# The Met's "New" Parsifal



## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

In the monthly program book, it says this production actually debuted in Lyon in 2012. Did anybody here see it? Any thoughts?


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Well.... the Met posted a handful of photos from the flower maiden scene on facebook. Suffice it to say it didn't get a "like" from me. Not sure how it works in context, but out of context the images left me mildly queasy. Perhaps the idea is to make Parsifal's resistance to the flower maidens' "charms" more plausible.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Just keep your eyes on the main man and you'll feel better!:lol:

Seriously though, what's with all the blood?


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

From th epictures I've seen so far, it doesn't look like one of those truly ridiculous ,gimmicky Eurotrash productions . Remember the Bayreuth Parsifal several years ago with a large,decaying body of a rabbit 
and topless, plump black women ? Or the recent Tannhauser which set the opera in a futuristic waste recycling plant ? 
These Eurotrash directors will do anything for a gimmick, no matter how arbitrary and ridiculous !
It's one thoing for a director and designer to have a conception , but things have gotten absolutley ridiculous !


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

As far as I know, the Met usually does fairly traditional stagings of Wagner (and very good ones too!)


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Just keep your eyes on the main man and you'll feel better!:lol:
> 
> Seriously though, what's with all the blood?


I suppose I should check out the fb photos. Did you see the opera in cinema Lohengrin Kaufmann did recently? He had NO TROUBLE with the high range - it was very impressive.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Here's one from their website. With apologies to anyone checking in on their lunch hour:










Not writing it off completely. I mean, the story has some gory elements to be sure. And that depiction could be plausible given the natures of Parsifal and Kundry. But scaling back my anticipation somewhat and steeling myself for potential disappointment. Was looking forward to catching this in person this spring, but may hold off on tickets til reviews come out.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I would go if I could. Just to hear Kaufmann and my favourite singer in the world, Peter Mattei, who is Amfortas. As it is I will have to settle for the cinema version.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> Just keep your eyes on the main man and you'll feel better!:lol:
> 
> Seriously though, what's with all the blood?


Wasn't Parsifal supposed to have killed the Flower Maidens' lovers? Of course, if that were the explanation for the blood, you'd think there'd be some on him, too.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Seriously though, what's with all the blood?


Some answers from today's NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/arts/music/a-look-at-the-new-parsifal-at-the-metropolitan-opera.html?_r=0



> _Defying Wagner With Buckets of Blood
> 
> On Monday afternoon Jonas Kaufmann stood in his dressing room at the Metropolitan Opera holding up his hands, which were stained red. He had just rehearsed Act II of a new production of "Parsifal," in which he sings the title role, and although he had stripped off the makeup and slipped into jeans and a crumpled shirt, there were parts of his skin where the stage blood just wouldn't come off.
> 
> ...


The article also includes a link to an video interview with the director. Just hearing the clip of Kaufmann, I think I will have to go see it... I've just got be sure to sit a good safe distance away from the stage. :devil:


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

> For the most part, Mr. Girard added, he stayed very close to Wagner's text. "You see a swan, you see a spear, you see a grail," he said.


Sounds very hope-inspiring. I hope there will be an internet stream of it sometime somewhere. I can't go see it, but I can at least hear Mr. Kaufmann's lovely singing.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

SiegendesLicht said:


> Sounds very hope-inspiring. I hope there will be an internet stream of it sometime somewhere. I can't go see it, but I can at least hear Mr. Kaufmann's lovely singing.


Plenty, I'd imagine. The Met does regular live broadcasts.

As for the production, I think it looks absolutely stunning. And I daresay it will be one of the better productions the Met has done lately. Which shouldn't come as any big surprise as it originated in Europe ...


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

OK you guys, I succumbed to Parsifal-itis. Moved my upcoming flight to NY up a day and found a nifty pair of partial view box seats in the dress circle for a reasonable price. Should be safety out of range of any blood spatter.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Cavaradossi said:


> OK you guys, I succumbed to Parsifal-itis. Moved my upcoming flight to NY up a day and found a nifty pair of partial view box seats in the dress circle for a reasonable price. Should be safety out of range of any blood spatter.


Hope the weather doesn't spoil your plans


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

SiegendesLicht said:


> Sounds very hope-inspiring. I hope there will be an internet stream of it sometime somewhere.


:checks MET in HD worldwide internet resources:

There's not a single MET in HD screening anywhere in your entire country!! I can't believe it!

(On second thought, I guess I _can_ believe it.) Closest screen appears to be the Lithuanian capital.


SiegendesLicht said:


> I can't go see it, but I can at least hear Mr. Kaufmann's lovely singing.


Did anyone else see Kaufmann labor mightily as Siegmund in _Walküre?_ Is it that he had an off-night when the HD cameras for _Walküre_ were rolling? _Parsifal_, by anyone's measure, is a harder role.

Oh, and based on what I've seen and heard so far re: the 2nd Act, I wish that Herr Director would take his hemorrhage-fixation over to the final scene of Berg's _Wozzeck_, where it might do some good, and make some sense...


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Oh, and based on what I've seen and heard so far re: the 2nd Act, I wish that Herr Director would take his hemorrhage-fixation over to the final scene of Berg's _Wozzeck_, where it might do some good, and make some sense...


Now now. Let's save all this supposed sense-making for when we've actually seen the production, shall we?


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

In the late 1980s, there was a bizarre Tannhauser at the Chicago Lyric opera . I kid you not.
It was set in contemporary Las Vegas, like the current Met Rigoletto . Tannhauser was singing evangelical 
preacher , and the Venusberg was a Vegas brothel ! 
The singing contest was like the Grand Old Opry(opera !) , and there Tanhhauser ocnfessed to having been at the brothel ! The 3rd act was set in a Vegas airport,, and Hank Williams Tannhauser flies off to Rome to ask forgiveness, from the Pope ? Sheesh !


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

superhorn said:


> In the late 1980s, there was a bizarre Tannhauser at the Chicago Lyric opera . I kid you not.
> It was set in contemporary Las Vegas, like the current Met Rigoletto . Tannhauser was singing evangelical
> preacher , and the Venusberg was a Vegas brothel !
> The singing contest was like the Grand Old Opry(opera !) , and there Tanhhauser ocnfessed to having been at the brothel ! The 3rd act was set in a Vegas airport,, and Hank Williams Tannhauser flies off to Rome to ask forgiveness, from the Pope ? Sheesh !


Shock! Outrage! Won't SOMEBODY think of the CHILDREN!?


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Aksel said:


> Shock! Outrage! Won't SOMEBODY think of the CHILDREN!?


I wonder how many children go to the opera.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

SiegendesLicht said:


> I wonder how many children go to the opera.


In the eyes of many, I am still a child. And there have been quite few children to recent performances at the Norwegian National Opera. Especially Don Pasquale seemed to have proved popular with the little ones. Well, at least they were brought by their parents.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Oh, and based on what I've seen and heard so far re: the 2nd Act, I wish that Herr Director would take his hemorrhage-fixation over to the final scene of Berg's Wozzeck, where it might do some good, and make some sense...
> 
> 
> Aksel said:
> ...


Most times, one bite suffices to let me know that something is half-baked.devil


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

sospiro said:


> Hope the weather doesn't spoil your plans


Thanks sospiro. Fortunately it's not for a few weeks. Would it be tempting fate to remark that these days it seems like New York gets more snow than Chicago?


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Well, phooey. For that I held my breath for six months and spent almost a week's wages?

I went to the premiere. Don't get me wrong - there were some good points. Spoiler alert: I'm going to mention the Spear Trick below, and it'll be in its own paragraph, starting with the words Spoiler Alert, so if you're planning to watch the Dead in HD broadcast anyway and don't want to know, you can skip that paragraph.

So. The good points:

Carolyn Choa. Choreographer. You know, there should be a Nobel Prize for choreography. Mark Morris should have one, for his Dance of the Blessed Spirits for the Met's Orfeo et Eurydice; Alex Ratmansky should have one, for his new Firebird for ABT; and Carolyn Choa should have one, for the first ten minutes of this new Parsifal. Such a portrait of the woundedness and the hope that serves as the basis for religion, in some, I never could have imagined possible. I wept. Well, let's be fair: I weep if Bugs drops his carrot. But still. Still. And you know, the Met's incompetent video director will find a way not to communicate it on film.

The music. You know, it may not be possible to ruin this music. I sure did miss Knappertsbusch and Levine; Gatti got his balances all wrong, I thought; but you know, guest conductors never get enough practice time, and it was the premiere. The music re-awakened an addiction I had forgot. It'll be better by the broadcast.

Peter Mattei. The man came to sing, and while I can't say Amfortas has never been done better, Mattei lived up to his reputation in this role.

The third act costumes, scenery and staging. The first two acts were lunar, pointless and dry; even with all the blood, yes, dry. The third act opened with a scene almost, but not quite, in black and white, and somehow it was more colorful than everything that came before. It communicated. And then when Our Savior was revealed to the multitude, really, the painterliness of the view seemed to conjure up Brueghel. Goya? Well, somebody. It was nice.

Evgeny Nikitin: his Klingsor really got me re-focused toward the beginning of the second act. Intensely focused as an actor, and not a bad singer either.

Jonas Kaufmann. Lost his shirt midway through the second act, got it back, and then went shirtless through half of the third act. Tee-hee. Well, I'm sure somebody out there will see that as a good thing.

And for the good parts, I'm afraid that's about it.

Rene Pape: isn't he really a lyric bass? That can't be what you really want, for Gurnemanz, can it? I remember how joyfully he brought us Rocco, in Fidelio, how limpid his voice was and how well he communicated. This Pape is different: aging, tired, going through the motions in song as well as act. There may be no one better at this time, for Gurnemanz; but that doesn't make this performance a good one. Well, as above, I'm sure it'll all be better for the broadcast.

Dalayman: a bit rough, otherwise unremarkable. Kaufmann's singing: unremarkable.

We should probably bear in mind too that acting in Parsifal, for any of the principals, has got to be really pretty tough; there just isn't a lot of bouncing around on stage to be done, and so if your acting lacks focus at ALL it's all going to come apart.

Possibly the most irritating part of the whole experience was how much absolutely pointless scene changing took place, in the computer graphics at the back of the stage. Is it smoke? Skin? Sand dunes? The back of a rather odd-shaped couch? And suddenly you realize: it's absolutely meaningless. It doesn't matter whether it's a rising orange or a thumb end or the eye of God. Or, in one rather laughable scene toward the end of act two, the beginning of some very artistic triple-X pornography. Never consummated, more's the pity.

And what was all the blood for? I still don't know. If you know, please don't tell me. I'm just not interested.

Spoiler Alert: the Spear Trick. In slow motion, Klingsor carries the spear over to Parsifal who, filled with the Power of God, raises his hand, stops the action and just takes it from Klinsor. WTF? This is the Met, right, with more stage magic at your command than the Wizard of Oz, and that's your Spear Trick? I would have laughed if it hadn't been so expensive.

And at the end, we find that what we all REALLY needed was just to re-integrate women into the worship services. Yeah, I'm sure THAT was in the stage directions. 

Phooey.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

My significant other got a last minute standing room ticket to the premiere on Friday. He said it was a fantastic production and performance. I didn't get many details because the bulk of the report centered on an Anna Netrebko siting at intermission.  
Looking forward to seeing it on Thursday.

By the way, I found this complete version of the 1981 Bayreuth production on youtube. The sound is amazing, even on my lousy laptop speakers, and it's faithful to even the smallest directorial notes in the libretto. A great "baseline" performance.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

guythegreg said:


> Dalayman: a bit rough, otherwise unremarkable. Kaufmann's singing: unremarkable.


The latter is no surprise to me. The former- well- I know Kundry's a beast of a role- but I would've expected better...


guythegreg said:


> ... one rather laughable scene toward the end of act two, the beginning of some very artistic triple-X pornography. Never consummated, more's the pity.


I don't think 'involuntary snicker' is the vibe you're lookin' to get with _Parsifal_.


guythegreg said:


> And what was all the blood for? I still don't know. If you know, please don't tell me. I'm just not interested.


Yeah... I got next to nothin' on this, either. Alls I got are some quips about synchronous involuntary biological functions driven by periodicity.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Yeah... I got next to nothin' on this, either. Alls I got are some quips about synchronous involuntary biological functions driven by periodicity.[/COLOR]


I was thinking that too, but not quite happy enough for quips at this point.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> Well, phooey. For that I held my breath for six months and spent almost a week's wages?
> 
> I went to the premiere. Don't get me wrong - there were some good points. Spoiler alert: I'm going to mention the Spear Trick below, and it'll be in its own paragraph, starting with the words Spoiler Alert, so if you're planning to watch the Dead in HD broadcast anyway and don't want to know, you can skip that paragraph.
> 
> ...


OK, I saw it last Thursday and have to reluctantly agree with most of this assessment and the conclusive 'phooey'. My criteria for a great performance is when you forget you are watching Singer X playing Character Y and you are simply seeing Character Y come to life. Peter Mattei accomplished that superbly as Amfortas, as did Dalaymann to a much lesser degree. But I never forgot I was watching Jonas Kaufmann playing Parsifal or Rene Pape playing Gurnemaz. In their defense, by making it all about Amfortas' wound rather than Parsifal's transformation, Mattei's gruesome characterization was the only one that remained faithful to the libretto. Seriously, they could have just skipped Act II altogether for all this staging was concerned.

My chuckle of the night came with the portayal of ten years of destruction and decay of the Grail Castle by a scattering and toppling of the AA-meeting circle of plastic chairs from Act I. Oh, the humanities... 

And the whole wasteland setting was absolutely maddening in the way that it flew in the face of vocal description of the forests in Act I and the dewy grass of Good Friday in Act III.

The was a short feature in last week's New Yorker about how the cast and crew were dealing with the Act II wading-pool-o-blood. (Dalayman said it doesn't wash off and her feet are stained red for the duration.) The director, whose name doesn't merit mention, other than a name to avoid, idiotically quipped that his vision is absolutely faithful to the Wagner's stage directions but usually he just ignores the composer's instructions altogether.

The only redeeming factor is that, in the end, this was still Parsifal in some form. The music redeemed the faulty images presented. And fortunately, the magnificent Don Carlo that I attended the following evening proved to be a redeeming evening for the Met as well.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

What's this I hear about stage-action taking place during the _Prelude?!_


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> What's this I hear about stage-action taking place during the _Prelude?!_


Oh right. It was more along the line of the Grail "knights" (and "knightettes", if I recall correctly) preparng themselves for the proceedings. Fairly innocuous, actually a nice presentation if you're going to do anything at all during the Prelude. But yes, I'd just assume be given the music to take me to the appropriate contemplative place.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Cavaradossi said:


> .Oh, the humanities...


......................... Good one.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

This Parsifal production will also be presented at the Canadian Opera Company in 2015 a subscription-reaper just told me on the phone.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

For information. This is being shown in cinemas on Saturday evening in the UK.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

Here as well in America, noon starting time. I gotta do it, I have to say that _Parsifal _and _Lohengrin_ are the two Wagner operas that I probably know the least ... well, after _Rienzi _and _Die Feen_ ... revise to say the _mature_ Wagner operas I know the least. I have to confess that they have never much appealed to me, not that I have given them due time and interest. Perhaps my taste is too coarse, I love gaucheries such as _Die Walkuere,_ all those manly warrior maidens trotting around with severed heads while Heaven rages. But I sincerely hope that Jonas Kaufmann's superb acting and vocalism will bring me around on _Parsifal._ Die Wunde! Bas Blut!


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

Well. Is is possible to say one was transfixed by nearly six hours of music and simultaneously admit that I seem to have slipped in a catnap sometime during the Parsifal-Kundry duet in Act II? Wagner certainly had a _lot to say_ in this opera. I think perhaps he was making his own personal atonement for not being really such a nice person (just ask Hans von Bulow, for example). Although all that gooshy blood in Act II was pretty disgusting (all those pretty Flower Maidens getting their white lilies bloodied up), and yes Peter Mattei sang divinely but suffered from a bad case of overactitis, I was astounded by how much material Wagner could mine from really, so little beginning musical material. Yes, some of it was overly repetitive, but somehow that just seemed to heighten the effect, sort of like going to a six-hour church service. Jonas Kaufmann and Katarina Dalayman (see how many of _you_ can find and sing an interval of two octaves and a second, from high C-sharp above the staff to the B below, I think on the word "lachte" [laughed]?) were marvels, and Rene Pape sang beautifully a very long part, even though he was Fached out. Much to digest here, but I highly recommend everyone see this. Ignore the blood, bring snackies, and have a_ very good night's sleep _before making the attempt.


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## margaretlb (Mar 4, 2013)

My first post - and let me admit that I do not have the kind of opera experience that the rest of you seem to have. I've never studied music and came to love classical music only in the last 10 years (and I'm pretty close to retirement age ) Three seasons ago I purchased a season subscription at the Met for my husband (as he's loved opera for years) and for myself. I thought at the time that, since he accompanies me to orchastra and chamber venues I could at least be his "date" for the opera. Well....I loved it! For the 2012-13 we've seen (are seeing) 10 live operas and 3 HD. So, Parsifal is the subject at hand. Keeping in mind that I'm a novice (who only fell in love with Wagner two years ago when I heard OSL play Sigfried Idyll) - I LOVED it!! The close to 6 hours did not even seem long - whereas I thought Les Troyen on New Years Day couldn't end soon enough for me. The music and staging mesmerized me. I realize from reading and preparing for the opera that Wagner staged this opera in a forest but I felt the Met staging brought home that this is an inward quest. So how much did I love this opera? So much so that I spent this past saturday in the Ziegfeld thearter watching it Live in HD! In HD I was able to better enjoy the acting and the more frequent, expanded titles helped me follow the dialogue. I also wanted the opportunity to see the same opera live and in HD in order to gauge the difference. For Parsifal, the differences for me were the sound of the orchestra which is fantastic at the House but good enough for my ear at the Ziegfeld; the energy that you feel from the audience at the MET is missing in theater; live, the projected backdrop is awesome (although some posters did not like this, I found it pulled me in) but in HD you did not really see or "feel" it.


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## Amara (Jan 12, 2012)

Thanks for sharing your experience. I missed the Live in HD transmission but hope to catch the encore on March 20.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

margaretlb said:


> My first post - and let me admit that I do not have the kind of opera experience that the rest of you seem to have. I've never studied music and came to love classical music only in the last 10 years (and I'm pretty close to retirement age )


Welcome margaretlb! It's been frequently remarked that people seem to grow to love opera as they get older, although we do have quite a few younger, more gingery specimens here as well ... personally I'm not sure opera is a genre of classical music, I feel that it's much more a genre of theater, but there are plenty here who would take issue with that!



> So, Parsifal is the subject at hand. Keeping in mind that I'm a novice (who only fell in love with Wagner two years ago when I heard OSL play Sigfried Idyll) - I LOVED it!! The close to 6 hours did not even seem long - whereas I thought Les Troyen on New Years Day couldn't end soon enough for me.


On this at least we agree - as unpleasant an experience as I had at Parsifal (and as much as I loved Les Troyens) I didn't notice the time dragging when I was in the theater.



> So how much did I love this opera? So much so that I spent this past saturday in the Ziegfeld thearter watching it Live in HD! In HD I was able to better enjoy the acting and the more frequent, expanded titles helped me follow the dialogue. I also wanted the opportunity to see the same opera live and in HD in order to gauge the difference. For Parsifal, the differences for me were the sound of the orchestra which is fantastic at the House but good enough for my ear at the Ziegfeld; the energy that you feel from the audience at the MET is missing in theater; live, the projected backdrop is awesome (although some posters did not like this, I found it pulled me in) but in HD you did not really see or "feel" it.


It is funny how the cinema experience differs from the opera house experience. I find that frequently if there is magic on stage the camera misses it; but in the cinema the seats are much better, there's much more legroom, it's much more comfortable. Like you, the sound in the cinema is good enough for me; I'm really not an "audiophile." I do find that for most Live in HD performances the cinema is much more crowded than the opera house; you have to get there very early indeed to get a good seat.

But again, welcome to our little corner, and I for one hope to hear much more from you about your wonderful opera experiences!


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## margaretlb (Mar 4, 2013)

guythegreg, thanks so much for the warm welcome. My final opera this season will be Giulo Cesar - aahhh, Handel! ....but, then again I just received an e-mail from the Met with a 25% discount for four operas offered this month. Hmmm, I thought about seeing Francesca live in HD but it's one of the discounts on offer - or perhaps Don Carlo (which I saw in 2010/11 and really enjoyed - in spite of the historical inaccuracies). Stop! Stop! 
Maybe I need to just concentrate on the 2013/14 catalogue that came this week.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

guythegreg said:


> personally I'm not sure opera is a genre of classical music, I feel that it's much more a genre of theater, but there are plenty here who would take issue with that!


it's got the best of both worlds, especially if well directed.


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## badRomance (Nov 22, 2011)

Cavaradossi said:


> By the way, I found this complete version of the 1981 Bayreuth production on youtube. The sound is amazing, even on my lousy laptop speakers, and it's faithful to even the smallest directorial notes in the libretto. A great "baseline" performance.


I agree, a very good production. Parsifal, Kundry, Gurnemanz, and Amfortas were all so good. I was especially touched by Bernd Weikl's Amfortas. The only thing I didn't like was the ending: Kundry doesn't collapse and there is no dove.


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## dorabel (Mar 9, 2013)

I've just seen the HD broadcast this week and it was wonderful. I liked the Lehnhoff production, too. Each production I'm lucky enough to see extends my understanding and appreciation of this opera. What first drew me in was the music and the music is sublime.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

dorabel said:


> What first drew me in was the music and the music is sublime.


In spite of all the crazy Regietheater ideas those stage directors come up with, it truly is sublime!


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Just seen an excerpt on YouTube which makes me thankful I didn't see it despite Kaufmann's singing.


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## dorabel (Mar 9, 2013)

SiegendesLicht said:


> In spite of all the crazy Regietheater ideas those stage directors come up with, it truly is sublime!


Indeed it is. I am not endorsing all the crazy ideas, but for me the dullest Parsifal was the most traditionally staged. The more challenging productions make me think, even when I am not keen on the director's vision.

Don Carlo, in contrast, worked very well in a sixteenth-century setting at the Met and at the Royal Opera House in Nicholas Hytner's production. Parsifal must be much more difficult to stage in a plausible way.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

dorabel said:


> The more challenging productions make me think, even when I am not keen on the director's vision.


No, they don't. What they do, is impose the director's interpretation of a particular work on you, basically telling you what to think. A traditional production, however, leaves you some freedom for your own understanding and interpretation, making you use your own mind.

Do the stage directors really believe we are so stupid that we cannot understand how for example, the message of Wagner's Ring, the confrontation of love and power, can be relevant in our modern world without them dressing the gods and Gibichungs in business suits?


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## dorabel (Mar 9, 2013)

SiegendesLicht said:


> What they do, is impose the director's interpretation of a particular work on you, basically telling you what to think. A traditional production, however, leaves you some freedom for your own understanding and interpretation, making you use your own mind.


Perhaps, but I am of Viktor Frankl's opinion that man's last freedom is choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.


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## ahammel (Oct 10, 2012)

SiegendesLicht said:


> Do the stage directors really believe we are so stupid that we cannot understand how for example, the message of Wagner's Ring, the confrontation of love and power, can be relevant in our modern world without them dressing the gods and Gibichungs in business suits?


Honestly, I don't mind the _idea_ of that particular production so much. I think they were trying to emphasize the social commentary aspects of _The Ring_ at the expense of the mythological aspects. I'm OK with using non-traditional staging to emphasize different parts of the story. (I haven't seen that particular production, so I don't know whether it was successful or not, but I don't object to the attempt).

What bothers me more is, for instance, Katharina Wagner's _Meistersinger_, which pretty much ignores the libretto to the point where the characters are singing about stuff that has no relationship to what's happening on the stage.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

ahammel said:


> What bothers me more is, for instance, Katharina Wagner's _Meistersinger_, which pretty much ignores the libretto to the point where the characters are singing about stuff that has no relationship to what's happening on the stage.


Bothers me when any opera is interpreted by the director at the expense of the libretto.


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## msegers (Oct 17, 2008)

First, this _Parsifal_ is still on Youtube (full-length, with subtitles) - 



.

I watched it twice in about the first three days after I found it. I really like the bleak settings. I felt my experience of this was almost shamanic, because I seemed to lose touch with ordinary state of consciousness. It was the most spiritual experience any opera has ever given me.


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## Oreb (Aug 8, 2013)

I watched it at the cinema and found it incredibly moving.

Is there any talk of a blu-ray release? I certainly hope so: it's a magnificent production and it would be a crime if it didn't get an official release when garbage like this:






Is inflicted on an innocent public! (I mean production garbage, by the way, NOT musical garbage  )


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

I have heard nothing of any blu-ray (or any other) release, sorry!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I don't know about blu-ray, but Sony is planning to release the new Met _Parsifal_ on DVD.


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## Notung (Jun 12, 2013)

SiegendesLicht said:


> As far as I know, the Met usually does fairly traditional stagings of Wagner (and very good ones too!)


My definitive video Ring is from the Met. I plan on getting their Meistersinger.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Notung said:


> My definitive video Ring is from the Met. I plan on getting their Meistersinger.


You will definitely not regret it, die Meistersinger from the Met is truly magical.

And which Met Ring do you mean? I am currently enjoying the one with "the Machine" and I find it to be much better than I thought it would be, judging by the critical reviews.


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## Oreb (Aug 8, 2013)

I'm not familiar with the Met _Mesitersinger_, but I have the Glyndebourne one and, like a lot of productions from there, it's first rate:


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

I've only seen excerpts of the one, and I liked it too. The costumes look as if they had been borrowed them from Peter Jackson's production of The Hobbit


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## Oreb (Aug 8, 2013)

SiegendesLicht said:


> he costumes look as if they had been borrowed them from Peter Jackson's production of The Hobbit


 LOL.

Shh - don't give the Wagner (Twisted) Sisters any ideas. I can see it now: Sachs as Bilbo, Walter as Thorin... And just to keep the regie credentials strong, Eva as Smaug (you know, let's get that anima symbolism up and running) and hell, we'll have Beckmesser as Gandalf.

I feel dizzy.


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## badRomance (Nov 22, 2011)

msegers said:


> First, this _Parsifal_ is still on Youtube (full-length, with subtitles) -
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I saw it as well and I absolutely loved the set and the choreography. I couldn't help to think how much better the MET Ring would have been if it wasn't chained to those costly, overweight, clunky planks.

However, although he sang very well and his voice carried very strongly, I thought Rene Pepe's portrayal of Gurnemanz was strange and perplexing. I didn't understand why he was constantly glaring menacingly at Parsifal. What was he thinking? Also Kaufmann as Parsifal didn't do a good job transforming from indifference to compassionate in Act 1 in both the swan scene and Amfortas scene; I kept thinking back to how well Siegfried Jerusalem acted the part.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

SiegendesLicht said:


> You will definitely not regret it, die Meistersinger from the Met is truly magical.
> 
> And which Met Ring do you mean? I am currently enjoying the one with "the Machine" and I find it to be much better than I thought it would be, judging by the critical reviews.


I prefer the new Met Ring to the 80's one. It will be my go-to for an introductory recommendation to the Ring. From there they can graduate to the Boulez/Chereau Ring.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Oreb said:


> I watched it at the cinema and found it incredibly moving.
> 
> Is there any talk of a blu-ray release? I certainly hope so: it's a magnificent production and it would be a crime if it didn't get an official release when garbage like this:
> 
> ...


Like much of staged Wagner - OK as long as you don't look at it.

I'm assuming the big fat guy was Parsifal. Not much innocence when it comes to the meal table!


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

The Met Parsifal is announced for a blu-ray/DVD issue here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Pars...8&qid=1376810018&sr=1-2&keywords=parsifal+blu


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## Oreb (Aug 8, 2013)

I watched the blu-ray over the weekend. Having seen this at the cinema I knew what to expect, but I'm pleased to say that it's lost none of its impact. I am one of those people who think Syberberg's film (as much *about *_Parsifal _as *of *_Parsifal_) is a masterpiece (while musically not a pace-setter). This, so very different in many ways, has all the impact f that visionary piece *with *a superb musical edge.

Even Frau Oreb - no Wagnerian, but possessed of many compensating virtues - enjoyed it.

(Well, 'enjoyed' might be a bit strong - but she sat through the first act without making any threats or sarcastic commentary, so I'm taking that as an endorsement...)


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