Editing Tristan und Isolde (section)

===Premiere===
''Tristan und Isolde'' proved to be a difficult opera to stage, and Wagner considered various possibilities for the venue. In 1857 he was invited by a representative of [[Pedro II of Brazil|Pedro II]], [[Empire of Brazil|Emperor of Brazil]], to stage his operas in [[Rio de Janeiro]] (in Italian, the language of the Imperial Opera); he told Liszt he was considering settling in Rio, and that that city would be given the honour of premiering ''Tristan''. Wagner sent the Emperor bound copies of his earlier operas in expression of his interest, but nothing more came of the plan.<ref name=bassett /> He then proposed that the premiere take place in [[Strasbourg]], following interest in the project shown by the Grand Duchess of Baden. Again, the project failed to eventuate.<ref name=bassett>Peter Bassett, "Richard Wagner's ''Tristan und Isolde''". Retrieved 25 September 2016 {{full citation needed|date=November 2017}}</ref> His thoughts then turned to Paris, the centre of the operatic world in the middle of the 19th century. However, after a disastrous staging of [[Tannhäuser (opera)|''Tannhäuser'']] at the [[Paris Opéra]], Wagner offered the work to the [[Karlsruhe]] opera in 1861.

[[File:Hans von buelow.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Photo of [[Hans von Bülow]], who conducted the premiere]]
When Wagner visited the [[Vienna Court Opera]] to rehearse possible singers for this production, the management at Vienna suggested staging the opera there. Originally, the tenor [[Alois Ander]] was employed to sing the part of Tristan, but later proved incapable of learning the role. Parallel attempts to stage the opera in Dresden, Weimar and Prague failed. Despite over 70 rehearsals between 1862 and 1864, ''Tristan und Isolde'' was unable to be staged in Vienna, winning the opera a reputation as unperformable.

It was only after [[Ludwig II of Bavaria|King Ludwig II of Bavaria]] became a sponsor of Wagner (he granted the composer a generous stipend and supported Wagner's artistic endeavours in other ways) that enough resources could be found to mount the premiere of ''Tristan und Isolde''. [[Hans von Bülow]] was chosen to conduct the production at the Nationaltheater in Munich, despite the fact that Wagner was having an affair with his wife, [[Cosima Wagner|Cosima von Bülow]]. Even then, the planned [[premiere]] on 15 May 1865 had to be postponed until the Isolde, [[Malvina Garrigues|Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld]], had recovered from [[Hoarse voice|hoarseness]]. The work finally premiered on 10 June 1865, with Malvina's husband [[Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld|Ludwig]] partnering her as Tristan.

On 21 July 1865, having sung the role only four times, Ludwig died suddenly – prompting speculation that the exertion involved in singing the part of Tristan had killed him. (The stress of performing ''Tristan'' has also claimed the lives of conductors [[Felix Mottl]] in 1911 and [[Joseph Keilberth]] in 1968. Both men died after collapsing while conducting the second act of the opera.) Malvina sank into a deep depression over her husband's death, and never sang again, although she lived for another 38 years.

For some years thereafter, the only performers of the roles were another husband–wife team, [[Heinrich Vogl]] and [[Therese Vogl]].<ref>Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., Vol. IX, p. 37</ref>