Wagner recordings from Japan are not that unusual. The big European opera companies are often touring in Japan. However this Tristan video recording from the Nihonbashi Opera in Tokyo is unique in many regards. It features an all Japanese cast, uses two different Tristan interpreters and the opera is performed by a small chamber orchestra. The 20 or so musicians are placed on the stage forming a semicircle. The singers in this semi-staged production sing and act in the middle of this semicircle. The playing of the orchestra is at times quiet weak especially towards the end of the opera, the singers are not top-notch but not too bad either. For Tristan lovers who are looking for something off the beaten track.