The Love Potion By Frank Martin
Synopsis
Part 1
Twelve voices tell the legend of Tristan and Iseult. Tristan, nephew of King Mark, sails to Ireland to win Iseult the Fair for his uncle. On the voyage home, they accidentally drink a love potion meant for the royal marriage and are bound by a passion neither can resist.
Part 2
Iseult weds Mark, but the lovers are discovered, condemned, and flee into the forest of Morois. When Mark finds them asleep and spares them, they decide to part: Iseult the Fair returns to the king and Tristan is banished.
Part 3
In Brittany he marries Iseult of the White Hands yet cannot forget the other Iseult. Wounded by a poisoned spear in battle, he sends for Iseult the Fair, the only one who can heal him. His wife lies that the approaching sail is black, and he dies. Iseult the Fair arrives and dies beside him.
The Work
Frank Martin’s Le vin herbé (the love potion) is a secular oratorio for twelve solo voices, originally for seven strings, and piano. It retells the legend of Tristan and Iseult in the version by the French medievalist Joseph Bédier. Martin composed it between 1938 and 1941, and the complete work was first heard in Zurich in 1942 and staged in 1948 at the Salzburg Festival.
Martin had long been drawn to the Tristan story but chose not to compete with Wagner’s overwhelming orchestral treatment. He turned instead to Bédier’s medieval sourced novel from 1900 and wrote a spare, concentrated score.
There is no fixed cast. The twelve singers narrate the story and step forward to become its characters, then return to the chorus. In three parts, they tell of the potion, the forest, and the deaths of the lovers.
Performances
- Fri. November 20 2026, 7:30 PM
- Sat. November 21 2026, 2:30 PM
- Sat. November 21 2026, 7:30 PM
- Sun. November 22 2026, 2:30 PM
Bob Hope Theatre
Cast
- Fri. November 20 2026, 7:30 PM
- Sat. November 21 2026, 7:30 PM
Soprano Solo (Soprano 1)
Emily Pope
Isolde The Fair (Soprano 2)
Nina Guerrero
Brangien (Soprano 3)
Gabrielle Faulkner
Isolde of The White Hands (Alto 4)
Emma Less
Iseut's Mother (Alto 5)
Susanna Holland
Alto Solo (Alto 6)
Chyna Aniese
Tenor Solo (Tenor 1)
Nathaniel Askey
Tristan (Tenor 2)
Bryan Lawrenz
Kaherdin (Tenor 3)
Joshua T. Hauser
King Mark (Bass 4)
Lwazi Dlamini
Baritone Solo (Bass 5)
Elijah Gallman
Duke Hoël, Baritone Solo (Bass 6)
Jacob Mayo
Off-Stage Ensemble
Rose Maillart, Ava Moak, Kailyn Welch, Stephanie Lopez, Karabo Tau, Clarissa Rodriguez, Raphael I. Gonzalvo, Rafael Pelaez
Piano
Jason Smith
Aurore Brindel
- Sat. November 21 2026, 2:30 PM
- Sun. November 22 2026, 2:30 PM
Soprano Solo (Soprano 1)
Rose Maillart
Isolde The Fair (Soprano 2)
Ava Moak
Brangien (Soprano 3)
Kailyn Welch
Isolde of The White Hands (Alto 4)
Stephanie Lopez
Iseut's Mother (Alto 5)
Karabo Tau
Alto Solo (Alto 6)
Clarissa Rodriguez
Tenor Solo (Tenor 1)
Nathaniel Askey
Tristan (Tenor 2)
Raphael I. Gonzalvo
Kaherdin (Tenor 3)
Joshua T. Hauser
King Mark (Bass 4)
Lwazi Dlamini
Baritone Solo (Bass 5)
Rafael Pelaez
Duke Hoël, Baritone Solo (Bass 6)
Jacob Mayo
Off-Stage Ensemble
Emily Pope, Nina Guerrero, Gabrielle Faulkner, Emma Less, Susanna Holland, Chyna Aniese, Bryan Lawrenz, Elijah Gallman
Piano
Jason Smith
Aurore Brindel
Production Team
Conductor, Stage Director, Production/Video Designer
Andreas Mitisek
Assistant Conductor
John Dubois
Lighting Designer
Christopher Ham
MOT TA's
Nina Guerrero
Raphael I. Gonzalvo
Costume Support
Alexandra Cook
Projections Operator
Alexandra Cook
Light Board Operator
Natalie Riechers
Supertitles Preparation
Raphael I. Gonzalvo
Supertitles Operator
Emily Hansen
Special Thanks
Dawn Askew, Cooper Simon, Kennedy Smith
Meadows School of Arts Leadership
Samuel S. Holland, Ph.D. Algur H. Meadows Dean and Professor of Music
Thomas Keck, Director, Division of Music and Professor of Music
Special Thanks
To our Voice Faculty for their Support
Barbara Hill Moore
Virginia Dupuy
Clifton Forbis
Leon P. Turner
Camille King
Jason Smith
Brian Bentley
Margaret Winchell