# Parsifal at Chicago Lyric Opera



## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Parsifal - Paul Groves 
Kundry - Daveda Karanas
Amfortas - Thomas Hampson
Gurnemanz -Kwangchul Youn

What worked especially well for me:
The Act I transition from lakeside to grail hall. Done simply with the trees slow disappearing and the columns of the grail hail appearing while Gurnemanz and Parsifal simply walked backwards in the tiniest of baby steps. Simple but effective, and allowed Wagner's magnificent transition music to take center stage. The sets in general utilized the full height of the Lyric's stage in a way I'd never seen before.

The swan, potrayed by a dancer/acrobat on a wire with a single feathered wing. A lovely image which made an appearance during the overture, Act I (where Parsifal shoots it), and, seemingly resurrected, at the very end.

The flower maiden scene: colorful and pleasantly unweird, aside from the Norma Desmondesque turbans.

What didn't work for me (mildly annoying, but no dealbreakers):
Making Titurel the visual focal point of the Act I grail scene, seated daintily in the palm of a huge golden hand wearing a Star-Treky metallic gown. His effeminate appearance and occasional gesturing did not match the utterings of the booming bass singing his lines offstage. Not did he look at death's door, saved only by occasional viewings of the grail.

Insinuating a circle of kids around Parsifal as he becomes the Grail King. Sure, kids onstage are always good for the "awww" factor, but handing them the grail like a show-and-tell curiousity was a bit much.

Neutral:
The overture stage business: a bit of scene setting with Gurney and some apprecentice knights, and Parsifal taking menacing aim at a swan in flight. Superfluous, but better than using it to highjack the libretto from the outset as the Met did.

The appearance of the flower maidens, looking the worse for wear, in the Good Friday scene. Normally such blatant disregard for the libretto would irk me to no end, but somehow having them silently redeemed along with Kundry during Parsifal's lines about the flowers of the fields worked. Or maybe my expectionations of libretto fidelity have just been sufficiently lowered after the Met's version.

As far as the cast:
Kwangchul Youn's Gurnemanz was the standout. Uniform, dignifiied, powerful. Amazing.
Thomas Hampson's Amfortas was a pleasant surprise. I was braced for a bit of overacting and oversinging, but as soon as I saw his gaunt figure carried onstage I knew it would be alright. He exhibited just the right amount of guilt and physical pain without "Hamping" it up. Actually, quite a remarkable performance and one of the best I've seen from him.
I'd seen Paul Groves' as Pylades in Gluck's _Iphengie en Tauride_ both in Chicago and New York. Those performances made me a huge fan, but that Mozart-y realm seemed to suit him best. When I saw him cast as Parsifal I was intrigued and figured he'd made some kind of major vocal breakthrough. This was still the high and lightish tenor I remembered though. To be sure, the singing was beautiful for the most part but seemed to present a challenge at some points. Still, I don't feel he was miscast. With his lighter voice and boyish looks, he certainly made a good case for the innocent fool stumbling into the realm of the knights. 
Daveda Karanas did a commendable job portraying the complex character of Kundry.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

Who conducted the performance, Was it Sir Andrew?


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Yes, Sir Andrew. Interestingly, he snuck onto the podium and just started the overture, omitting the usual conductor entry formalities.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

Cavaradossi said:


> Yes, Sir Andrew. Interestingly, he snuck onto the podium and just started the overture, omitting the usual conductor entry formalities.


And how did he do? I imagine the work would suit him very well.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

He did great, as did the orchestra, as they always do. No earthshaking revelations, but a fine performance.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

Cavaradossi said:


> He did great, as did the orchestra, as they always do. No earthshaking revelations, but a fine performance.


thanks for the review. By the way, was it broadcast?


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Opening night last Saturday was broadcast on WFMT (available online). If you are keen to hear it, WFMT generally rebroadcasts the Lyric Opera performances on Saturday afternoons in the summer (after the Met Opera live broadcasts are done for the season.)


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## starlightexp (Sep 3, 2013)

I can completely agree with this. Here are some of my thoughts to add to it: 
The opening business with the children was a bit off putting and really just not needed. The is one of the few overture is just so stunning that nothing needs to go on. 

The staging I thought was very well handled. The Swans were very elegant, loved them. The transition in act one was just wonderfully realized with the trees going up and the lighted columns slowly descending were just impressive enough but didn't take you out of the music ...and then there was the gold hand... what?? why??... I just don't get.

Thomas Hampson chewed the scenery just a little but nothing not bad. (not like that really lame bandage they had him wrapped in.) 

Act two was outstanding. I agree with the assessment that the hight of the stage was used to it's full advantage throughout the production and never was that more so done then in the opening of the act. The red neon was a stunning reveal as the curtain lifted. Several people around me uttered small wows as it happened. This act was colorful, playful and made the garden seam intoxicating as it should be. The Lion King turbans on the maidens made me double take but soon I gave over to them. Kundry's costume in that scene I would have redone but I get where they were going with it. Also the death of Klingsor was VERY well done, almost chilling. 

The third act was a bit of a let down in terms of visual power. Not bad, just not what I would have done. The end tableau with the resurrection of the dead swan was very effective and well done, but that gold hand was still just weird. Act 3 is also just (dare I say it) a bit too long. I think if that act could be taken down 30min the piece would be stronger, so I never knock a director for loosing the steam here because there is not much steam left in the piece. 

Musically the evening was outstanding. Paul Groves did well, if not outstanding. He was good till act 3 for me. The transformation after his ordeal didn't really show in his performance but his lighter voice did lend an air of innocence to the role. I feel some singers take on this role as one would Siegfried but, to me, Parsifal has a longer journey to go and not as an aggressive one. The music in Parsifal describes a path of self-abnegation, loneliness, misunderstanding and persecution which leads to higher spiritual attainment and Paul's not rushing into it full on, but letting the character grow was refreshing.


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