The Secret Life of Scenic Elements

The 1998 Seattle production of Tristan und Isolde, by Francesca Zambello, had an astonishingly beautiful Act II, in which Jane Eaglen and Ben Heppner were set afloat in the night sky during the love duet. Here's a screen shot showing the set after King Marke and his men show up; Michelle De Young, who sang Brangäne, is on top of the glass hut:

This production was done once in Seattle and once in Chicago, also with Heppner and Eaglen, in maybe 2001. It was supposed to be staged by San Francisco Opera in 2006, but the company wound up using David Hockney's production instead. (My bet: the Seattle production would have cost too much to fit to the War Memorial Opera House stage, or maybe it was not in good enough condition. Seattle Opera used a different production for their most recent staging as well.)

Here's a screen shot I took from the promotional video for the upcoming Lyric Opera of Chicago Ring; the scenic element in the middle must be Valkyrie Rock and the scene must be Siegfried Act III:

(Yes, I am debating a trip to Chicago in the spring....)