Music by Frank Martin
based on Joseph Bédier’s 1900 novel Roman de Tristan et Iseut
Sung in a new English translation
by Hugh Macdonald commissioned by BLO

BLO presents the Boston premiere of a fully staged version of The Love Potion, composer Frank Martin’s retelling of the legendary story of Tristan and Isolt. It will be sung in a new English translation by musicologist Hugh Macdonald that was commissioned by BLO.

This Season’s Opera Annex production will be presented as an immersive, intimate experience at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline November 19, 20, 22 and 23; the performance on the 23rd is, in fact, already sold out. BLO’s performance dates were scheduled to honor the 40th anniversary of Swiss composer Frank Martin’s death, which occurred on November 21, 1974 in Naarden, Holland.

In this gripping work, we hear the medieval tale of the fateful love potion that binds the knight Tristan to Isolt, the princess torn between duty and love. Praised for her luminous voice, Boston favorite soprano Chelsea Basler returns in the unforgettable role in a new production directed by David Schweizer (The Emperor of Atlantis).

Audience members will have a rare opportunity to see this beautiful and unusual work in a powerful staging. The opera is increasingly popular in Europe but is rarely performed in the U.S., once notably in Boston in 1990 by the John Oliver Chorale.

The performance is 1 hour and 45 minutes long and will be performed without intermission.

Learn more about the legend, the location, and the artists (PDF 157KB)