(Photo: Serghei Gherciu) A week before Good Friday, the National Theatre in Prague premiered a “Parsifal” that seemed less a ritual of inherited faith than an inquiry into the architecture of knowledge itself. Richard Wagner’s final work–his self-styled Bühnenweihfestspiel of 1882–has always invited metaphysical inflection. In “Parsifal,” Richard Wagner distills a vast philosophical meditation into a deceptively simple narrative: A {…}
Richard Wagner’s “Parsifal” is set to return to the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland from March 20 – 29, 2026. This marks the third presentation of the production by the Goetheanum. Roland Fister conducts the staging by Jasmin Solfaghari and eurythmy direction by Stefan Hasler. Walter Schütze designs the sets, costumes, and video, Andreas Klippert prepares the chorus, and lighting design {…}
(Photo Credit: Cory Weaver) From the magic of those first ascending B flat minor motifs, to the shimmering chromatic closure, Wagner’s final masterwork “Parsifal” casts a spell of unspeakable radiance. A spell that can fail to materialize when directorial concept goes awry. The Nov. 2nd performance of the San Francisco Opera’s new production of “Parsifal” was an orchestral triumph, and {…}
The San Francisco Opera is set to present Wagner’s “Parsifal.” The production will be conducted by Caroline H. Hume, Music Director, Eun Sun Kim, in a new production by Matthew Ozawa. In a statement, Ozawa said: “At a time when the world seems increasingly fractured, I believe Parsifal speaks directly to the crisis of disconnection so many of us feel. {…}
(© Enrico Nawrath) First seen on the Green Hill in 2023, the director of “Parsifal,” 55-year-old Jay Scheib, professor of music and theatre arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an American of international standing in the hi-tech world, is a technological wizard like no other! A couple of his credits include Thomas Adès’ “Powder Her Face” (New York {…}
(Photo: Richard Hubert Smith) A new production of Wagner’s “Parsifal” is always a big deal, given the imaginative and actual scale of the work and the special aura that surrounds it – a triumph of Bayreuth marketing, truly, to try and restrict its performances for so many years. But this new staging at Glyndebourne Festival Opera signals the first time {…}
The Tiroler Festspiel Erl Easter “Parsifal” was not, as some might have thought, Jonas Kaufmann’s “swan song,” either as Artistic Director or as Parsifal. Instead, the new production directed by Philipp M. Krenn, was replete with new directions, foci, trials and errors. A single lane swimming pool; a series of videos built around the landscape that housed the theater; a {…}
(Photo credit: ©EnricoNawrath) In preparation for the new “Parsifal” at Bayreuth last year, one may have harbored preconceived doubts as to the very idea regarding the use of Augmented Reality eyeglasses. After attending this year’s performances, the doubts lingered; and although this production may not be considered a negative adventure per se, one may not view this experiment as a {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has unveiled its 2025 season. The season opens with “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” starring Michael Spyres, Georg Zeppenfeld, Christina Nilsson, Christa Mayer, and Matthias Stier. Daniele Gatti conducts and Matthias Davids directs. Performance Dates: July 25 – August 22, 2025 Valentin Schwarz’s “Das Rheingold” will be conducted by Simone Young and features Tomas Konieczny, Olafur Sigurdarson, Daniele Behle, {…}
After 140 years, Wagner’s final opera, “Parsifal,” first performed at the second Bayreuth Festival in 1882, finally got its Mexican premiere in April of this year. While not quite an opera—it was defined by Wagner as an ‘Bühnenweihfestspiel,’ or a ‘stage festival play’ with a sacred focus—Wagner’s final piece testifies to his consummate understanding of opera as not just a {…}
There is something to be said about the proverbial aura of live performances, especially in the case of “Parsifal” and recordings from its native Bayreuth. The pleasure is double – cynics might argue – in the absence of visual extravagance, incl. kinky stage designs and the intrusion of AR into the scenography. Thankfully, Deutsche Grammophon does not impose the latter; {…}