Peter Sellars and Bill Viola's Wagner Revival at Opéra Bastille

Peter Sellars's staging of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, featuring video by Bill Viola, returns to the Opéra Bastille in Paris for five performances in January and February 2023, 18 years after its 2005 premiere. The production pairs Sellars's minimalist direction—dark rectangular platforms and black costumes—with Viola's projected video works that explore themes of love, death, and spiritual transcendence without directly illustrating the libretto. Viola's imagery includes slow-motion figures, biblical tableaux, and the four elements (earth, fire, water, air), reflecting his near-drowning as a child and his interest in Buddhist traditions. The revival is conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, recently appointed music director of the Opéra national de Paris, and features a notable cast. While the collaboration was acclaimed in 2005, critic Élisabeth Couturier notes that Viola's now-familiar techniques and occasional dated effects may sometimes distract from Wagner's eternal score.