Wagner: Parsifal

Everyone so far has loved this Parsifal. I don't. I admire Kupfer, an outstanding director, but think this, unlike his superior Ring Cycle, is misjudged.He is an important part of the so called Regietheater movement in Germany: these directors make choices that deliberately fly in the face of any and all traditions. They are hated by many American viewers, but the best productions in this style can be revelatory -- cliches are banished, nothing is taken for granted or easily overlooked, and sometimes inconvenient meanings in the text are laid bare.But this is more often strange than powerful. Schavernoch's sets are just odd. Wagner's text constantly invokes nature. This need not be shown in a literal or obvious way, but Schavernoch and Kupfer chose a post modern, architectural, cold look, that feels wrong (to me). The Knights of the Grail apparently live in a bank vault; upstage walls shift for Parsifal to enter from an invisible forest having killed a swan (and yes, there's a fake swan) and for Amfortas to return from his bath.When Gurnemanz and Parsifal walk to the Temple, big walls shift behind them -- it looks like a cop out to me. Wagner wanted what we would call a 'cinematic' effect, the two walking through a landscape and entering the temple. Here, they just look odd walking in place, as the massive sets shift.Klingsor who is described as living in a magical desert, which he can transform into seductive places to trap unwary Grail Knights, also, in this production, seems to be inhabiting a bank vault. The 'magic garden' where beautiful flowers suddenly morph into gorgeous young ladies who dance to tempt Parsifal, is a TV room, where on innumerable small screens are naked breasts, legs and other alluring parts of the female anatomy (the singers are unseen). It's a comment it seems on video Porn, arousing and frustrating for the 'young lad'. It is meant to soften, or do I mean, harden, him up for the ur-seductress, Kundry, who comes floating in, lying back on the upside down canoe, which has done for Amfortas in the Temple, and for Klingsor in his chamber of evil.Little Waltraud Meier and huge Paul Elming have to position themselves awkwardly around this, and at one point, Elming trips. Meier, as Kundry, looks like the same person who was serving the knights slavishly in act one, after a shower and a trip to the hair dresser and the mall dress shop. Wouldn't she look a little familiar to Parsifal? He's supposed to be dumb (naive) at this point -- but blind? The scene is mighty dark, as indeed is the whole performance, so details get lost.In act three we are back in some sort of courtyard at the Grail compound in scene one. The whole point of this scene is that it is Good Friday, the day of Jesus' death and paradoxically the day the earth is born anew with the beauty of nature (those are not my beliefs but Wagner's ideas). However here, spring is sprung with a blueish lightshow behind some transparent windows upstage and, it seems to me that something -- a great deal -- is lost.Now, I am not saying 'how DAST' someone fail to do a comic book type Parsifal where everything is literally spelled out. I'd be happy to see an unusual treatment and understanding of Wagner's notions (I've seen the Bieto production live, which is, I suspect, too wild for the other reviewers here, but actually responds to everything Wagner asks for, inimitably for sure and in ways he couldn't have predicted but clearly and powerfully). This dark, looming presentation seems to me to miss quite a bit.Musically, this is nothing much, and again I will be hated for saying it. The orchestra is recorded in a distant acoustic, much of the magic of the opera -- Wagner's highly original scoring, surprising harmonies and the way those long melodies gather themselves together and soar -- is lost. Barenboim has no particular ideas about the work beyond securing a high level of competence and moving fluently.The Meier fans seem to over look her thinnish sound, lack of a really distinctive timbre and the fact that here she struggles for the highest notes. She's a good actress for an opera singer and a very good looking woman -- but the gloriously sung, haunted and haunting accounts of this complex role I saw from Ludwig and Crespin, and indeed from the amazing Martha Moedl when I was very young, belong to an entirely different and much higher class.Elming is only OK, Struckmann, as Amfortas, though supposedly in agony and bleeding from his wound, has no trouble vaulting off his canoe and kneeling down center so he can belt his first monologue. Tomlinson is in my opinion the best performer here, a solid voice (though he has to struggle with the high climaxes in act three), and wonderful sense of the text, also a really good actor.I expect fervent disagreement and these are obviously my tastes and maybe only mine (though I would defend more passionately being unimpressed with this as a musical realization).I prefer the insane Syberberg film (really haunting images though and a fine musical realization), and to some degree the Lenhoff production. That is not without its irritating oddities but I think it's more interesting consistently than the Kupfer, is at least as well conducted by Nagano (nothing great), has Meier in what I'd consider better form and has two excellent performances: Ventris as Parsifal, and Salminen as Gurnemanz.But Parsifal might be best encountered aurally so one can produce it in one's head. I love both Knappertsbusch performances, the exceptionally good sounding stereo from '62, with the one of a kind Hotter as Gurnemanz and a fabulous chorus; and the legendary but messier 1951 performance, riveting and moving despite various mishaps, with a great cast. But -- as some will no doubt comment -- too much of me!

Coming a bit late to review this DVD I have the unfair advantage of comparing it to the new Met Parsifal that came on to the market recently.Although up until now Kupfer's production has been certainly one of the top videos, the Met simply outshines it in many respects.Kupfer's Parsifal is a strong statement, tremendous visually with wonderful, monumental handling of architectural space, colour and especially the light. With shades of blue and white it's a never ending delight to watch and the entire post-apocalyptic concept is valid and well thought out.The singers...... Waltraud Meier is probably the best, she is a veteran of the role of Kundry and her praises are well testified by other reviewers.She perhaps could have looked and acted more seductive in the 2nd act: to me Parsifal had an easy job refusing her advances. John Tomlinson seemed too young, too aggressive and too dramatic for Gurnemanz. Elming's Parsifal is probably the best among the men,but no comparison to Jonas Kaufmann from the Met. Falk Struckmann I always had trouble with. His voice seems out of focus at times and quite frankly him performing acrobatics jumping up to his 'canoe' and standing up on it he looked more like some muscleman, a balding Hercules rather than the weak, exhausted and immensely suffering Amfortas. In both of these roles the Met production was simply radiant.Barenboim's conducting with slow tempi is a good achievement and he certainly had full control of the score, but Gatti who conducted the whole thing from memory had a great vision and was simply breathtaking. At the end we all stood in awe of the supreme effect he produced,much like Toscanini did many years ago.I was also unhappy with the balance of sound in this Berlin video. The engineering favored the singers and the orchestra seemed in the background whereas the Met video had superb sound.

I had seen other versions of "Parsifal" but I do not pretend to be an expert on this complex and amazing work. This video, however, just blew me away. I was riveted to the screen. The great scenes with the Transformation music and the Good Friday spell, as well as the "crowd" scenes, are very powerful. The sets are not all perfect but there is a real emotional jolt in many scenes as portrayed by Kupfer. The music under Barenboim is superb, very consistent, and really delivers the emotional goods. I cannot praise it enough. He does not rush: everything he does seems calculated to add to the power of the opera. John Tomlinson has sung Titurel before but he deserved a bigger part. He got it here: he has a great voice for Gurnemanz and acts well. He is less musical, however, than Hans Sotin, say. Waltraud Meier is exceptional as Kundry. The part seems to be made for her. She is in her prime and makes the character into something larger than life. I am not utterly wild about Elming as Parsifal but he is very, very good. I just was musing about how great Jonas Kaufmann would probably be, since he is supposed to sing the part at the Met next year. At least this production does not turn Parsifal into a woman. Struckmann also makes an excellent Amfortas. I was disappointed at first by the fact that the flower maidens were not presented live but as images on television screens or monitors. But I can see artistic reasons for doing this and ultimately I felt it worked after all. I wholeheartedly recommend this amazing production.

On the whole this is very good indeed. Very solid musically and the acting is fine (although I think Poul Elming in Act I tends to do Parsifal as Jethro Bodine, the great dignity he brings to the trauma of Act II and all of Act III manages to, shall we say, 'redeem' his performance). Waltraud Meier is very strong, as is Falk Struckmann's Amfortas. I agree with others who think John Tomlinson's Gurnemanz is too youthful, but his is still a more than decent performance.The sets, unfortunately, are bloody awful: dark, monolithic and cheap-looking.Leaving Syberberg's masterpiece  Parsifal - 2-DVD Set  to one side, this is a generally reliable first choice and is likely to remain so until we get an official release of the recent Metropolitan Opera production with Jonas Kaufmann. Now that is one for the ages. Parsifal - 2-DVD Set

This acclaimed production is indeed true to the name.

Where does it take place? In a submarine?I don't like it that "modern" staging.But the music-making is great.

Very good

Poul Elming som Parsifal.Transformations scenen i Templet Monsalvat med alle disse væge i spejl/Chrom det er imponerende.Jeg ønsker bare at Wagner var i live og kunne se at i alt fald 1 Ny opsætning er til at blive helt væk i .Så er denne en af de få nyopsætninger der ikke virker kedelig.Tannhäuser med Spas Wenkoff Bayreuth. Er også et must.Han har en rtigtig kraftig Heltetenor stemme ,og opsætningen er til at dø for.SE den også.