A quick first glimpse of Christof Loy's new Tristan und Isolde for the Royal Opera House shows that anyone expecting billowing sails and crumbling towers is going to be disappointed.
His design inspiration like his leading lady Nina Stemme appears to hail from Sweden. The Baltic greys of the monochrome sets, the COSy costumes, the painted-on panelling suggest not just a man who can work to a budget but the cool nordic austerity of early Bergman.
And not a ship in sight.
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