Act I

Scene 1

The opera begins on a ship sailing from Ireland to Cornwall.  Isolde, who is being escorted by Tristan to become the bride of his uncle, King Marke, is awakened by the rude lyrics of a sailor’s ditty.  Isolde calls for her companion, Brangäne, and wishes aloud that the ship would sink rather than reach its final destination.  Brangäne tries to soothe and console her, but it is no use.

Scene 2

Isolde becomes enraged when she notices Tristan standing on deck.  Even though he is escorting her to his uncle, he avoids her and shows no regard for her feelings.  Isolde sends Brangäne to summon him to her, but he ignores her pleas, and sends only a courtly reply.  Before Brangäne takes her leave of Tristan, his companion, Kurwenal, informs her that Tristan is above answering to Isolde’s beck and call.  This comment embarrasses Tristan and he has Kurwenal sent away.  Before Kurwenal takes his leave, he sings a ditty about Isolde’s former fiancé, Morold, who was mortally wounded by Tristan some time back.  The surrounding sailors join in at the refrain, ending the scene.  

Scene 3

After Brangäne returns from Tristan’s company, Isolde laments that it was she who nursed Tristan back to health after he inflicted the fatal blow upon Morold.  Upon realizing that Tristan was her fiancé’s murderer, Isolde planned to take his life.  It was then that he looked into her eyes and she took pity on him.  She nursed him back to health, using the healing magic learned from her mother, and now he has repaid her by offering her to King Marke like a chattel.  It is at this moment that Isolde curses Tristan and wishes aloud for death to both of them.  Brangäne tries to convince her otherwise, but Isolde sends her off to prepare a draught of death.  The scene ends with the sailors crying from the deck that land is in sight.

Scene 4

Kurwenal enters Isolde’s chambers and bids the women to prepare to go ashore.  Isolde informs him that she will not leave her chambers until Tristan offers an apology for his discourteous behavior.  Kurwenal takes his leave and promises to take the message to Tristan.  Isolde then commands Brangäne to pour the deadly draught into a goblet.  

Scene 5

Tristan finally arrives in Isolde’s chamber and she informs him that she wants atonement for Morold’s death.  Tristan, thinking she means to kill him, offers her his sword, but she refuses to take it.  She claims that she could not kill him and proposes that it would also violate King Marke’s hospitality.  Instead she offers that they make peace and drink to friendship.  Now understanding that she means to kill them both, he tries to drink the whole goblet before she reaches up to grab it from him to drink the remaining potion left in the glass.  Instead of finding death, Tristan and Isolde look into each other’s eyes and find love .  They embrace passionately, becoming oblivious to everything happening around them.  The sailors yell from the deck that the ship has arrived in Cornwall and Brangäne admits to having mixed a love potion instead of a potion of death.

 

Act II

Scene 1

Now on land, Brangäne warns Isolde of imminent danger.  Brangäne is concerned that Melot, one of Tristan’s trusted friends, is spying on him.  King Marke and his men are supposedly away on a hunting trip and Isolde is absorbed in the thought of seeing Tristan.  Oblivious to the threat of danger, Isolde begs her companion to put out the torch so that Tristan may come to Isolde.  Brangäne bemoans having switched the potions, realizing that only doom can come from it, but Isolde explains to her that the goddess of love rules over all.  Isolde then puts out the torch and sends Brangäne to keep watch.

Scene 2

Isolde greets Tristan with great passion.  They both bless the darkness, feeling safe from everyday conventions.  Darkness shields reality and the love potion has released them from this fallacy.  The darkness allows them to feel safe in each other’s arms, ignoring Brangäne’s warning that night is waning and dangers will soon be unveiled.

Scene 3

The scene begins with Brangäne’s high-pitched shrieks.  Kurwenal enters and warns that King Marke and his knights have returned from their hunting expedition and that Melot plans to condemn the lovers.  King Marke wants to know why such a trustworthy knight would bring such dishonor on his king.  It was even Tristan who advised Marke to choose Isolde as his bride.  Tristan cannot answer but turns to Isolde and asks if she will follow him into the darkness of death.  As she accepts his request, Melot unsheathes his sword and charges forward.  Tristan fails to defend himself and the scene ends as Tristan sinks into Kurwenal’s arms.

 

Act III

Scene 1

The third act takes place in Tristan’s castle in Brittany.  Mortally wounded, Tristan is tended by Kurwenal.  A shepherd keeping watch asks how Tristan is doing.  Kurwenal informs him that only Isolde and her knowledge of the healing arts can save him.  The shepherd, who has been playing laments on his pipe, agrees to change his tune if he sees a ship on the horizon.  Tristan awakens from unconsciousness and claims to have visited the darkness.  He remains alive only to wait for Isolde so that she may accompany him there.  After thanking Kurwenal for tending to him, he then imagines aloud that he sees her ship approaching on the horizon.  Kurwenal listens for the shepherd’s pipes, but still hears only a tune of lament.  Tristan drifts in and out of sleep, only awakening to imaginings of Isolde’s arrival.  Finally Kurwenal hears a cheerful tune from the pipes and sees a ship appear.  Seeing Isolde waving from the ship, he orders Tristan to stay in bed while he goes to fetch her.  Against Kurwenal’s wishes, Tristan rises from his bed, bleeding from his wounds.

Scene 2

Tristan blesses the day for bringing Isolde to him.  Moving from his bed, he tears off his bandages so that Isolde may heal his bleeding wounds forever.  As Isolde enters the room, Tristan weakens and falls dying in her arms.  She begs that he live even just an hour more with her on Earth so that they may enjoy their blessed reunion, but he is dead. She then sinks unconsciously onto his body.

Scene 3

The shepherd calls to Kurwenal that he has sighted a second ship.  Assuming that it is carrying Marke and Melot, Kurwenal and the shepherd hastily attempt to barricade the castle gate bracing themselves from their vengeance.  Even though Brangäne enters with the men, Kurwenal refuses to listen to their plea and attacks them.  He kills Melot and is mortally wounded in an attempt to charge King Marke.  Marke laments to find everyone around him dead, and Brangäne moves to Isolde’s side trying to awaken her by explaining that she, Brangäne, confessed her knowledge of the magic potion and that Marke had arrived to pardon Tristan and unite the two lovers.  Isolde is oblivious to the whole scene and imagines aloud that she hears Tristan beckoning for her to join him and waiting for her from beyond. She then sinks, as if transfigured, upon his body in death.