The new production by François Girard features international star tenor, Jonas Kaufmann as Parsifal the “pure fool” who embarks on a quest to save the leader of the Knights of the Holy Grail. Girard, who is making his Met debut with this production, is acclaimed as a director of both film and opera; he is known for Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and The Red Violin. He notes, “Parsifal is not just an opera—it’s a mission. At the end of his life, Wagner was trying to reconcile all the aspects of his spirituality. It’s a sacred piece in the history of music.”
Daniele Gatti, the Music Director of the French National Orchestra, makes his Live in HD debut.
The cast also includes Katarina Dalayman as the time-traveling temptress, Kundry, who longs for redemption; Peter Mattei Amfortas, the corrupted leader of the Grail Knights, and René Pape (2010’s Boris Godunov) as the wise old knight Gurnemanz. Evgeny Nititin is the magician Klingsor.
Although Wagner called Parsifal a "stage consecrating festival play", and requested that it only be performed in his Festspielhaus at Bayreuth, The Met produced the U.S. premiere on Christmas Eve in 1903. Because the opera focuses on both the Holy Grail and the spear that stabbed Christ’s side during the crucifixion it often is performed during religious holiday seasons, particularly Easter.
Opening night reviews by the Associated Press included ““A Parsifal to treasure, elevated to the highest musical level by the solemnity and sweep of Daniele Gatti's conducting and the dedication of a dream cast of singing actors”.
Tickets for this and other Live from the Met in HD are available from the Lincoln Theater. Tickets are $24 adult, $22 senior with $2 discount for members. Youth 18 and under are $5.
The next Live from the Met in HD performance will be Riccardo Zandonai’s rarely-performed verismo opera, Francescca da Rimini on March 16 at noon.
No comments:
Post a Comment