Customer Reviews

Wagner - Parsifal

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Finally the quest for the holy grail is over: A performance/production of Parsifal on Dvd that is really worth investing in and really helps you appreciate that in fact Parsifal IS a great opera. Whereas the 1951-1964 staging of Wieland Wagner at Bayreuth is regarded by many as the best of the post-war Parsifal productions (at least from Bayreuth), this production on dvd is probably the best you will ever get to see. This is more the case now that Bayreuth itself is being used as a publicity centre for young opera-hating stage designers who wish to forge a career in film via generating the absolute maximum of notoriety they can muster through their perverted productions.

My knowledge of Parsifal is limited to the Nagano Dvd and the Levine/New York Met production (similar to the first reviewer here). I have a few recordings on cd(Von Karajan, Knappertsbusch (1962), Levine) and have witnessed a few live productions including recently the abomination that is the anti-Wagner 2004 Bayreuth production. I can say that, regarding dvds, whereas the Nagano production suffers from: a) conducting that seems to me to lack feeling and, b) from being another silly modern stage, and while the Levine production is: a) sluggish with unimaginative tempi and, b) lacking in dramatic effect, this Bayreuth version is conducted with pace by Stein but is nevertheless replete with ethereal atmospheric effect induced by a really effective layering of the score, the staging is perfect - not cluttered, but scenic and in fact beautiful - and individual performances in terms of singing and acting are really first rate.

Ultimately this recording illustrates how fundamental it is to adhere, at least to a reasonable degree, to Wagner's stage instructions to maximize not only dramatic effect but, I believe, also to bring out the sheer beauty of the music. Stein, backed by an excellent orchestra, conducts well for sure but the fact that there is real synthesis between music and drama - the gesamtkunstwerk of which Wagner extolled - really does serve to facilitate both: the music seems more apt and imbued with significance, the drama simultaneously drives and is driven by the music. The music and the drama make sense when harmonized in this manner - a far cry from many, if not most modern stagings, such as a recent live production I saw that was set in an institution for the mentally ill; in what way is the noble, mystical music of the knights befitting of a congregation of nutters in a loony bin!?!?! Ridiculous!

I have to say I hate modern productions and they are potentially killing off new generations of would-be Wagner enthusiasts. The difference in effect on a Wagner neophyte seeing this Bayreuth production as compared to seeing one of the dodgy modern translations would be palpable - it is essentially the difference between rendering the opera quasi transcendental and rendering it an absurdity. That modern stagers think they can outdo the work of a genius who made it his life-time obsession to perfect every last detail of his mature opera works is in itself absurd! Wieland Wagner is perhaps singled out as the stage director who most appropriately deviated from Wagner's and Bruckner's original stage design to produce something more minimalistic - arguably appropriate - and this staging might be regarded as a compromise of the two approaches. Not that the magic of a Bayreuth staging is impermeable to the contaminating filth induced by the egos and self-publicizing anti-Wagnerism of modern designers in the form of unsophisticated kitsch. The present Bayreuth production offers a post-apocalyptic setting that shows Klingsor, at the end of act 2, rather than being defeated by Parsifal, aiding Parsifal in killing Kundry with the sacred spear and then escaping in a spaceship to reappear in act 3 - Parsifal then basically kills everyone including himself at the end of act 3!

Now for some details:
As I have mentioned the staging is excellent and the dramaturgy pretty much faultless throughout.
Siegfried Jerusalem is absolutely excellent as Parsifal here. He is about 12 years younger than in the Levine/Met Opera Dvd version which I think makes all the difference since we must assume that 'der reine tor' is not a man well into his fifties. Furthermore, he seems to be vocally at his peak here; his voice is powerful and perfectly nuanced and controlled. His acting is appropriate for Parsifal who must come over as being naive but not an imbecile (by contrast I have seen Jerusalem play Siegfried, a character not dissimilar to Parsifal in many ways, as an imbecile in Dvd versions of Siegfried and Gotterdammerung).
Sotin as Gurnemanz and Weikl as Amfortas are also perfect both in terms of singing and acting. Sotin is much subtler than, for example, Kurt Moll in the Met production whose 'acting' appears to revolve around glancing at the conductor every five seconds for guidance. As Amfortas Weikl looks and plays the part and his interaction with the Knights in the two grail scenes has a real visceral edge to it lacking in other productions.
Randova as Kundry, for the most part, is also excellent. I would agree with the first reviewer here that her voice is perhaps insufficiently sweet to be convincingly seductive in Act 2. This is something of a fault and lacks the power of Waltraud Meier's performance in the Levine Dvd. You can understand Parsifal's struggle to remain 'pure' when confronted with the lyrical and visual treat of Meier but not quite so much with Randova although she is not exactly weak in this respect. The flower-maiden scene is done so well that this somewhat compensates for the relative lack of 'seduction effect'. Randova is very good, however, as the wretched alter-ego of Kundry, her screams of anguish seem pertinent rather than melodramatic.

Some small gripes. In the final scene Kundry is supposed to fall 'lifeless to the ground' - this does not happen here and I think it is a fault albeit not a debilitating one. The beam of light, used in other productions, that should fall on the grail when in the office of Parisfal is also lacking which I think somewhat detracts from dramatic effect and the significance of the work.
I can live with these omissions as I can with Randova's less than particularly seductive voice in the 2nd act because everything else is spot on.

So, in a nutshell, if you want a more or less traditional Wagner rendition of Parsifal that synthesizes music and drama as facilitated by truly excellent acting and singing engendering perfectly the atmospheric effect I believe Wagner would have wanted, then you MUST buy this. It is Wagner's gesamtkunstwerk at about as high a degree as you are likely to see - probably on dvd or any performance live now that the evil Wagner hating modernist stagers have saturated the opera world.

But less for the staging.. It's true that the staging here leaves the first place to the music which is great especially for a magnificent work like Parsifal. But as you know these bayreuth videos are captured without the audience and we are expecting quite rightfully more dynamics in the staging. It's very colorful and elegant with gorgeous set designs but very reluctant and lacks some dynamics especially in the second act. The singers are standing stonelike which is certainly deliberate but somehow disturbing.
But Stein, the great wagnerian, with electrfying conducting, makes us forgive and forget these flaws. Norbert Balasch who is the chorus master in all the bayreuth video productions, drives the choir to a divine level as usual. Singers are also first rate save for acting (Randova especially).
Sound quality and video directions are excellent for sure, all in all this is a great parsifal,conducted and sang by great wagnerians and it's from bayreuth, the wagner temple which makes this an indispensable video. But it's not the definitive one. I would love to see that performing crew with otto schenk's magnificent staging for met; That would have been the definitive one for sure.

This Parsifal is conducted by the brilliant but little known Bayreuth\Wagner genius Horst Stein. Those familiar with Steins Die Meistersinger know to expect great things with this Parsifal, finally transferred to DVD-adding considerable quality to the old VHS. Stein, in both this and the Meistersinger(both traditional) is as unique and inspired as the Met\Levine versions are dull and boorish. Both are pseudo-traditional, which is why they make for good comparisons, as well as Jerusalems role as Parsifal and Weikl as Amfortas.
Lets begin with Gurnemanz. Hans Sotin does a marvelous job-On a personal level I adore Kurt Molls booming and uniquely cavernous voice best with Kubelik, second to only Hotter. But Moll sounds strained on the Levine CD and only slightly better on the DVD though Sotin is a far better actor. Most other aspects(with the possible exception of Kundry(Randova\Meier) of the Stein are superior to Levine. Jerusalem is in much better voice and as an actor(good knows we can barely call it that) but here he is much more believable and likeable and his voice still has the ability to oscillate without any stress(the last true heldentenor). Eva Randova is a good Kundry-though I am so tired of this character portrayed as nothing more than a writhing screaming "mime"esque thing we feel no pity or remorse for and can identify with even less. I have, to date, never been satified with any visual representation of her though on disc she has been well served.
Bernd Weikl has been the Amfortas of choice for over 25 years now and is in better voice with Stein-though no one will ever compare to the Phillips\KNA performance by London-though Morris was close-(just listen to the first phrase in praise of the morning-one of the most beautifully sung passages I have ever heard and an early inclination of how any interpretation will progress.
Bayreuth, of course, plays splendidly though actually the Levine Met of the early 90's were probaly better(that specific Bayreuth Orch had just dealt with significant changes and alterations and was still returning to form while the Met had become one of the most consistently reliable and flawless operatic orchs in the entire world-if not the best.
Most importantly, however, is how do the conductors fair?-and again, those who have heard Steins Meistersinger know what to expect-for those who havent-Stein is a Wagnerian of the first order-probably the best Bayreuthian no one has heard of. For those familiar with Levine, on the otherhand, know that his Wagner is very unpredictable in quality because it is so predictable. His Lohengrin is, in my opinion, excellent and his ring cycle is great besides hildegard behrens awful Brunnhilde and his Tannhauser is pretty good. However-they all have similar flws that are directly the fault of the conductor in terms of the flow, excitement, and feeling. I do not think anyone can argue though that he always produces a beautiful sound. But Levine conjues one of the most boorish and uninspired Parsifal DVDs I have heard. The tempos drag to almost unbearable speed, pushing the audience to its limit. This is one score that, though theoretically would seem to become "deeper" and more "profound" the slower it gets, but really it needs a natural impetus- a natural, springlike feel to make it succeed. There are moments that benefit from a introspective approach-though god help anyone who speeds through the Transformation music---but most vocal interaction benefits from a fluid approach.
Levine's CD is saved by an all-star cast(barely)I am a sucker for James Morris(amfortas) buttery inflection, but the DVD suffers because one must judge it entirely(visual as well as aural.)
In conclusion-this is the first choice of any Parsifal-especially for those who prefer a traditional approach. But also for seasoned Wagnerites who know the work. There is so much beauty to the performance and so much more drama it will stay with you for a long time. For those wanting a CD recommendation-I strongly urge you to buy the KNappertsbusch performance recently remastered or the Kubelik(with many similar cast members as both the stein and the Levine), or the Karajan, or Barenboim.
He Ho.

While this "Parsifal" is traditional, which is to the good, it is marred by some stiff acting and questionable production touches by Wolfgang Wagner. The singing is very fine but Levine's with the Met (the only other traditional "Parsifal" on DVD) is just as good, and Otto Schenk's production is far better. The Met scores on nearly every point in terms of scenery, staging and acting. There is a magic in New York that is not there in Bayreuth, which has a more plain, homespun quality, attractive in its own way (similar in that regard to Wolfgang Wagner's "Bayreuth "Meistersinger.").

Wolfgang Wagner's sense of stage acting comes basically from the stand and deliver school, with not a great deal of compelling interaction between characters to bring the drama to life. The drama here is not exactly gripping; static is more like it. The Met production is on a different level, and Schenk's handling of characters is far more involving, inviting and compelling. The Met's "Parsifal" has seemingly real people facing important issues.

On its own, the Bayreuth forest that opens acts 1 and 3 is fine, but next to the Met's grand and realistic outdoors, feels a bit cramped and artificial after a while. Bayreuth's second scene of both acts (the hall of the castle of the grail), a la his brother Wieland's 1951-75 production, is abstract yet compelling, too, in its own way. But the Met has a more spiritual setting and a more deeply affecting result.

Act 2 starts out in Bayreuth with Klingsor's castle looking like a cheap science fiction B-movie scene with cheesy-looking smoke, abstract curved pillars on the side and Klingsor dominating from above like a tacky evil superhero. Unconvincing. Laughable even. Sad when Leif Roar is a most compelling Klingsor, full of menace and in vibrant voice. The Met's scenery and staging are more believable, richer in imagery and impression, but Franz Mazura as good as he is, can't compare vocally to Roar, and looks a bit old.

Vocally, both casts are very fine. Each Gurnemanze, the vocal center of the opera, offers rich vocal portrayals, although Wolfgang Wagner has Hans Sotin act rather too condescendingly toward Parsifal in Act 1, losing some of our sympathy. The Met's Kurt Moll is rather more the wise-old grandfatherly type in the spirit of the well-meaning Gurnemanz.

Siegfried Jerusalem is both Parsifals, and his extra 12 years of stage experience shows more strongly at the Met. The voice may be slightly fresher at Bayreuth and his youthful looks a plus, but his Met Parsifal is deeper, more natural and more eloquent.

Bernd Weikl also graces both productions as an outstanding Amfortas. His Wieland Wagner-enforced less-is-more movement at Bayreuth is not a hindrance in this spiritually and physically wracked character, and in some ways is a plus.

Waltraud Meier's Kundry is one of the Met's highlights. She is more fetching and physically expressive than Bayreuth's Eva Randova, well as she sings. Meier brings a sensuality and stronger vocalizing to Kundry that is most compelling.

The conductor comparison surprised me, as I have not been a fan of Levine's Wagner, finding his "Ring" protracted and heavy handed. But "Parsifal" is a different animal in the Wagner canon; my two favorite recordings both come from that master of grand, Knappertsbusch (Bayreuth, 1951 and 1962). Levine, while not quite on his level, brings off a spirituality and conversely, more animation when called for, that the straightforward Stein, who is a good but not overly compelling (similar to what I felt about his Bayreuth "Meistersinger").

Levine may unduly stretch tempos now and then, but to my taste, his is a more involved and felt journey than Stein's. All the fuss Stein has brought out in these posts I don't understand. He offers a solid, mainstream reading which has the benefit of flow but misses some of Levine's passion and depth.

Overall, the drama is more real, believable and interactive in New York than Bayreuth. The sets and staging are more natural and compelling, too. Overall this Bayreuth production is good but not quite good enough, with excellent singing helping compensate for some lesser production and acting values.

Horst Stein is a great Wagnerian. I have an imported Japanese laserdisc of an all-Wagner concert that Stein conducted in Tokyo, and it is masterful. Although he only a guest conductor on the podium, he gets top-notch Wagner out of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
In this video of PARSIFAL, Stein's face never comes on the screen, but the man is all over this piece of music. The staging is appropriate and self-effacing, the singers obediently stand and wait until the musical cue for them to start singing, but driving the performance is the flawless touch of conductor Stein.
Over in Berlin a few years later, Kupfer tried to upstage Barenboim, and the result is schizophrenic. With eyes closed the work is PARSIFAL in the forest; with eyes open the work is some kind of bank robbery in slow motion (it takes place in a bank vault, without a blade of grass, for heaven's sake).
Here in Bayreuth what you get is what you see. There is color, there are living things, people have an ambience with nature and there might be such a thing as a swan, maybe even a magical one, and when the Good Friday music comes, the result is the opposite of alienation. The director-driven stagings are all about alienation, aren't they? No opera is more antithetical to the whole project of alienation on stage than PARSIFAL. Director Wolfgang Wagner simply puts the elements onto the stage, and conductor Stein builds the synthesis.

It's not hard to imagine more subtle sets and costumes. Yet these, despite their obviousness, are never less than effective. The performance is all one could wish. I've never arrived at a convincing interpretation of this mysterious work. It's the most magical and most beautiful of fantasy operas, whose enduring mystery is central to its allure. It seems to me the perfection of Wagner's method. Every motif is memorable. The interweaving of motifs creates a glowing sound fabric that responds to every nuance of the libretto. The score exhibits the most marked contrasts between dark and light, chromatic and diatonic, serene and anguished.

The only unknown in the cast is Leif Roar, and he proves an excellent Klingsor. Everyone performs with convincing gravity. This is an enthralling account of Wagner's masterpiece.

Okay, so there are many folks for whom the Kubelik and/or Knappertsbusch CD recordings are considered "superior". These arguments are not without merit. I don't have the Kubelik, but both Knappertbusch recordings (and to a slightly lesser degree, the Karajan box) are tremendous recordings, with singing that can often chill the marrow.

But if you want either a first (or only) FILMED DVD performance of Parsifal, GET this one! This particular dvd has made me rank Parsifal as perhaps the greatest opera in Richard Wagner's repetoire, and that includes even the immense Ring.

Siegfried Jerusalem both looks and sounds perfectly young in this role, perhaps his best performance ever. I must also give many thanks to Hans Sotin for his portrayal of Gurnemanz, I often spin the 1st act just because Sotin is such a likable character. Sotin plays the part with a type of poise that makes him very easy to respect.

Randova is a without question an above average Kundry, I found her a bit shrieky in the second act, but I wonder if that just might be exactly how Wagner intended the angst to be portrayed.

Weikl is also quite good, perhaps better overall than in his Bayreuth Meistersinger dvd. His acting doesn't seem as overwrought and forced as many Amfortas portrayals have been in the past.

The sound on this is superb, and the picture is above average.

Overall, for anyone looking for a performance based on tradition, but not afraid to take a few chances from a directorial/staging persepctive, do NOT hesitiate to grab this one. You will find it more rewarding each successive time you watch it.

For years I have resisted the appeal of Parsifal, finding the music somewhat arid and unmelodic. This is not to say that Wagner is not a favorite composer of mine. I adore Tristan and Meistersinger and the Ring, and LOhengrin. I decided that it was time to at least make an attempt to plum the riches (at least many claimed such) of the score when a friend of mine gave me the Lenhoff production. I watched it act by act, devoting atleast two viewings each. Elements of the production were confusing, but the acting was superb, notably Hampton and Meier. The latter was mesmerising in the second act. singing with great beauty and verbal distiction. What Lenhoff didn't do caused me to purchase the Bayreuth edition with Jersalem, Sotin and Weikl.

I suppose one would have to describe this production as traditional--certainly next to the Lenhoff. Why there is no transformation scene in the Lenhoff is not really addressed in his long and somewhat pedantic documentary that Opus Arte provides. Bayreuth of course is more conventional and does make the appropriate scene changes so that dramatically it does make more sense. What the DGG edition does have is great singing. from Jerusalem, Sotin and Weikl. The Kundry of Eva Randova, judged by most standards is very, very, good, but faced with the competition--Meier--her ability to convey Kundry's pain and conflict and barely suggested. Perhaps on repeated viewings I will change my mind.

Overall this is a Parsifal that can be recommended simply for great singing in an age when Wagner singers are becomming rarer and rarer.

I have this recording in laser disc and would like to see it released in DVD. This is simply the best Parsifal available. The orchestra and chorus under Horst Stein sound magnificent. His tempi are faster than the tempi adopted by most conductors, but there is no loss of magnificence and solemnity. Next to this, Levine's Met version sounds horribly slow. All the singers are simply incredible: Jerusalem is at his best, much better than he would be some years later for Levine. Randova is a real surprise, the most intense Kundry I have ever heard and seen. Sotin is also at his best, the voice is glorious. Weikl sings the role (differently from his performance at the Met for Levine, when he speaks the part), he conveys all the suffering of his character intensely. Roar is magnificently maleficent as Klingsor and Salminen is excellent in the small part of Titurel. I cannot understand why Universal or EuroArts (the latter has released some Bayreuth recording from Unitel with magnificent sound and image: Lohengrin, 1982, and Sinopoli's Tannhäuser) have not decided to release this extraordinary Parsifal in DVD. It is a shame that they have not done this yet.

This, Wolfgang Wagner's first production of his grandfather's final masterpiece, was a traditionalist reaction to his elder brother's famous 30 year old iconoclastic staging. The sets are very attractive, but the direction misses many opportunities for emotional depth and psychological insight. The singers are generally very good, but all have done better elsewhere.

Siegfried Jerusalem was a far better proponent of the title role a few years later. Here, though fresh of voice, he lacks the nuance that distinguished his more mature work. And he had not learned to act. Through most of the opera his elbows appear to be nailed to his sides. Eva Randova isn't bad as Kundry. Since mezzo-sopranos have taken over a role Wagner intended for sopranos, we have to expect a certain amount of strain at the top. And not many star level performers want to take on a demanding role whose third act puts them on stage for over an hour with only four notes to sing. Bernd Weikl's Amfortas is firmly sung, but also not yet the characterization into which it would soon ripen. Gurnemanz comes off best here, with Hans Sotin's voluminous and burnished basso resounding throughout. He is hampered by Horst Stein often criticized leadership.

Pedestrian conducting? No, merely prosaic, and precipitous. This is the fastest performance of Parsifal I've found in comparison with 27 others. (The total time is twenty minutes faster than Hermann Levi's 1882 premiere, and that is one of the five fastest I know of.) The result is a perfunctory-ness that refuses to allow the music to unfold as it should, in spite of some sterling efforts on the part of the orchestra's musicians.

If you must have a traditional Parsifal video, this is one of two equally inadequate choices. The MET's production is better sung, less attractive and equally apathetic, but Levine's lethargic and enervated tempi are infuriating.