# Amsterdam Parsifal review 2012



## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Respost:

This is a review of the Amsterdam Parsifal, which I attended on 15/6 and 25/6.
http://www.dno.nl/index.php?m=performances&sm=season&c=teamAndCast&sea=37&s=345

Director: Pierre Audi
Conductor: Ivan Fischer
Decor: Anish Kapoor
Dramaturg: Klaus Bertisch
Lighting: Jean Kalman
Costumes: Christof Hetzer
Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw

Amfortas: Alejandro Marco Buhrmester
Parsifal: Christopher Ventris
Kundry: Petra Lang
Gurnemaz: Falk Struckmann
Titurel/Klingsor: Mikhail Petrenko

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Every production has faults, small details that do not make sense or do not work. Indeed, during the first pause my father couldnt help but laugh at the manner in which the swan fell from the sky, during the 2nd it was the manner in which the spear was removed from Klingsor. But to focus on and criticise these things is to be blind to the overall quality of the whole. At the end of the 3rd act he was overwhelmed.

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So, it begins. As the prelude is played a deep, bloody, red wound appears as if out of nowehere in the dark space above the stage. It gets brighter and redder, and eventually fades away again. The curtain rises and you see 3 large rocky mounds, mountains, perhaps made of flesh - in any case deep red, and the entire stage is cast in violent red light. There are various bits of wood lying around as well as a stool and a bowl. Gurnemanz stands and is surprised when a strange man with long hair, seemingly smeared and dripping in blood rises and turns towards him before slowly walking off. The feeling overall is one of mystery, tension and desolation.

Amfortas enters, naked but for a cloth and bandage around his chest, covered in yet more blood. He limps and shudders greatly. Nobody assists him, all the knights, dressed in their boots and cloth just stand and watch him as he goes about, without compassion. Similarly, Kundry's arrival also emphasises the childish hostility and lack of compassion of the 'knaben' as they struggle with her. Indeed, that the order of the grail has become corrupted and distanced from its teachings of virtue and compassion is the overwhelming impression taken from this act. It is seen yet again in their refusal to assist Amfortas in the revealing of the grail, and in their reaction to the shooting of the swan.

It is interesting to note that the Audi has not shyed from making parallels with the real world. At one point in his lament Amfortas wraps his hands around two beams and crosses his legs, closely resembling Jesus on the cross. And in a fantastic visual, at the moment when the grail is revealed he bends down and unfurls a long white cloth straight upwards; then a spot of blood appears on the cloth and spreads. Parsifal is watching from above. (another interesting note; Titurel is never seen but Is heard as a voice from above, while Amfortas clutches his head.)

The main criticism in the dutch media was that the violent red lighting which is almost continuous does not quite correspond to the music, and I do agree. But this is not to say the music is not heeded. Actually, a lot of effort is made for us to focus on the music alone. A curtain is drawn across the stage, and Gurnemanz and Parsifal dissappear behind it as "Zum raum wird hier die zeit" is uttered. We are then facing a black curtain for the entirety of the interlude, enjoying the magnificent asian bells. Once the curtain is removed, Parsifal and Gurnemanz are on the opposite side of the stage and the mounds have been rearranged to show us their backs which are covered in wooden scaffolding. The chorus too is situated at varying heights on this as per R's instructions.

Despite the slightly over the top red, and perhaps cluttered staging. This act is well played. Ventris is a very convincing childish, naive and self-confident youth as Parsifal, Lang is adequately bestial as Kundry and Struckmann/Gurnemanz is a colourless but authoritative man.

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The 2nd act begins with a giant concave mirror being lowered through clouds of smoke. Lightning flashes as strange men similar to the figure at the start are thwarted in their attacks on Parsifal. One last charge through forces them all to the floor, before Klingsor and Kundry enter. They seem to be fond of standing back to back, and Klingsor regularly twists Kundry's arm into submission. The long spear constantly being present across his chest.

The flowermaidens enter in dark robes morning their lover's deaths, but soon reveal brightly coloured dresses as they entice Parsifal. They are soon surrounding him and rippling to and fro like waves. Everything is beautifully distorted and reflected in the mirror. Eventually their hands reaching up to his neck, he is confronted by Kundry.

Now this scene between Kundry and Parsifal is acted out and directed masterfully. It is entirely believable understandable, and seeing these words mirrored in the expression and movement of the characters left me without any doubt as to the truth behind them. Many phrases are still resonating deeply inside me; "Die Labung, die dein Leiden endet, beut nicht der Quell, aus dem es fliesst,", as Parsifal presses a hand to her breast.

The psychology of the drama is greatly shown also through the staging. A flame descends from high and remains on the ground, its orange glow reflected all over the front of the stage by the mirror. At the moment of the kiss, bright red lights, but then unnoticed a large lamp has descended and hangs in front of the mirror casting a bright white light over everything. Parsifal has become illuminated. As the characters move over the stage, they are sometimes seen in the mirror, suddenly changing size and proportion, or shown upside down.

Once Parsifal picks up the broken spear, he leaves the stage crossing the two halves in front of him.

In short, I can not imagine this act being staged in a more breathtaking way. It opened up Wagner's beautiful poetry and transmitted straight to my heart its inner meanings. Goosebumps throughout.

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The third act is very dimly lit. A large black wall with a large circular hole stands at an angle across the stage. When Parsifal appears through the hole Kundry lets out a loud shriek, Gurnemanz seems unaware. Interestingly, here Audi has Kundry and Parsifal walk in step on either side of this hole, casting it as a kind of mirror. For the rest of this scene Wagner's instructions are followed quite

xactly, Kundry bathes Parsifals feet and Gurnemanz baptizes his head - both from a small fount of water which comes out of the stage floor and spills.

In this act, Parsifal behaves extremely tenderly and carefully towards Kundry, which is quite a contrast from the previous act. He embraces her as she begins to weep and sob, and during the astoundingly beautiful Karfreitag music he seems to be serenading Kundry as if she were the beautiful meadow. The following lines, thus become particularly powerful:

"Wohl traf ich Wunderblumen an,
die bis zum Haupte süchtig mich umrankten;
doch sah ich nie so mild und zart
die Halme, Blüten und Blumen,
noch duftet' all' so kindisch hold
und sprach so lieblich traut zu mir."

Midday has arrived, and the wall moves to face the audience straight on, and continues moving forward. The three characters stand in front of it and begin to sink into the ground, but the darkness catched up with them and they are out of sight. During this orchestral interlude only a light purplish glow is visible through the circular hole, before eventually Amfortas and the brotherhood enter from both sides of the stage. The knights all wear jackets, their skin is white, and they have black cross painted across their faces, down their nose and onto their chest.

It becomes chillingly clear that this religion has hardened , they are pitiless and merciless. They wear their symbols on their exterior but take nothing of its meaning inside. Amfortas is a pitiful and despairing prisoner, as he stands before Titurels grave, with a mob on either side. They point their fingers at him and shout 'Du musst'. Amfortas even attempts to jump into the grave after his father but is caught. At the height of his delusion, Amfortas flails around begging and inciting someone to put him out of his misery, but all recoil. Parsifal enters serenely and thrusts his spear into Amfortas'side, forcing him onto the ground. He stands before the grave of Titurel and when the libretto says the grail is revealed, a yellow light comes out of the grave and shines on Parsifal.

Now, all redeemed sink to the floor lifelessly. Gurnemanz alone stands in the dark amidst all the bodies and looks about him. He sees Parsifal appear in profile through the circular hole, before Parsifal walks on and leaves. Meanwhile the mirror has been lowered again to partially cover the hole.

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The aspect of the work that Audi has chosen to explore seems to me to be Wagner's attitude towards religion.

"When religion becomes artificial, art has a duty to rescue it. Art can show that the symbols which religions would have us believe literally true are actually figurative. Art can idealize those symbols, and so reveal the profound truths they contain."

This famous quote by Wagner, I believe is perfectly embodied in this production. The Grail brotherhood has become so corrupted from its teachings and merciless, as exemplified in its behavior towards Amfortas and others. When Parsifal redeems them, they all die and Parsifal moves on.

Audi hasn't shied away from using some very obvious symbolism. The mirror, which then moves to fill the hole in the 3rd act (though thankfully doesn't actually fill it completely). But mostly Christian symbolism, such as crosses, and the association drawn between Amfortas and Christ, although it is obvious that Amfortas is but a superficial replica, for he is a sinful creature. The real Christ figure is Parsifal, who is a simple boy - no external associations are drawn, but the libretto shows Kundry recognizing him as the same person whom she mocked on the cross. In my mind there is no doubt that the religion of the brotherhood is one and the same with Christianity.

There are countless other symbols here, and I am recollecting more and more as I type this. Some are very subtle but very powerful for it. And this production excels in subtlety also. The real stand out for me is the relationship between Kundry and Parsifal which evolves dramatically throughout. As I mentioned before, the 2nd act duet is perfect, passionate and psychologically revealing. Thus when Parsifal tenderly holds Kundry and sings about the beautiful meadow it is almost too much to bear.

The Schopenhauerian lines in the 2nd act opened the philosophy to me in a way that reading Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung could never do. And the goodness and purity of Parsifal as a character was far too beautiful.

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There were no weak links in the cast. Occasionally, supporting 'actors' were not stellar, but never enough to distract. Amfortas sounded suitably pained, very wobbly vibrato for it, but this very much worked. Gurnemanz was stoic and powerful, my father remarked on the beauty of his voice, though it wasn't the first thing that came to my mind. Klingsor was a rounded and full bass who never sounded particularly menacing, but sang well enough. Kundry has a truly bewitching voice, sometimes lacking a little finesse, especially in the top register, but overall very powerful. Parsifal was definitely the stand out, always rising above the orchestra, his voice conveyed each emotion perfectly but was always perfectly clear and pure.

Ivan Fischer's interpretation is calm, subdued, crystal clear, chamber-like. It is generally brisk, but extremely flexible, and follows Wagner's tempo changes to the letter. Nonetheless, one cannot help but be carried along with the waves of music, so that the final chords are absolutely overwhelming. The Concertgebouw, characteristically played stupendously. Beautiful phrasing, incredibly unity, and they just sound so incredibly beautiful.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Some Photos:

Act 2, Kundry in front of the mirror









The 1st act staging









Gurnemanz at the very end.









Act 2, the flower maidens









Act 3


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

:tiphat:

What wonderful experience & a great review Emiel. So happy for you & your father.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

sospiro said:


> :tiphat:
> 
> What wonderful experience & a great review Emiel. So happy for you & your father.


I also took my mother, grandparents and aunt the first time!


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Thank you so much! What an amazing experience for you. After reading what you wrote, I went over the Wikipedia article on Parsifal, and it seems now much more interesting to me than it did before. I wish I'd spent the time you did collecting my impressions of Firebird; I might have left a much more valuable post! I really appreciate it.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Looks amazing. Hope they release it on Blu-ray. I would buy one.


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Looks amazing. Hope they release it on Blu-ray. I would buy one.


Me too, looks great! I enjoy Pierre Audi's Ring cycle on DVD a lot from Amsterdam. Wish i could have been there for this.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

There were cameras present for a live transmission, so perhaps!


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