MET LIVE HD PARSIFAL
A JOURNEY OF REDEMPTION
Act II below
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Reviewed by Dwight Casimere
Metropolitan Opera
photos by Ken Howard
Richard Wagner’s
Parsifal, as depicted in the new Metropolitan Opera production, directed by
acclaimed Academy Award winning (1998 The Red Violin, Academy Award for Best
Original Score) director Francois Girard, is a dark and gloomy affair. For a
moment, as I entered the darkened movie theatre in the Met Live in HD
presentation, I thought I might have accidentally stumbled into the movie “The
Last Exorcism: Part II”, which was playing in an adjoining theatre, but Rene
Pape’s familiar stentorian bass voice assured me that I was in the right place.
Michael Levine’s
chillingly stark set, depicting an almost treeless forest with a moon
crater-like lake, and two barren berms ripped right out off the stage of Athol
Fugard’s Boesman and Lena, turned out to be the perfect setting. It set the
theme of personal redemption and salvation in bas-relief against the
apocalyptic backdrop and served to heighten the emotional impact of Wagner’s
last masterpiece.
“It’s a piece that
stands on its own,” director Francoise Girard told Met Backstage Interviewer
and star bass Eric Owen. “It’s in its own league. For five years, I spent
working on it, I cam to realize that it is an experience that is far beyond the
normal scheme of productions. It’s a very simple story of Spiritual Redemption
and the question for all us involved was ‘how do we make this relevant and we
actually decided to make it contemporary, so the torments and temptations are
not about monks of the past, but they are relevant today. It’s our suffering.
It’s our temptation; it’s our life that’s onstage.
“Wagner, in the last
year’s of his life, tried to reconcile all of his influences both spiritually
and musically in Parsifal. Artistically, it was such a testament to the body of
his work. The piece is very long. It’s very dense. It makes references to not
only Christianity, but to Buddhism, which we also tried to reference in out
production. There’s so much in it that it took a Herculean effort to bring it
to the stage. There are well over 200 artists working here today in order to
bring Wagner’s vision into fruition. But we have a lot of big heavy shoulders
to carry the weight of this responsibility.”
Eric Owens proved to
be a masterful Backstage Host and Interviewer. His ease in addressing the
camera, with his mellifluous basso profundo voice, and his command of the
subject matter informed his questions and served to set his interview subjects
at ease. All except for his boss, Met General Richard Gelb, who seemed to have
just a bit of stage jitters as he answered Owens’s probing questions. Listening to the difficult names of the
mostly Russian and Swedish cast members literally roll off of his tongue was a
special delight.
From the Overture to
Act I, through to the final charismatic scene, more than five and a half hours
later, Parsifal is a riveting experience.
Jonas Kaufmann sets just the right pitch as his central character balances
on knifepoint between outright cruel criminal behavior and the possibility of
repentance and personal salvation. His plight is not unlike that of today’s
youth, ensnared in a web of urban violence, and the nation’s current debate
over gun violence. Somehow, Wagner’s message is ricocheted from the 13th
century sanctuary of the Knights of the Holy Grail to modern times by Thibault
Vancraenenbroeck’s pitch-perfect costume design, David Finn’s dramatic
lighting, which almost becomes another cast member, Peter Flaherty’s video
design and Levine’s sparse, but symbol-laden sets.
Carolyn Choa’s
choreography is a superb complement to the score throughout and serves to meld
the singing of the chorus, as always masterfully prepared and conducted by
Chorus Master Donald Palumbo, and the action onstage.
In the lair of
Klingsor, in Act II, dancers and chorus become fused in a single effort that both
propels the action and roots the story in its contrasting themes.
The singing is divine,
as is the conducting by Maestro Daniele Gatti who, deservedly, received a
thunderous ovation as he made his way to the podium for the final act. Jonas Kaufmann is one of the great
dramatic tenors of the opera stage, although I’d recommend that he hit the gym
a time or two before doing the “buff” thing. But, perhaps that too is in
character, given Parsifal’s exhaustive, Christ-like journey toward
self-awareness.
“Par-si-fal”,”
Katatrina Dalayman intones in the role of the ageless medium Kundry, “both
pious and foolish.” This sets forth the emotional dichotomy of the character
and his dilemma. The sights of Parsifal struggling over the mound in sackcloth,
while holding high the holy spear is the emotional highpoint of the opera.
Wagner intended
Parsifal as a type of Benediction, designed to consecrate the stage of his
beloved creation, Bayreuth. Here, his mission is realized with not just
reverence, but a distinctly modern verve that makes Parsifal relevant to the
trials and tribulations of today. Parsifal will experience an Encore
performance Wednesday March 20th at 6:30pm local time. Check local
listings for theatre locations or visit www.metopera.org
or fathomevents.com. It is not to be missed.
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