President of India and Tristan und Isolde: Difference between pages

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'''''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 India}}

== Sources ==

[[image:Standard of the President of India.gif|thumb|right|300px|Standard of the President of India]]

'''The President of India''' is the ceremonial head of state and first citizen of [[India]] and the [[supreme commander]] of the Indian [[Military of India|armed forces]].

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 current President of the Republic of India is [[Abdul Kalam|Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam]].

== Critical reception ==

==History==

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.

India became formally independent of the [[United Kingdom]] on [[August]] 15, [[1947]]. However, the country remained a [[Commonwealth Realm]] and continued to observe the [[British monarch]] as [[Head of State]], with the title downgraded from [[Emperor of India|'''Emperor''' of India]] to '''King''' of India in 1948 after independence. The monarch was still represented by a [[Governor-General|Governor-General of India]] appointed by the King, but now on the advice of the Prime Minister of India.

== Significance in the development of classical music ==

This was a temporary measure, however, as the continued existence of a British King in the Indian political system was not considered appropriate for a truly sovereign nation. The first Governor-General of India, [[Lord Mountbatten]] was also the last British Viceroy before Independence. He soon handed power over to [[Rajagopalachari]], who became the first ethnically Indian Governor-General. In the meantime, the Constituent Assembly led by [[B. R. Ambedkar]] worked on drafting independent India's Constitution. The drafting was finished on 26 November, 1949 and the Constitution was formally adopted on January 26, 1950—a date of symbolic importance as it was on January 26, 1930 that the Congress Party had first issued the call for complete independence from Britain. Until that date, a call from complete independence had never been issued, with the independence struggle simply demanding more ''autonomy'' from the British. When the constitution took effect, the Governor-General and King became became replaced by an elected [[president]] with [[Rajendra Prasad]] serving as the first President of India.

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]]:

The move ended India's status as a Commonwealth Realm but remained in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. [[Nehru]] argued that a nation should be allowed to stay in the Commonwealth simply by observing the British monarch as "Head of the Commonwealth" but not necessarily Head of State. This was a ground-breaking decision that would allow for many other republics to remain in the Commonwealth in future years.

[[Image:Wagner Tristan opening.png]]

==Constitutional Role==

'''Sound samples'''

Article 52 of the [[Constitution]] of [[India]] provides for a [[President]] of India. The Constitution requires that the President be a citizen of India, but it is not a condition that he be born a citizen. Article 53 states that executive power of the Union shall vest in the President, who shall exercise directly or through officers under him, this power in accordance with the Constitution. This provision is similar to the provision under Article II of the [[US Constitution]].

* [[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 ==

The powers of the office of President were originally intended to be similar to those of the [[British Crown]], in that he would 'reign and not rule'. A remarkable feature under the Indian constitution is Article 53 whereby [[parliament]] has the authority to confer powers and functions exercised by the president to any other authority.

*Tristan ([[Tenor]])

An Indian President may be elected for any number of [[term]]s.

*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 ==

Although the Constitution explicitly says that the president is the executive head of the state, the real [[executive branch|executive power]] is exercised by the council of ministers and [[Prime Minister of India|Prime minister]] at the helm of it. This is to be inferred from Article 74 of the Indian Constitution, indicating a "... council of ministers to aid and advise the President who shall, in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice".

{{spoiler}}

The President of India's main function is the formal summoning and swearing-in of the Prime Minister.

===Act I===

The President is elected whenever the office becomes vacant by an [[electoral college]] consisting of:

* Members of both Houses of Parliament

* Members of the [[Unicameral]] Legislature or the Lower House of the [[Bicameral]] Legislature of each [[States and territories of India|State]]

Each elector casts a different number of votes. The general principle is that the total votes cast by Members of Parliament equals the total votes cast by Legislators. Also, legislators from larger states cast more votes than those from smaller states. Finally, the number of legislators in a state matters; if a state has a few legislators, then each legislator has relatively more votes; if a state has many legislators, then each legislator has fewer votes.

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.

The actual calculation for votes cast by a particular state is calculated by dividing the state's population by 1000, which is divided again by the number of legislators from the State voting in the electoral college. This number is the number of votes per legislator in a given state. For votes cast by those in Parliament, the total number of votes cast by all state legislators is divided by the number of members of both Houses of Parliament. This is the number of votes per member of either house of Parliament.

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.

The constitution also provides the mechanism for the impeachment of the President (Article 61) for the violation of the Constitution. The place of the president is peculiar in the Indian governmental setup. His functions are to be exercised in accordance with the aid and advice of the council of ministers but powers are to be exercised by the President however the rider in favour of parliament vides Article 53 of the Constitution.

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 president of India swears before entering the office of the president that he shall protect, preserve and defend the Constitution (Article 60) which provides for an executive head of state who is nominal or ceremonial. The Indian Constitution must be seen as a purveyor of a system of governance where a mixture of [[Presidentialism|presidential]] and [[Parliamentary System|parliamentary]] systems could be located.

===Act II===

==List of [[Governor-General of India|Governors-General of India]] after independence==

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.

{| border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2"

|- bgcolor=#cccccc

! No.

! Name

! Took Office

! Left Office

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

| 01

| [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Earl Mountbatten of Burma]]

| [[August 15|Aug 15]], [[1947]]

| [[June 21|Jun 21]], [[1948]]

|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC

| 02

| [[Rajaji|Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari]]

| [[June 21|Jun 21]], [[1948]]

| [[January 26|Jan 26]], [[1950]]

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

|}

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.

==List of Presidents of India==

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.

{| border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2"

|- bgcolor=#cccccc

! No.

! Name

! Took Office

! Left Office

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

| 01

| Dr. [[Rajendra Prasad]]

| [[January 26|Jan 26]], [[1950]]

| [[May 13|May 13]], [[1962]]

|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC

| 02

| Dr. [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]]

| [[May 13|May 13]], [[1962]]

| [[May 13|May 13]], [[1967]]

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

| 03

| [[Dr Zakir Hussain]]

| [[May 13|May 13]], [[1967]]

| [[May 3|May 03]], [[1969]]

|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC

| *

| [[Varahagiri Venkata Giri]]

| [[May 3|May 03]], [[1969]]

| [[July 20|Jul 20]], [[1969]]

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

| *

| [[Muhammad Hidayat Ullah]]

| [[July 20|Jul 20]], [[1969]]

| [[August 24|Aug 24]], [[1969]]

|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC

| 04

| [[Varahagiri Venkata Giri]]

| [[August 24|Aug 24]], [[1969]]

| [[August 24|Aug 24]], [[1974]]

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

| 05

| [[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed]]

| [[August 24|Aug 24]], [[1974]]

| [[February 11|Feb 11]], [[1977]]

|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC

| *

| [[Basappa Danappa Jatti]]

| [[February 11|Feb 11]], [[1977]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1977]]

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

| 06

| [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1977]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1982]]

|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC

| 07

| [[Giani Zail Singh]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1982]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1987]]

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

| 08

| [[Ramaswamy Venkataraman]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1987]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1992]]

|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC

| 09

| Dr. [[Shankar Dayal Sharma]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1992]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1997]]

|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8

| 10

| [[Kocheril Ramaan Narayanan]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[1997]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[2002]]

|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC

| 11

| Dr. [[Abdul Kalam|A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]]

| [[July 25|Jul 25]], [[2002]]

| ''In Office''

|}

''* Acting''

==External=Act linksIII===

* [http://presidentofindia.nic.in/ The President of India (Official site)]

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.

[[Category:Government of India]]

[[Category:Lists of office-holders|India, President of]]

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.

[[Category:Presidents of India| ]]

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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”).

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 ==

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.

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

* [[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)

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

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

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

* 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]]

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[[Category:German-language operas]]

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[[Category:Romantic tragedy]]

[[Category:Arthurian legend]]

[[Category:Operas]]

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[[es:Tristán e Isolda]]

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