Conversation with 3 singers from the London Opera Company on performing Tristan und Isolde:
A Wagner Society Manchester talk on Monday 5 October 2026, at 7pm via Zoom. Neal Cooper, Cara McHardy and Harriet Williams in conversation with to John Payne
The London Opera Company is giving a concert performance of Tristan und Isolde on Sunday 18 October 2026 at 2.30pm in Smith Square Hall, London. Singers performing the roles of Tristan, Isolde and Brangaene at that event join John Payne at a Wagner Society Manchester Zoom event on Monday 5 October for a conversation about the characters they’re singing, their views on singing Wagner, and their careers to date. The singers are:
Neal Cooper (Tristan) – who has sung the role of Tristan for Longborough Festival Opera, Melbourne Opera, Opera Vlaanderen Antwerp and Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern; Tannhäuser for Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken and Longborough Festival Opera. He’s also sung Tristan Act 3 at the Proms when Simon O’Neill fell ill. He has sung Melot at the Royal Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, Teatro Real, Madrid, Paris Opera (Bastille) and Müpa Budapest. He’s sung Eril for Opera Holland Psrk, and has covered for the title roles in Tannhäuser and Tristan and Isolde for the Metropolitan Opera. He has sung Siegfried with the London Opera Company
Cara McHardy (Isolde) has sung Brunnhilde with the London Opera Company. Shecovered Eva in ENO’s The Mastersinger Of Nuremberg, and has sung the Mad Woman in the UK premiere of Weinberg’s The Passenger, Austrian Woman in The Death Of Klinghoffer and Helmwige, Ortlinde and Gerhilde for Opera North’s Ring Cycle
Harriet Williams (Brangaene) has sung principal roles with Welsh National Opera, English Touring Opera, Opera Holland Park, Grange Park Opera, Longborough Festival Opera, the Early Opera Company and the Chelsea Opera Group.
As usual, members of the Society will be sent the zoom link nearer the time.
Non-members wishing to attend should contact susi.wagnersocietymanchester@gmail.com for details of how to attend the meeting.
All are warmly invited to come along to what should be a fascinating talk