This year, the Bayreuth Festival program was opened by Wagner’s last operas Parsifal the premiere, in which the mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca sang the role of Kundri. It was her debut in Bayreuth. Latvian star In Parsifal was heard on July 25 and 30 and August 12. Her performance highlights the warmth, nuance and intelligence of her singing. In the reviews, critics also praise the other soloists – tenor Andreas Schäger (Parsifal), bass Georg Ceppenfeld (Gurnemantz), bass-baritone Derek Welton (Amfortas) and baritone Jordan Schenechen (Klingsor). Praise goes to the orchestra, choir and conductor Pablo Eras-Casado, who is also making his debut in Bayreuth.
Elina Garanca as Kundri Parsifal in the premiere. Photo – Enrico Navrats
Director Jay Scheib has received sharp criticism. He has introduced elements of augmented or augmented reality into the production, but only a small part of the audience can fully appreciate them – there are 1925 seats in the Bayreuth theater, but the special glasses that help to see to Parsifal created flying psychedelic surreal animation characters (flowers, plants, fruits, asteroids, human figures, flaming horse, bleeding swans, insects, snakes, skulls, arrows, spears, axes, grenades, plastic bags, garbage, etc.) are available for only 330 visitors. Due to the high price, the artistic and budget department of the festival could not agree on the purchase of a sufficient number of glasses.
The director explains: the purpose of using digital technology is to provide viewers with “sacred visions of a world where miracles still exist.” Jay Scheib is convinced that the following Parsifal perfectly in line with Wagner’s own spirit of experimenter and innovator: “Wagner has created many innovations in both lighting and architecture. He wanted to make the theater disappear completely during the performance.” The director says that the show takes place in “a post-human landscape where the last group of people are trying to survive and understand what faith, forgiveness and a sense of belonging are”. Parsifal the new production can also be watched without glasses, in the “analogue version”. Critics emphasize that the differences are not significant, moreover, virtual characters do not complement the action of the stage, but rather cover the view and interfere with the perception of what is happening on the stage.
Reviewers conclude that director Jay Scheib has no fresh ideas and the production does not move, it is static and boring. The harshest reviewers call it one of the most intellectually empty Parsifal interpretations that have been seen in Germany in recent years – the director does not address any of the fundamental questions posed by the opera.
Elina Garanca sang in the first three Parsifal performances, then the mezzo-soprano Yekaterina Gubanova took over the role of Kundri. Parsifal In Bayreuth, the theater for which Wagner composed this opera, it will be heard on August 19, 23 and 27.
Information: bayreuther-festspiele.de
2023-08-17 00:37:19
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