Parsifal

Richard Wagner's final opera, one of his most difficult, features a libretto based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's 13th-century epic, but extends the highly allegorical source material to extraordinary length (four-hours-plus). The narrative centers on an order of knights guarding the Holy Grail and the spear that pierced the crucified Christ. Amfortas, their leader, lies mortally wounded after being seduced by the wild Kundry and losing the sacred weapon. Amfortas can be cured only by its touch, and it falls to Parsifal—a young woodsman introduced to the group's rituals by Amfortas's lieutenant, Gurnemanz—to recover the spear. The musical aspects of this 2013 Royal Opera House production are very strong, with René Pape and Gerald Finley delivering powerful performances as Gurnemanz and Amfortas, Simon O'Neill an effective Parsifal, and Angela Denoke a thrilling Kundry. Antonio Pappano's conducting is masterly, while the company orchestra plays magnificently. But Stephen Langridge's staging is peculiar, not just because the cast wears vaguely modern costumes in a sort of impressionist forest built around Amfortas's sickroom (a transparent cube), but also due to some strange imagery in scenes such as the Eucharistic ritual that closes Act 1, which features the stabbing of a boy whose blood is then sipped by the monks (the result is more unsettling than insightful). Presented in DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include interviews with O'Neill and Pappano. A better choice here would be Nikolaus Lehnhoff's 2004 Baden-Baden production (VL-9/05). A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)