One of the best conductors of his generation with his first complete opera recording on Deutsche Grammophon. Exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist Christian Thielemann can rightly be seen as one of the last orchestral conductors to uphold the tradition of such "grand old men" as Furtwängler, Celibidache, and Karajan. It is the late Romantic repertoire that has long been his principal and most congenial field of activity: Wagner, Strauss, and Pfitzner are his gods, and there are very few conductors who are capable of such deeply felt readings of these works, that reveal a profound understanding of their subtexts and that affects his listeners so deeply. After productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan tutte and La Traviata 15 years ago Christian Thielemann returned to the Vienna State Opera with the highly acclaimed première of Richard Wagner’s masterpiece Tristan and Isolde in May 2003, the first prémiere of this opera in Vienna since 1967!, and there are plans for productions of Parsifal and Rosenkavalier in the years to come. This live recording of Tristan und Isolde is mainly based on the performances of May 25 last year in the Vienna State Opera and marks a new step in the successful collaboration of the German conductor with both the prestigious Vienna Opera House and the Vienna Philharmonic, which is also the orchestra of the State Opera and one the best orchestras in the world.