What Did Reviews Say About Tristan und Isolde at Met Opera?

Yuval Sharon's new production, starring Lise Davidsen and Michael Spyres, opened March 9.

March 10, 2026 By Natan Zamansky

Lise Davidsen in *Tristan und Isolde* at the Metropolitan Opera (Karen Almond / Met Opera)

The Metropolitan Opera's new production of Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde opened March 9—and the reviews are in!

The opera, based on a 12-century romance, tells the story of Tristan, a knight tasked with escorting the abducted Irish princess Isolde to marry his uncle Marke, King of Cornwall. Isolde attempts to poison Tristan and herself on the voyage, but her maid Brangane swaps out the poison for love potion, with ultimately tragic consequences. Director Yuval Sharon makes his much-anticipated Met debut helming the production, which stars soprano Lise Davidsen as Isolde, with tenor Michael Spyres as Tristan.

Read the reviews here.

BachTrack (No'a L. bat Miri)

The Times (Kevin Ng)

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Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.

Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova, baritone Tomasz Konieczny, and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green round out the principal cast as Brangane, Kurwenal, and King Marke respectively. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Wagner's groundbreaking score, which Leonard Bernstein called "the central work of all music history."

Director Yuval Sharon made history in 2018 when he became the first American to direct at the Wagner festival in Bayreuth, and has already been engaged by the Metropolitan Opera to direct a new production of Wagner's four-opera Ring cycle, to be rolled out beginning in the 2027-28 season. Tristan und Isolde features sets by Es Devlin, costumes by Clint Ramos, lighting by John Torres, projections by Jason H. Thompson, video design by Ruth Hogben, and choreography by Annie-B Parson.

Tristan und Isolde runs through April 4. For more information, visit MetOpera.org.