13895 Wagner News 174 - Wagner Society of England

CONCERT PERFORMANCE OF PARSIFAL AT CARDIFF
Bill Bliss
Is it possible to enjoy a concert performance of Parsifal when those singing the two main
roles: Gurnemanz and Parsifal are clearly not up to the mark? Yes it is when the Mariinsky
Opera is conducted by Valery Gergiev. As has often been mentioned in this journal,
concert performances have much to recommend them. The music shines through, there
are no distractions from the stage and once again you are reminded that in Wagner the
main voice is the orchestra and in the Millennium Centre on 31st March it certainly was.
Gergiev may have been in cruise control but the mellifluous tone he produced from his
orchestra was sublime, never more so than in the final few minutes of Act III. But did we
applaud too soon ?
There were two brilliant solo performances. Evgeny Nikitin as Amfortas had a
large voice from a large frame and his contrition and suffering were manifest. I have never
heard such a powerful and malevolent Klingsor as that sung by Nikolay Putilin. (These
two were the only representatives from Gergiev's recent and well-received CD recording).
Larisa Gogolevskaya in the role of Kundry was a little strident at the top of her range, but
certainly believable. The same could not be said of Yuri Vorobiev as Gurnemanz who
never uttered an ugly sound but sweetness of tone is not the main requirement for this
role. More heft and solemnity were needed and, at risk of being ageist, wasn't he far too
young for the part? August Amonov as Parsifal (too old) was similarly low in volume and
commitment whilst body language was almost totally absent. In Act II there was no need
for him and Kundry to be separated by the conductor's podium as the likelihood of
anything approaching a look, let alone a kiss, was non-existent.
There are all sorts of graduations between concert performances and semi-staged
ones. No one expects costumes and total interaction, but an acknowledgement that the
person you are singing about is on the platform with you does add to the drama. (Didn't
Wagner write music drama – not opera?) Vivid memories of Domingo and Tomlinson
singing and “acting” Parsifal and Gurnemanz at the Royal Festival Hall in 1998 are
fixtures in my memory bank.
From a personal point of view the final test of a great Wagner performance is the
‘next day effect’. Did I feel a little spaced-out and semi-detached from real life? In the
case of Gergiev’s Parsifal,undoubtedly: Yes!
WAGNER SOCIETY OF NEW YORK LECTURES AT BAYREUTH
The Wagner Society of New York’s 2013 programme of lectures will run from 10:30am
to noon on the dates of the following performances at the Arvena Kongress Hotel:
August 24th Der fliegende Holländer (new production)
August 25th Lohengrin
August 26th Tristan und Isolde
August 27th Tannhäuser
August 28th Parsifal
Tickets are 12 euros per lecture, payable at the door. No advance reservation
is necessary. The lecturer is John J.H. Muller, who presented the 2010 and
2011 Bayreuth lectures. He has been a member of The Juilliard School
music history faculty for 30 years and is a past department chairman.
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