Arts Desk
This was a tremendous, all-consuming Tristan und Isolde, carrying us on waves of emotion from the Prelude’s sighs and swells to the Liebestod’s blissful oblivion. ★★★★ Rebecca Franks, The Times
Carmen Jakobi’s 2015 production of Tristan und Isolde is back, streamlined and overwhelming…It’s hard to imagine this opera making a more shattering impact ★★★★★ Fiona Maddocks, The Observer
I have not had many opera experiences in my lifetime that I could describe with a clear conscience as formative… My most recent such illumination, after a long break, was the Longborough Tristan und Isolde, a production that shook me to such a degree that for the next year, I returned to it again and again...scenes from the production should go down in operatic history.
Dorota Kozińska, www.atorod.pl
"I have honestly never been to a better production of a work by Wagner. The images that you gave us will always remain with me, and I for one am extremely grateful for this." Audience member
"It was utterly wonderful! I have seen a number of Tristans in the past…However, it was my first time last night that I actually was in tears in the last act. I was so moved by the combination of music making and acting." Audience member
"You portrayed the essence of the outer and inner dramas quite perfectly. The impact was utterly stunning and the insights really original, yet I never felt that you stood between us and the work...The psychological impact was very powerful, and you enhanced our understanding of that great but complex work." Audience member