Parsifal: Metropolitan Opera (Levine)

Having viewed most of Wagner's Operas on DVD, I was coming to the conclusion that there are just three types of production; good singing performances with dreadfully pretentious settings/interpretations which trample all over Wagner's stated intentions (which applies to the majority of productions I have seen and is unfortunately still the current fashion); authentic productions with mediocre singing; and mediocre singing with rubbish production. Until now. This DVD has everything I have been looking for. The casting is nigh-on perfect with singing to match. Waltraud Meier, with her great physical beauty, wonderful singing and fantastic acting is a truly great Kundry. Siegfried Jerusalem excels himself in the role of Parsifal. He sings and acts with conviction throughout. Kurt Moll and Bernd Weikl are excellent as Gurnemanz and Amfortas but Franz Mazura as Klingsor is just superb. He would certainly have stolen the show in Act II if he had not been matched with Meier. The interaction between these two is just fantastic. I have watched this scene a number of times and it never palls. The singing and acting are throughout performed against traditional and quite sumptuous sets. The opera itself is perhaps not the most accessible of Wagner's works but because this production sticks closely to Wagner's stated and implied intentions, this is by far the easiest version to follow I have come across. Unlike some reviewers of opera DVDs, I quite like a performance in front of a live audience. I find that the accompanying coughing and shuffling adds a touch of occasion and immediacy to the performance. I also enjoy the applause at the end, especially when I endorse the sentiment as here. My only reservation is that in this production they take curtain calls between acts. I really dislike this practice. I feel they break the emotional continuity of the opera and reduce the impact of the final calls. However, this is just a quibble and it's easy to hit the FF button. I feel sure that this is the sort of authentic total production of which Wagner would have approved and the sort of production I would love to own for each of Wagner's operas. Highly recommended.

Although I've heard Parsifal sung better, Siegfried Jerusalem certainly looks the part. The star performance, however, was given by Waltraud Meier as Kundry which was also confirmed by the audience. All in all, a fine version of opera.

Produced by the same team which produced the wonderful Der Ring Des Nibelungen in New York. Its a very fine production which is what to be expected from the maestros of the New York Metropolitan Opera. Wagner's final opera can be an ordeal to sit through at times due to its enormous length and subject matter. But if you are a die-hard Wagnerian it wont matter because this is a must see. Siegfried Jerusalem sings his part as Parsifal with much style and emotion. Veteran singer Kurt Moll is a very fine Gurnemanz indeed. But the star of the opera is the lovely Waltraud Meier who brings much passion to the difficult role of Kundry. Overall, the production cannot be really faulted. James Levine, as always conducts the New York Met Orchestra with his professionalism and style. However, it cannot really match the intensity of the famous Knappersbutsch Bayreuth 1962 recording which is still available on CD. Still, am sure any Wagnerian will welcome this addition to the ever growing DVD Opera catalogue. One thing though which needs to be mentioned; make sure your scart lead is in RGB socket on your television and that the RGB connection is on at setup in the DVD Menu page, otherwise picture will be in black and white and look grainy.

Probably what Wagner himself would have imagined the production should look like. Some scenes are dark and dull but overall this is a very beautiful scenic production. Highest quality singing makes this a reference stadard choice

Now, you would think as I have only given this 4-stars that I don't think this is excellent, but you'd be wrong. I just think the rather pedestrian conducting (which slows the pace a little too much), coupled with the static production (especially Act I), just removes this from perfection. It is gorgeoulsy sung, but Amfortas is better served elsewhere (Baden Baden), but that may be a fault of the production. Also, Klinsors kingdom didn't overwhelm me with malevolence as it should. Siegfried Jerusalem makes a fine Parsifal, but I suspect if this had been captured a few years earlier, then he would be fresher of voice. Waltraud Meier is a wonderful Kundry, but vocally I prefer Jesse Norman, who also sang in this production, but it wasn't televised. I have a Matinee recording of it and hopefully one day the Met will make it available in its historic broadcast series. For all that I have said, I do think this is an excellent recording and well worth having in your collection - but the version from Baden-Baden is far superior and I dream that one day they'll release a Bluray of the 2005 Vienna recording with Domingo and Meier, which is to die for and is currently out on CD (DG 00289-477-6006). As a final after thought, I can't get out of mind the production which opens at the Met in February 2013 (which I am desperately trying to get tickets for) with Jonas Kaufmann as Parsifal and Rene Pape as Gurnemanz. Now, that will definately be out on Bluray and I await it eagerly.

Vert good!!!

Excellent

Very disappointed that this 2 disc opera set would not play in 2 different known good players ???

Come per il Lohengrin una rappresentazione veramente magnifica sotto tutti punti di vista. La direzione di Levine è al solito splendida, i cantanti bravissimi e la coreografia stupenda.

Un vrai régal et délai de livraison parfait

Amazing cast. Very old fashioned production but very beautiful

Levine, Jerusalem, Meir and Weikl, amazing and moving interpretation. Some tears came put of me the first time I watched this sublime Opera

I bought the Met's later production of this music drama first, with Jonas Kaufmann in the lead. Despite the stellar cast, with Peter Mattei being the best imaginable Amfortas, the production and sound quality were unacceptable. A medieval tale with men dressed in business suits, sitting on hotel banquet chairs doesn't cut it for me (and I won't even go into what was transpired in Act 2). So this earlier production was a real head turner. To have a chalice that actually looks like a mystical relic that shimmers to life (in its own fashion) was refreshing after the absurd business in the later production. The sets were absolutely faultless to the medieval period and the meadow scene in Act III is so stunning, it could be awarded the finest operatic set of all time. The cast is rock solid, not as good as the later set, but excellent. Siegfried Jerusalem may fit the image of a world weary traveller in Act III, but he's a little long in the tooth to pull off the boyish Parsifal in Act I. Waltraud Meier is outstanding as Kundry, Wagner's most enigmatic character. Kurt Moll is fine and convincing in the somewhat punishing role of Gurnemanz. The biggest disappointment was the old 4:3 picture aspect ratio, but activating the zoom fills the screen to the modern format. Over the years I have been somewhat critical of James Levine being a bit lacklustre. However, his conducting of this score is outstanding - a truly remarkable Wagnerian conductor. The Prelude to Act I is the most sublime and luminous version I have ever heard, and the Met orchestra under his leadership throughout this remarkable score is as good as it gets.