Wagner: Parsifal (Baden-Baden, 2004)

Cast: Christopher Ventris (Parsifal), Waltraud Meier (Kundry), Matti Salminen (Gurnemanz), Tom Fox (Klingsor), Thomas Hampson (Amfortas), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Festspielchor Baden-Baden, Kent Nagano (conductor), Raimund Bauer (sets), Andrea Schmidt-Futterer (costumes), Nikolaus Lehnhoff (director), Thomas Grimm (video director)

Recorded at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in 2004

Issued on DVD by OpusArte in 2005 [OA 0915 D, NTSC/all regions, menus in English, Subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian]

Technical details
Aspect ratio 16:9
Sound LPCM Stereo, DTS 5.1

Running Time 317 minutes

Sung in German

One must begin the comment on this recording with the production by Nikolaus Lehnhoff. It is modern in concept and in implementation, very cool in tone and laden with symbols. One's reaction is likely to be highly personal and depend on whether the symbology resonates with the viewer's idea of the opera. Everything that is essential is reasonably present - the spear is a spear - but it may not be in its usual form. To the extent that viewer and staging are consonant, the production will expand understanding; to the extent that the imagery puzzles, it will distract from the opera.

Salminen is a superb Gurnemanz and Meier an ideal Kundry for Nagano's emotional, even erotic conducting. Ventris has the voice for Parsifal but compresses the dynamics: he does not ring out at climaxes or float the tone when fitting. Fox's Klingsor is properly terrifying; Hampson agonizes physically and vocally as Amfortas, but without distortion of the rôle. Throughout, clarity prevails in orchestral detail, enunciation, lighting and video image. One should ignore the advertising hype: surround sound is effective for the orchestra alone; video quality and direction are very fine but not exceptional; the one-hour supplement is more tedious than informative.

At worst, the recording may be enjoyed as audio only; in that respect, it is an excellent reading in very fine sound. At best, the video production will illuminate the score, stripping it of convention and religion.
 
Related website:
BBC Opus Arte: www.opusarte.com/

Michael Richter, 22 October 2005
mrichter@cpl.net
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.