Progress Party (Norway) and Tristan und Isolde: Difference between pages

Revision as of 05:07, 27 August 2005

Revision as of 03:32, 21 November 2005

Line 1:

'''''Tristan und Isolde''''' is an [[opera]] in three acts by [[Richard Wagner]]. It was composed between [[1857]] and [[1859]], and received its first production in [[Munich]] on [[June 10]], [[1865]].

{{Politics of Norway}}

[[Image:Fremskrittspartiet_Norway.png|left|100px]]

The '''Progress Party''' is a [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] [[political party]] of [[Norway]]. It was founded on [[April 8]], [[1973]] at a famous address held by the rugged individualist and popular public speaker [[Anders Lange]]. The party adopted its current name in [[1977]]. In the 2001 parliamentary elections, it was the third largest party, with 14.6 percent of the votes and 26 seats. The current chairman is [[Carl I. Hagen]].

== Sources ==

The name of the party in [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] is ''Fremskrittspartiet'', and is abbreviated as ''Fr.p.''.

In the principal parts of this opera Wagner followed the romance of [[Gottfried von Strassburg]], which in turn is based on the story of [[Tristan]] and [[Isolde]] from [[King Arthur|Arthur]]ian legend.

== The founding ==

The founder, Anders Lange, intended the party to be more like a [[protest movement]] than a regular political [[party]]. The protest was directed against what was perceived to be an unacceptably high level of [[tax|taxes]], [[subsidy|subsidies]], and [[regulation]]s, against government [[interventionism]], and against the [[social democrat]] "[[nanny state]]" ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: ''formynderstaten'').

== Critical reception ==

It started under the name of '''Anders Lange's Party for strong reductions of taxes, charges and government intervention''' or the ''[[Anders Lange Party]]'', or ALP.

Many Wagnerian critics of the time claimed that the musical portion of the opera attained the highest summit of all music; on the other hand, an equally influential group of critics, centered around [[Eduard Hanslick]], condemned the work as being incomprehensible.

The objective of Anders Lange was to remind the ''[[Conservative Party of Norway]]'' of its commitment to rightist values of [[individual liberty]], [[civil society]], and private [[property rights]]. According to Lange, the "[[socialist]]" government had grown too big, and the conservative party didn't seem to be bent on rolling back "[[big government]]". On the contrary, the conservatives had increased taxes and had done nothing to make government smaller, in Langes view.

== Significance in the development of classical music ==

== Elective support - Storting ==

The very first chord in the piece is the so-called ''[[Tristan chord]]'', often taken to be of great significance in the move away from traditional [[tonality|tonal]] [[harmony]]:

{| align="right" class="toc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"

!Year

!%

!Seats

|-

|1973

|5.0

|4

|-

|1977

|1.9

|0

|-

|1981

|4.5

|4

|-

|1985

|3.7

|2

|-

|1989

|13.0

|22

|-

|1993

|6.3

|10

|-

|1997

|15.3

|25

|-

|2001

|14.6

|26

|}

[[Image:Wagner Tristan opening.png]]

The election in 1973 gave ''Anders Lange'' 5 percent, and four seats in the [[Storting|Norwegian parliament]].

'''Sound samples'''

In the parliamentary election in [[1989]] it got 13 percent and became the third largest party in Norway. It started to get some responsible position locally, but was still largly insignificant locally. In 1990 it got the chairman of Oslo, the capital city of Norway.

* [[Image:Audiobutton.png]] [[Media:Wagner Tristan opening.midi|Sound sample of these bars]] ([[MIDI]] file)

* [[Image:Audiobutton.png]] [[Media:Tristan und Isolde beginning clip.ogg|Recording of these bars]] ([[Ogg Vorbis]] file)

== Characters ==

Because of inner tension, the [[1993]] election halved the party (6.3 percent and 10 representatives). See [[Norwegian parliamentary election, 1993]]. And, in [[1994]], four representatives of the "libertarian wing" broke out, formed an independent group in parliament, and founded a party more ideologically consistent libertarian, the ''[[Fridemokratene]]''.

*Tristan ([[Tenor]])

The election in [[1997]] gave Frp 15.3 percent, and again it was the third largest party. See [[Norwegian parliamentary election, 1997]].

*Isolde ([[Soprano]])

*King Marke ([[Bass (musical term)|Bass]])

*Kurwenal ([[Baritone]])

*Brangaene ([[Mezzo-soprano]])

*Melot (Tenor)

*A shepherd (Tenor)

*Helmsman (Bass)

*Voice of a young sailor (Tenor)

*Male and Female Chorus

== Story ==

In the local election in [[1999]] the very popular local Progress Party leader [[Terje Søviknes]] was elected mayor i the [[Os, Hordaland|Os]] municipality in [[Hordaland]]. 20 municipalities got a deputy mayor from the Progress Party.

{{spoiler}}

Before the election [[2001]], Fr.p. enjoyed a high level of popular support in 1999-2000. But its support fell back to 1997 levels at the election, following both internal scandals (the then second vice-chairman of the party, Terje Søviknes, was involved in a sex-scandal) and the emergence of new inner tension. This time several so-called "populist" local representatives (Oslo) and parliamentarians resigned from the party. Some so-called "soloists" where suspended, as [[Vidar Kleppe]], who was suspended for two years, or expelled, as [[Jan Simonsen]]. The ''populists'' formed a party called [[Demokratene|The Democrats]], with Vidar Kleppe as chairman and Jan Simonsen as vice-chairman.

===Act I===

In the [[Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001]], Fr.p. lost its advance on polls, but maintained its position from the 1997 election, and got 14.6 percent and 26 members in the parliament.

Isolde and her handmaid, Brangaene are quartered aboard Tristan’s ship, being transported to King Marke’s lands in Cornwall where Isolde is to be married to the King. The opera opens with the voice of a young sailor singing of a “wild Irish maid”, which Isolde takes to be a mocking reference to herself. In a furious outburst she wishes the seas to rise up and sink the ship, killing all on board. Her scorn and rage are directed particularly at Tristan, the knight who is taking her to Marke. She sends Brangaene to command Tristan to appear before her, but Tristan refuses Brangaene's request, saying that his place is at the helm. His henchman, Kurwenal, answers more brusqely, saying that Isolde is in no position to command Tristan, and reminding Brangaene that Isolde’s previous husband, Morold was killed by Tristan.

Fr.p. had run a campaign promising to unseat the [[Arbeiderpartiet|Labour]] government of [[Jens Stoltenberg]], and kept that promise by supporting the new [[minority government]] of [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]], although the three parties in that coalition declined to govern together with Fr.p., since their policies were considered to be unacceptably populistic in a number of points.

Brangaene returns to Isolde to relate these events, and Isolde sadly tells her of how, following the death of Morold, a stranger called Tantris had been brought to her, found mortally wounded in a boat, and that she had used her healing powers to restore him to health. However she discovered that Tantris was actually Tristan, the murderer of her husband, and had tried to kill him with his sword as he lay helpless before her. However Tristan had looked not at the sword that would kill him, but into her eyes, and this had pierced her heart. Tristan had been allowed to leave, but had returned with the intention of marrying Isolde to his uncle, King Marke. Isolde, in her fury at Tristan’s betrayal, insists that he drink atonement to her, and from her medicine-chest produces the vial which will make this drink. Brangaene is shocked to see that it is a lethal poison.

In [[2002]] it regained its position on polls. For a short while it even became the largest party, with a strong lead in [http://www.acnielsen.no/downloads/poldes02.pdf December 2002]. It has since fallen behind the ''[[Norwegian Labour Party]]''.

At this point Kurwenal appears in the women’s quarters saying that Tristan has agreed after all to see Isolde. When he arrives, Isolde tells him that she now knows that he was Tantris, and that he owes her his life. Tristan agrees to drink the potion, now prepared by Brangaene, even though he knows it may kill him. As he drinks, Isolde tears the remainder of the potion from him and drinks it herself. At this moment, each believing that their life is about to end, they declare their love for each other. Their rapture is interrupted by Kurwenal, who announces the imminent arrival on board of King Marke. Isolde asks Brangaene which potion she prepared and is told that it was no poison, but a love-potion. Outside, the sailors hail the arrival of King Marke.

The local election in [[2003]] was a breakthrough for the party as a political player in Norwegian municipalities. In 30 municipalities the party gained more votes than any other party, but contrary to common practice it only succeeded in seizing the position as mayor in 13 of the 30 municipalities. The Progress Party has participated in local elections since [[1975]], but until 2003 the party has only gained the mayoral position twice. The Progress Party vote in Os—the only minicipality that elected a Progress Party mayor in 1999—increased from 36.6% in 1999 to 45.7% in 2003. The party gained ground across the country, but more so in municipalities where the party had the mayor or the deputy mayor{{ref|NSR}}.

===Act II===

Until now (Jan. 2004) it has contended for the position as the second largest party with the ''[[Norwegian Conservative Party]]'' and the ''[[Socialist Left Party]]''. Currently (Jan. 2005), it has been stable at just below 20 percent on the polls, since January 2004.

A nocturnal hunting party leaves King Marke’s castle empty except for Isolde and Brangaene, who stand beside a burning brazier. Isolde several times believes that the hunting horns are far enough away to allow her to extinguish the flames, giving the signal for Tristan to join her. Brangaene warns Isolde that one of King Marke’s knights, Melot, has seen the looks exchanged between Tristan and Isolde, and suspects their passion. Isolde, however, believes Melot to be Tristan’s most loyal friend, and in a frenzy of desire extinguishes the flames. Brangaene retires to the ramparts to keep watch as Tristan arrives.

== Party leaders ==

The lovers, alone at last and freed from the constraints of courtly life, declare their passion for each other. Tristan decries the realm of daylight which is false, unreal, and keeps them apart. It is only in night that they can truly be together, and only in the long night of death that they can be eternally united. Brangaene is heard several times throughout their long tryst calling a warning that the night is ending, but the lovers ignore her. Finally the day breaks in on the lovers, Melot leads Marke and his men to find Tristan and Isolde in each others arms. Marke is heart-broken, not only because of his betrayal by his adopted son, Tristan, but because he, too, has come to love Isolde.

*[[Anders Lange]] [1973 - 1974]

*[[Eivind Eckbo]] [1974 - 1975] (interim)

*[[Arve Lønnum]] [1975 - 1978]

*[[Carl I. Hagen]] [1978 - ] became the chairman of Frp in [[1978]], and has been practically uncontested. There has never been a really strong opposing candidate. Hagen has been determined to build up a strong party organization{{ref|NSR2}}, and to move his party into the mainstream of Norwegian politics. Under his leadership Frp has played an increasingly important role in the [[Politics of Norway]]. In [[2003]] he declared that he was going to withdraw as chairman in [[2006]]. His expected successor is the current vice-chairman, the economist [[Siv Jensen]]{{ref|jensenNewLeader}}.

Tristan now asks Isolde if she will follow him again into the realm of night, and she agrees. Melot and Tristan fight, but at the crucial moment, Tristan throws his sword aside and is mortally wounded by Melot.

== Political Platform ==

===Act III===

The platform of FRP for [[2001]]–[[2005]] starts off with these general principles:

Kurwenal has brought Tristan home to his castle at Kareol in Brittany. A shepherd pipes a mournful tune and asks if Tristan is awake. Kurwenal says that only Isolde’s arrival can save Tristan. The shepherd says he will keep watch and pipe a happy tune to mark the arrival of any ship. Tristan now wakes and mourns that he is again in the false realm of daylight, once more driven by unceasing unquenchable yearning, until Kurwenal tells him that Isolde is coming. Tristan is overjoyed and asks if her ship is in sight, but only the shepherd’s sorrowful tune is heard.

:The Progress Party is a [[libertarian]] party. It builds on the [[Constitution of Norway]], Norwegian and western traditions and cultural heritage with a basis in the [[Christian]] outlook on life.

:The main objective of the Progress Party is strong reduction in taxes, charges and government intervention.

:The fundament of the Progress Party's view of society is the belief in and respect for the uniqueness of the individual human being, and the right of the individuals to self-determination over their own life and economy.

Tristan relapses and recalls that the shepherd’s tune is the one he heard when his father and then his mother died. Once again he rails against his desires and against the fateful love-potion until he collapses in delirium. At this point the shepherd is heard piping the arrival of Isolde’s ship, and as Kurwenal rushes to meet her, Tristan in his excitement tears the bandages from his wounds. As Isolde arrives at his side, Tristan dies with her name on his lips.

Isolde collapses beside him as the appearance of another ship is announced. Kurwenal sees Melot, Marke and Brangaene arrive and furiously attacks Melot to avenge Tristan. In the fight both Melot and Kurwenal are killed. Marke and Brangaene finally reach Isolde and Marke, grieving over the body of his “truest friend” explains that he has learnt of the love-potion from Brangaene and had come, not to part the lovers, but to unite them. Isolde appears to wake but, in a final aria describing her vision of Tristan risen again (the “Liebestod”), dies of grief.

(The rest of this section must be rewritten: It suffers from the tyranny of models. The author of this section obviously tries to draw a picture of the party based on a minarchist model. The real difference between FrP and the traditional policies is not that FrP wants to remove publicly funding of welfare good, but that it want to remove the government monopoly on the production of publicly funded welfare goods.)

== Influence of Schopenhauer on ''Tristan und Isolde'' ==

The economic policy is based on the idea that the market is its best ruler. A market with as few hindrances as possible should channel the [[capital]] where it is needed, without intervention from the state with laws or taxes.

Wagner was introduced to the work of the philosopher [[Arthur Schopenhauer]] by his friend [[Georg Herwegh]] in late 1854. The composer was immediately struck by the philosophical ideas to be found in “Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung” ([[The World as Will and Idea]]), and it is clear that the composer and the philosopher had a very similar world-view. By the end of that year, he had sketched out all three acts of an opera on the theme of Tristan and Isolde, although it was not until 1857 that he began working full-time on the opera, putting aside the composition of [[Der Ring des Nibelungen]] to do so.

The Progress Party is also known for supporting a more restrictive view of Norwegian [[immigration]] policies, which may be rooted in the mistrust in the state's capability of solving social problems efficiently.

Wagner said in a letter to [[Liszt]] (December 1854): “Never in my life having enjoyed the true happiness of love I shall erect a memorial to this loveliest of all dreams in which, from the first to the last, love shall, for once, find utter repletion. I have devised in my mind a ''Tristan und Isolde'', the simplest, yet most full-blooded musical conception imaginable, and with the ‘black flag’ that waves at the end I shall cover myself over – to die.”

By 1857 Wagner was living as the guest of the wealthy silk merchant [[Otto von Wesendonck]], and during the composition of ''Tristan und Isolde'' was involved with Wesendonck’s wife, Mathilde, although it remains uncertain as to whether or not this relationship was platonic.

Nevertheless, the twin influences of Schopenhauer and Mathilde inspired Wagner during the composition of ''Tristan und Isolde''. Schopenhauer’s influence is felt most directly in the second and third acts. The first act is relatively straightforward, consisting mostly of an exposition of how Tristan and Isolde come to be in their current state. However the second act, where the lovers meet, and the third act, in which Tristan longs for release from the passions that torment him, have often proved puzzling to opera-goers unfamiliar with Schopenhauer’s work.

The duties of the state according to the Progress Party are:

Wagner uses the metaphor of day and night in the second act to designate the realms inhabited by Tristan and Isolde. The world of Day is one where the lovers must deny their love and pretend they do not care for each other, where they are bound by the dictates of King Marke’s court: it is a realm of falsehood and unreality. Tristan declares in Act 2 that under the dictates of the realm of Day he was forced to remove Isolde from Ireland and to marry her to his Uncle Marke. The realm of Night, in contrast, is the representation of intrinsic reality, where the lovers can be together, where their desires reach fulfillment: it is the realm of oneness, truth and reality. Wagner here equates the realm of Day with Schopenhauer’s concept of [[Phenomenon]], and the realm of Night with Schopenhauer’s concept of [[Noumenon]]. This is not explicitly stated in the libretto, however Tristan’s comments on Day and Night in Act 2 and 3 make it very clear that this is Wagner’s intention.

* [[Defense]]

* [[Foreign affairs]]

* [[Justice]]

* [[Education]]

* [[Communication]] [[infrastructure]]

In Schopenhauer’s philosophy, the world as we experience it is a representation of an unknowable reality. Our representation of the world (which is false) is [[Phenomenon]], while the unknowable reality is [[Noumenon]]: these concepts are developments of ideas originally posited by [[Kant]]. Importantly for Tristan and Isolde, Schopenhauer’s concept of Noumenon is one where all things are indivisible and one: and it is this very idea of one-ness that Tristan yearns for in Acts 2 and 3 of Tristan und Isolde. Tristan is also aware that this realm of Night, or Noumenon can only be shared by the lovers in its fullest sense when they die. The realm of Night therefore also becomes the realm of death: the only world in which Tristan and Isolde can be united forever, and it is this realm that Tristan speaks of at the end of Act two (“Dem Land das Tristan meint, der Sonne Lich nicht Scheint”).

== See also ==

*[[Politics of Norway]]

*[[Carl I. Hagen]]

*[[Neoliberalism]]

*[[Right-wing politics]]

*[[Libertarian perspectives on immigration]]

Tristan rages against the daylight in Act 3 and frequently cries out for release from his desires (Sehnen): it is also part of Schopenhauer’s philosophy that man is driven by continued, unachievable desires, and that the gulf between our desires and the possibility of achieving them leads to misery. The only way for man to achieve inner peace is to renounce his desires: a theme that Wagner explores fully in his last opera, [[Parsifal]].

== Recordings of Tristan und Isolde ==

== References ==

*{{note|NSR}}[http://www.samfunnsforskning.no/files/file21238_p_2004_04.pdf The Norwegian Progress Party: Building Bridges across Old Cleavages] by [[Tor Bjørklund]] and [[Jo Saglie]], Norwegian [[Institute for Social Reseach]], [[PDF]] file.

*{{note|NSR2}}[http://www.essex.ac.uk/ECPR/events/jointsessions/paperarchive/grenoble/ws22/heidar.pdf Predestined parties? organizational change in Norwegian political parties], by [[Knut Heidar]] and Jo Saglie. The Causes and Consequences of Organisational Innovation in European Political Parties at the [[European Consortium for Political Research|ECPR]] Joint Sessions of Workshops, Grenoble, [[April 11]], [[2001]].

*{{note|jensenNewLeader}}[http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article641103.ece Jensen likely to take over Progress Party], from [[Aftenposten]], [[October 6]] [[2003]].

*{{note|politiskAnalyse}}[http://politiskanalyse.no/intro.asp?show=18&arg=31 Descriptive article on the Progress Party] by Aslak Bonde, political [[journalist]] of [[Aftenposten]].

*{{note|hagenSpeech}}[http://www.bearstrong.net/warblog/000744.html Carl I. Hagen's controversial speech] at [[Levende Ord]]; the text is hosted on an openly anti-muslim, right-wing site.

*{{note|muslimTerror}}[http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/politikk/valg2005/article1103222.ece Hagen: all terrorists are muslim], from [[Aftenposten]], [[August 26]], 2005.

Tristan und Isolde has always been acknowledged as one of the greatest operas, and has a long recorded history. In the years before the [[Second World War]], [[Kirsten Flagstad]] and [[Lauritz Melchior]] were considered to be the prime interpreters of the lead roles, and mono recordings exist of a number of live performances with this pair directed by conductors such as [[Thomas Beecham]], [[Fritz Reiner]], [[Artur Bodanzky]] and [[Erich Leinsdorf]] . Flagstad recorded the part for EMI near the end of her career under [[Wilhelm Furtwangler]], producing a set which is considered a classic recording. Following the war the performances at [[Bayreuth Festival|Bayreuth]] with [[Martha Modl]] and [[Ramon Vinay]] under [[Herbert von Karajan]] (1952) were highly regarded, and these performances are now available as a live recording. In the 1960s the soprano [[Birgit Nilsson]] was considered the major Isolde interpreter, and she was often partnered by the Tristan of [[Wolfgang Windgassen]]. Their performances at Bayreuth in 1966 were captured by Deutsche Grammophon, although some collectors prefer the pairing of Nilsson with the Canadian tenor [[Jon Vickers]], available in “unofficial” recordings from performances in Vienna or Orange. Karajan did not record the opera commercially until 1971, and his set is still controversial for the use of a lighter soprano voice as Isolde, paired with an extremely intense Vickers, and for the unusual balance between orchestra and singers favoured at that time by Karajan. By the 1980s recorded sets by conductors such as [[Carlos Kleiber]], [[Reginald Goodall]] and [[Leonard Bernstein]] were mostly considered to be important for the interpretation of the conductor, rather than that of the lead performers. The set by Kleiber is notable since Isolde is sung by [[Margaret Price]], who never sang the role on stage.

== External links ==

*[http://www.frp.no/ ''Fremskrittspartiet''] (Norwegian) Official site of the Norwegian Progress Party.

*[http://www.fpu.no/ ''Fremskrittspartiet ungdom''] (Norwegian) Official site of the Norwegian Progress Party, Youth.

There are many recordings of the opera, some of the most popular being listed below:

{{Norwegian political parties}}

* [[Karl Elmendorff]] conducting the Bayreuther Festspiele Orchester with Gunnar Graarud as Tristan and Nanny Larsen-Todsen as Isolde, 1928 (Columbia Records, mono, rereleased in 2003 on CD by Naxos)

[[Category:Political parties in Norway]]

[[Category:Euronationalist parties]]

* Thomas Beecham/Fritz Reiner conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior, 1936 – 1937 (EMI, mono)

[[da:Fremskrittspartiet]]

[[de:Fremskrittspartiet (Norwegen)]]

* Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra with Kirsten Flagstad and Ludwig Suthaus, 1953 (EMI, mono)

[[no:Fremskrittspartiet]]

[[nn:Framstegspartiet]]

* Karl Bohm conducting the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra with Birgit Nilsson and Wolfgang Windgassen, 1966 (Deutsche Grammophon, stereo)

[[sv:Fremskrittspartiet]]

* Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with Helga Dernesch and Jon Vickers, 1972 (EMI, stereo)

* Carlos Kleiber conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle with Margaret Price and Rene Kollo, 1982 (Deutsche Grammophon, stereo)

=== Video ===

* ''Tristan und Isolde'' [[Conductor]]: Karl Bohm. ORTF orchestra. Soloists: Brigitte Nilsson, Jon Vickers; 1973, at the Theatre Antique, Orange, France. Despite some technical problems and limited commercial distribution, it is still the finest video recording for its powerful performance (as of 2005-11-21).

* ''Tristan und Isolde'' [[Conductor]]: [[Daniel Barenboim]], Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Staged and Directed by: [[Jean-Pierre Ponnelle]], Soloists: René Kollo, Johanna Meier, Matti Salminen, Hermann Becht, Hanna Schwarz, Unitel 1983, [[Laserdisc]] Philips 070-509-1

==External links==

*[http://www.tip.net.au/~jgbrown/Tristan/discography/ Discography of ''Tristan und Isolde]

*[http://www.scarp.plus.com/TristanundIsolde.html ''Tristan und Isolde'' libretto] from the Wagner Libretto Page

* [http://www.richard-wagner-postkarten.de/postkarten/tri.php Richard Wagner - Tristan und Isolde]. A gallery of historic postcards with motives from Richard Wagner's operas.

[[Category:Operas by Richard Wagner]]

[[Category:German-language operas]]

[[Category:Romantic tragedy]]

[[Category:Arthurian legend]]

[[Category:Operas]]

[[da:Tristan og Isolde]]

[[de:Tristan und Isolde]]

[[es:Tristán e Isolda]]

[[fr:Tristan et Isolde]]

[[ja:トリスタンとイゾルデ (楽劇)]]

[[pl:Tristan i Izolda (opera)]]