Wagner – Parsifal
Royal Opera House; Antonio Pappano
Opus Arte OA 1158 D
The sacred forest of the Grail a sterile hospital ward... Parsifal’s bow a broken bicycle wheel… The symbol of the Holy Grail a bleeding innocent young boy... The Knights look like a bunch of football hooligans. These and more are some of the disturbing images of this latest incarnation of Parsifal from the Royal Opera House, conceived by British director Stephen Langridge and Britain’s sole contribution to Wagner’s 200th anniversary. A controversial new production aimed to shock and wake up a supposedly smug, complacent audience to realities of today’s world? Perhaps, but nevertheless Parsifal is still a Bühnenweihfestspiel (“A Festival Play for the Consecration of the Stage” – Wagner) that must transcend the mundane into an exalted domain, as certainly achieved recently by the Met. Whether achieved here visually I am not so certain although the hypermodern cubistic set (by designer Alison Chitty) does morph ingeniously into an impressive, luminous cathedral in the Transformation Scene of Act I.
But if you are worried at all, please “Have no fear,” I heard Gerald Finley say, because this is indeed a glorious Parsifal thanks mainly to Antonio Pappano’s insightful, deeply felt and thoroughly understood musical direction. The faultless, mostly English-speaking cast has Simon O’Neill, a strong heldentenor from New Zealand (Parsifal), Sir Willard White, the formidable bass-baritone from Jamaica (Klingsor) and legendary English basso Robert Lloyd as Titurel. From Germany comes René Pape, today’s best Gurnemanz and the great singer-actress Angela Denoke whose radiant portrayal of Kundry is somewhat marred by her pronounced vibrato.
The biggest surprise and a great sensation, however, is Canadian baritone Gerald Finley creating a lasting impression as a newcomer to the incredibly difficult central role of the suffering sinner, Amfortas.
