Zubin Mehta directs Tristan und Isolde, by Richard Wagner, at the Palau de les Arts

•The arts center presents this opera in concert accompanied by a minimalist, in-house production.

Valencia (22-6-12).- Zubin Mehta will conduct the concert version of Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner tomorrow, June 23, at 6:00 p.m. in the Auditori of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía.

Following worldwide acclaim for his version of Der Ring des Nibelungen with the OCV, the Indian maestro tackles his fifth Wagner in Valencia, the sixth for the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, which performed Parsifal in 2008 under the direction of Lorin Maazel.

The Palau de les Arts brings together leading performers of the Wagnerian repertoire for the third operatic title of the V Festival del Mediterrani, which is presented accompanied by a minimalist staging.

Jay Hunter Morris sings Tristan in his Spanish debut. Following his Siegfried in Robert Lepage's new Metropolitan Opera production of Wagner's Ring Cycle, the Texas tenor is emerging as one of the rising stars of the Wagnerian repertoire.

Alongside her, Jennifer Wilson returns to the Palau de les Arts audience to sing Isolde. Acclaimed by national and international critics for her Brünnhilde in the co-production of the Valencian arts center and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino of Der Ring des Nibelungen with Zubin Mehta, the American soprano successfully debuted the role of Leonore in Beethoven's Fidelio, also under the direction of the Bombay maestro, at the past Festival del Mediterrani.

Ekaterina Gubanova (Brangäne) returns to the Valencian arts center, where she has performed in Gounod's Faust and Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette with Valery Gergiev. Considered one of the most promising mezzo-sopranos, she has presented this work by Richard Wagner with Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Kent Nagano.

Liang Li, currently singing Ferrando in Verdi's Il trovatore, is King Marke, a role in which he has enjoyed success in Berlin, Dresden, and Stuttgart. Baritone Eike Wilm Schulte, a leading figure in the German repertoire, makes his debut with Kurwenal at the Palau de les Arts.

The cast of Tristan und Isolde is completed with the voices of Austrian tenor Karl-Michael Ebner (Melot), Valencian baritone Josep Miquel Ramon (Stepper) and singers from the Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo: Jesús Álvarez (Shepherd) and Mario Cerdá (Young Sailor).

Minimalist staging

The Palau de les Arts presents this opera in concert with a minimalist, in-house production. Allex Aguilera is responsible for the stage movement and dramaturgy of this production. Manuel Zuriaga is the set designer, and Antonio Castro is responsible for the lighting.

The Auditori of the arts center hosts a second performance of Tristan and Isolde next Thursday, June 28, also at 6:00 p.m.