Tristan and Isolde, Barbican ★★★★★ “The simplest and most full-blooded conception” is how Wagner described his opera Tristan and Isolde , which received a tremendous concert performance by a stellar cast and the LSO under Antonio Pappano's baton at the Barbican. On the surface, that's true. To describe the plot needs barely a paragraph. The hero, Tristan, is sent by the King of Cornwall to fetch the bride Isolde from Ireland.