Parsifal at ENO

[Timothy]

I went to a rehearsal yesterday.

John Tomlinson as Gurnemanz, Stuart Skelton as Parsifal and conductor Mark Wigglesworth were absolutely fantastic. (The rehearsal was only Act 3, so I didn't hear Jane Dutton as Kundry, so cannot comment.)

But if you are a Wagner lover, or even just an opera lover, this should be a real corker. Now is the time to buy tickets, before the reviews come out.

[Gerard Clarke]

I might give it a go, thanks for the tip.

Last night's "Die Zauberflote" at Covent Garden had all the right ingredients - a good production, strong singers in all roles, Colin Davis (80 plus), the orchestra on fine form, but somehow it failed to ignite. I really enjoyed the production last time out in 2008, but was faintly disappointed this time, although there was nothing distinctly wrong with the show. I wonder if Davis' tempi were a tad too stately in parts.

I am going with some curiosity to see "Anna Nicole" in a week or two. My fiancee used to be married to Turnage so her take on it may be interesting.

[Jwscud]

Thanks Timothy - I'm taking my sister to see it for her birthday on the 12th of March. I'm not normally a big fan of ENO because I find (in my limited experience) that the translations don't quite flow as well as the originals. Glad to know I haven't been sold a pup.

If you have any early gen on the ROH's Fidelio I would be interested to hear it too.

[Gerard Clarke]

I always find Fidelio to be a dud on stage. It's got everything you could wish for - mature Beethoven score, liberal themes, triumph of human spirit etc etc, but whenever I see it I think that it lacks dramatic impact. Also the Deus ex machina ending is a cop out.

I am generally a big fan of ENO, and like hearing opera sung in English (except Britten, of course - that would be just weird). I hope they put their fab Lucia back on soon.

[Timothy]

German opera in English is more or less OK, as is Russian, but French or Italian I find virtually unlistenable to. The Lucrezia Borgia is terrible, mainly for that reason (again I was at rehearsal, not performance, but it was the General.)

I agree with Gerard about Fidelio stagings, except that the Holland Park Opera one last year (set in Gitmo) was quite superb.

[Jwscud]

Parsifal will be the first opera translated from German I'll have seen at ENO - all I've seen thus far have been Italian which probably explains my reticence.

I haven't seen Fidelio in the flesh yet so hopefully the ROH's upcoming production is an exception to the rule.

[Gerard Clarke]

Look (and listen): Italian opera sung in English, and very good too, with a sight gag at the end (although the effects guy jumped his cue in this performance). Ann Murray rocks:-


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkt64kycWS0

[Timothy]

JWS,

I hope that Parsifal is not going to be your introduction to Wagner as well?

Wagner's operas sort of fall into two camps.

There are the tuneful, relatively light ones with a strong dramatic story line (Flying Dutchman, Mastersingers, Tannhäuser and the four Ring operas) and those which are lyrical and beautiful but which lack forward momentum either dramatically or musically (principally Parsifal and Tristan & Isolde, but Lohengrin is also closer to this camp.)

That means that, in my opinion, Parsifal is a very difficult first Wagner opera, and could put you off for life. It is better to learn the "language" of Wagner in the "lighter" operas first.

[Jwscud]

No such worries Timothy - I'm a fully paid up fan of Wagner (I'm on the waiting list at Bayreuth). I agree that I wouldn't exactly choose Parsifal as an introduction; Lohengrin was the first Wagner Opera I saw in the flesh some years back and I was captivated, despite its reputation in some quarters as slow'n'grim. The only ENO Wagner I've seen previously though was the year they took Act 3 of Die Walkure to Glastonbury when I was slumming it in the mud.

[Gerard Clarke]

I am not sure about Parsifal. I took some getting into Tristan, until I saw the Glyndebourne production which is a knockout (like spending five hours inside someone else's psychotic breakdown, and I mean that in a good way). What Wagner needed was a good editor. Some purists deplore the Dutchman because it is too light and Weber-ish, but I love it. The Ring annoys and astonishes me in almost equal measure, but the final twenty minutes of Die Walküre are as good as anything in all opera. The Theo Adam performance of it with Karl Böhm from mid 60s Bayreuth almost makes me cry.

[Timothy]

My PsiL went last night and say that the orchestra and conductor are simply superb and one should go for that alone.

My personal view on Wagner is that the Ring is simply the greatest artistic achievement ever in the history of man, and that the rest don't come anywhere near, but are still superior to much of the Italian school.

[Jwscud]

Just got back from seeing Parsifal (plus dinner and a few drinks afterwards ) and it was utterly superb. The whole thing took a bit of time to get warmed up in Act I, but the rest was outstanding. We were practically floating out of the Coliseum at the end of the evening. I have seen John Tomlinson before in the Covent Garden Ring, and he was once again superb; Mark Wigglesworth got the largest cheer of the evening (and deservedly so) at the end of the night. I'm still not quite sure what kind of message they were trying to send with the railway tracks in Act III, but it didn't detract from the spectacle at all.

An absolute tour de force. Wagner's ability to do things with music that no-one else seems to have even thought of continues to astound me...

[Timothy]

railway tracks in Act III

That was The Holy Rail, derrr!

Actually, it is quite ironic. That was the first Parsifal I have seen without a Holy Grail, but since then I have seen a Lohengrin without a swan...go figure!

[Morley]

Just got back from seeing Parsifal (plus dinner and a few drinks afterwards ) and it was utterly superb. The whole thing took a bit of time to get warmed up in Act I, but the rest was outstanding. We were practically floating out of the Coliseum at the end of the evening. I have seen John Tomlinson before in the Covent Garden Ring, and he was once again superb; Mark Wigglesworth got the largest cheer of the evening (and deservedly so) at the end of the night. I'm still not quite sure what kind of message they were trying to send with the railway tracks in Act III, but it didn't detract from the spectacle at all.

An absolute tour de force. Wagner's ability to do things with music that no-one else seems to have even thought of continues to astound me...

You cant possibly have liked it. You need to very slowly get into Wagner first by watching "It Takes a Thief", then listening to some Jethro Tull, then watching Lord of the Rings. Then and only then can you listen to "lingalonga Wagner" by Max Bygraves before progressing to the real thing.
Honestly!

[Gerard Clarke]

Domingo is on the telly talking about Parsifal.