"Parsifal" Met HD Theaters

[+ WilliamM]

I shall just post a little tonight because I am seeing "Parsifal" live at the Met on Tuesday.

 

Dissappointed by the new production, especially all the fake blood.

 

Almost perfect Act 2, especially Jonas Kaufmann, Katarina Dalayman, Evgeny Nikitin (despite all the blood).

 

Act 1 was especially difficult to sit through even for "Parsifal."

 

If you are on the fence about seeing this production know that Mr. Kaufmann is shirtless for large stretches on Acts 2 & 3. It was my first experience of Jonas Kaufmann in a lead role; I now understand what all the excitement is about (w/ a shirt or not).

[whipped guy]

We all prepare differently prior to seeing a production live... I actually try to avoid listening to the opera for a number of months prior... and would never think of seeing the HD broadcast beforehand... after yes... but not previous to the main event. In fact I even avoid listening to the radio broadcast. I like to have a clean slate and also be surprised... and experience the piece almost as if for the first time... Of course with some operas... say Traviata etc. it is impossible to get any preconceived notions out of your head... but I like to go with as much of an open mind as is possible... It all goes back to the first time I was at the MET, the night before I listened to a famous recording in order to prepare... and the live event was nowhere near as good... too many cuts... the soprano was having an off-day...

 

At any rate, that's just my way of doing things... but perhaps you got things right... not only will you get to see JK twice... and not only shirtless twice... but you were able to enjoy him up close, personal, and larger than life during the HD broadcast. Better and much closer than even front row orchestra center tickets!!! In any event, if I were you I would bring my opera glasses for a better look on Tuesday!!

[operalover21]

I have seen every performance of the run so far -- especially knowing that they canned it for next season to accomodate Levine -- and I think it's one of the most brilliant new productions seen at the MET in many, many years. It is perfection on every level. Now, they have a huge hit on their hands and they're not bringing it back. Ridiculous.

 

I don't see how any opera fan could fail to be enthralled and moved by the whole thing.

 

PS: I don't think that Kaufmann looks all that special shirtless. Not up to the standard I like to see in a shirtless guy!

[BaronArtz]

I went to the Met last Wednesday to watch Parsifal. The ouverture was magnificent. Act 1, indeed difficult to sit through - 45 minutes of recitativo. Act II had splendid singing by Kaufman and Dalayman. I was highly annoyed to see the staging of Act II though - it looked like a menstruating vagina - and I am sorry to be so graphic. The musical performance, however, was so amazing that you forget about the ridiculous staging. Why all the blood? Why these silly maidens holding spears throughout much of Act II? It doesn't add anything ... In spite of all that, this was a performance for the history books, based only on the strength of the 3 lead roles. In addition, Gatti conducted the entire opera without a score. I totally recommend this performance if you are Wagner fan. If you are not, a 5 1/2 hour performance can be a bit ... much.

[Diverdan]

Parsifal was the first live Opera I ever saw, and it was at the MET. I was in town for only a few days visiting friends, and the only ticket I could get was standing room, and I didn't realize how long it was until after it was over, I was so enthralled. I fell in love with opera after seeing that performance, and that is many, many years ago. I wish I could be in NYC to see the current production.

[+ Charlie]

The first few times I saw "Parsifal," I thought the first act dragged, but the more familiar I became with the music, the more interesting it became to me. Now it is sometimes the last act that I wish could be speeded up.

[+ WilliamM]

 

PS: I don't think that Kaufmann looks all that special shirtless. Not up to the standard I like to see in a shirtless guy!

 

Not muscular enough for your taste?

[whipped guy]

It will be interesting to see WillaimM's reaction to the production as seen live compared to the HD presentation. I have always felt that the two were completely different experiences. Sometimes it is better to see close ups, at other times it is better to see the entire stage. In any event, I am looking forward to hearing more... even though I myself probably would not survive the entire Parsifal experience myself.

 

As for DD and standing room at the MET, the longest opera I have ever done is Don Giovanni... but since that is always in my top ten, I made it through without any problems. Never even got yelled at by an usher for slouching or not staying exactly in my boxed in space.

[justaguy]

I wish I could see it. Right now I've got the grail motif stuck in my head. Parsifal has long been one of my favorite pieces.

[operalover21]

I went to the Met last Wednesday to watch Parsifal. The ouverture was magnificent. Act 1, indeed difficult to sit through - 45 minutes of recitativo. Act II had splendid singing by Kaufman and Dalayman. I was highly annoyed to see the staging of Act II though - it looked like a menstruating vagina - and I am sorry to be so graphic. The musical performance, however, was so amazing that you forget about the ridiculous staging. Why all the blood? Why these silly maidens holding spears throughout much of Act II? It doesn't add anything ... In spite of all that, this was a performance for the history books, based only on the strength of the 3 lead roles. In addition, Gatti conducted the entire opera without a score. I totally recommend this performance if you are Wagner fan. If you are not, a 5 1/2 hour performance can be a bit ... much.

 

Ridiculous staging? You can't be serious. This is one of the most amazing stagings of any opera in the past 25 years. Overture? Do you go to the opera much? It's a prelude, not an overture. 45 minutes of recit? What did you want? Lots of happy arias?

 

5 1/2 hours of perfection can be a bit much?

 

God, please save opera from its own fans!

[operalover21]

Not muscular enough for your taste?

 

 

And too flabby.

[operalover21]

It will be interesting to see WillaimM's reaction to the production as seen live compared to the HD presentation. I have always felt that the two were completely different experiences. Sometimes it is better to see close ups, at other times it is better to see the entire stage. In any event, I am looking forward to hearing more... even though I myself probably would not survive the entire Parsifal experience myself.

 

As for DD and standing room at the MET, the longest opera I have ever done was Don Giovanni... but since that is always in my top ten, I made it through without any problems. Never even got yelled at by an usher for slouching or not staying exactly in my boxed in space.

 

You're absolutely right. And they should each be taken as their own art form, which they are .... I look forward to watching the DVD today which I got over the weekend of Saturday's HD to see how different it will be from the in-house staging. It's more like film, as the director makes the choice of what you see as opposed to live when you make that choice yourself.

[whipped guy]

Since mention was made of a bit of blood in this production, it reminded me of last season's Anna Bolena, where during the second act it was evident in the house that Smeaton had been roughed up a bit. However, it was quite obvious on the video that (s)he had been bloodied significantly in the process... a detail that in my opinion was a bit overdone... and was not necessary, and all the more so since the role is played by a female. I would assume such an up close and personal detail would only have been noticed by those in the orchestra level. It was not noticed be me in the grand tier where I was seated... and certainly would not have been discerned in the family circle!

[+ WilliamM]

I have seen every performance of the run so far -- especially knowing that they canned it for next season to accomodate Levine -- and I think it's one of the most brilliant new productions seen at the MET in many' date=' many years. It is perfection on every level. I don't see how any opera fan could fail to be enthralled and moved by the whole thing. ![/quote']

 

I shall be vey interested in your opinion of the DVD of Saturday's HD performance. For me, it was perfection in every way except the scenery and the blood scenes in act two. It may be that you have to see the entire stage to understand the blood; that is the way I felt at times on Saturday. As time passes, I look back more and more fondly at Saturday, and with the expectations of finally seeing this "Parsifal in person tomorrow.

[Epigonos]

As I get older I come to realize that I am more and more a prisoner of my youth. My mother introduced me to opera at the early age of five or six. She absolutely adored Mozart’s opera as well as virtually all Italian opera. In the Renata Tebaldi/Maria Callas squabble she was always a firm and vocal supporter of Tebaldi. As much as she loved Italian and early German opera she absolutely loathed Richard Wagner. She would tolerate The Flying Dutchman and Die Meistersinger but damn near when ballistic at the very mention of the Ring. To this day I can’t sit through any of the Ring operas. I’m convinced Mother would come out of her grave and give me a major dressing down.

[+ g56whiz]

I'm not a big Parsifal fan. But I do like Jonas Kaufman so I saved the date and was one of 5 brave folks in a 400 seat theater to experience the Live in HD performance. I'm very glad I did. I don't think I'll ever "like" Parsifal at least not in the way I like or love Das Rosenkavelier or Carmen or Cosi. But Parsifal is a towering work of Western Culture and now I think I begin to appreciate why. The Met's new production cuts away a lot of the frew fraw of romantic Wagnerian productions of yore and it wallows in sexual symbolism (save maybe moving Amfortas' wound) which may be only appropriate for a work that just precedes Freud's unwinding of our psyches. In so doing, it hones in on the many intertwined ideas of knowing and salvation and . . . and . . . and. The list could go on. And then there's the singing and conducting. Kaufman, Dalayman, Pape. The cast is consistently great from top to bottom. The ringing notes flow out seemingly effortlessly and the diction so precise that I often found myself ignoring the subtitles. And Dalayman is my first unstrident Kudry and being unstrident, the enigma she represents shines through. And the Conducting!!! I noted in passing as the Gatti got to the podium that there was no score there. But there was an ever so slight hesitation in his down beat and you could feel the orchestra almost breathing as one with him so I forgot about this until it was mentioned at one of the intermissions. The Met orchestra is perhaps the finest in the US - a great Levine legacy. And while they play well with others, they play like a chamber ensemble for Levine and now for Gatti.

 

I went especially to hear Kaufman, and did so in spite of the buckets of blood staging presaged in the press. But it works, it works if you permit yourself to dwell on the themes and symbols being portrayed. Yea I would have favored a more dramatic spear toss and perhaps an on stage Titurel but the sparse staging as a whole forces you to focus on the characters and what they are singing. Yes I realize the HD broadcast director was leading around by the ring in my intellect but so what. It got me through a work I have never before liked. Perhaps he (or she) can get me through Francesca in two weeks. I thought it was a ludicrous Levine indulgence when I attended performances in its first run decades ago.

 

They announced that Levine was in the HD line-up for next season conducting Cosi. I have a vague recollection that he conducted Cosi from the keyboard in the past. Can anyone help me on this?

[operalover21]

Since mention was made of a bit of blood in this production, it reminded me of last season's Anna Bolena, where during the second act it was evident in the house that Smeaton had been roughed up a bit. However, it was quite obvious on the video that (s)he had been bloodied significantly in the process... a detail that in my opinion was a bit overdone... and was not necessary, and all the more so since the role is played by a female. I would assume such an up close and personal detail would only have been noticed by those in the orchestra level. It was not noticed be me in the grand tier where I was seated... and certainly would not have been discerned in the family circle!

 

I saw no difference but, then again, I sit in the orchestra level, first row.

[operalover21]

I shall be vey interested in your opinion of the DVD of Saturday's HD performance. For me, it was perfection in every way except the scenery and the blood scenes in act two. It may be that you have to see the entire stage to understand the blood; that is the way I felt at times on Saturday. As time passes, I look back more and more fondly at Saturday, and with the expectations of finally seeing this "Parsifal in person tomorrow.

 

I think Act 2 is perfection, in the house, and on the HD. I completely love the blood and am not sure which interpretation I fancy at this point: is it the blood flowing from Amfortas' side or is it menstrual blood from Kundry? Or is it both?

 

One of the greatest productions I've ever seen in over 40 years of opera-going.

[operalover21]

As I get older I come to realize that I am more and more a prisoner of my youth. My mother introduced me to opera at the early age of five or six. She absolutely adored Mozart’s opera as well as virtually all Italian opera. In the Renata Tebaldi/Maria Callas squabble she was always a firm and vocal supporter of Tebaldi. As much as she loved Italian and early German opera she absolutely loathed Richard Wagner. She would tolerate The Flying Dutchman and Die Meistersinger but damn near when ballistic at the very mention of the Ring. To this day I can’t sit through any of the Ring operas. I’m convinced Mother would come out of her grave and give me a major dressing down.

 

How sad. I've never understood how a music lover (of course, perhaps that's not who she was) could "loathe" any composer yet alone an entire body of a composer's work. Afterall, there is good even in Massenet and Meyerbeer (okay, not much).

[operalover21]

I'm not a big Parsifal fan. But I do like Jonas Kaufman so I saved the date and was one of 5 brave folks in a 400 seat theater to experience the Live in HD performance. I'm very glad I did. I don't think I'll ever "like" Parsifal at least not in the way I like or love Das Rosenkavelier or Carmen or Cosi. But Parsifal is a towering work of Western Culture and now I think I begin to appreciate why. The Met's new production cuts away a lot of the frew fraw of romantic Wagnerian productions of yore and it wallows in sexual symbolism (save maybe moving Amfortas' wound) which may be only appropriate for a work that just precedes Freud's unwinding of our psyches. In so doing, it hones in on the many intertwined ideas of knowing and salvation and . . . and . . . and. The list could go on. And then there's the singing and conducting. Kaufman, Dalayman, Pape. The cast is consistently great from top to bottom. The ringing notes flow out seemingly effortlessly and the diction so precise that I often found myself ignoring the subtitles. And Dalayman is my first unstrident Kudry and being unstrident, the enigma she represents shines through. And the Conducting!!! I noted in passing as the Gatti got to the podium that there was no score there. But there was an ever so slight hesitation in his down beat and you could feel the orchestra almost breathing as one with him so I forgot about this until it was mentioned at one of the intermissions. The Met orchestra is perhaps the finest in the US - a great Levine legacy. And while they play well with others, they play like a chamber ensemble for Levine and now for Gatti.

 

I went especially to hear Kaufman, and did so in spite of the buckets of blood staging presaged in the press. But it works, it works if you permit yourself to dwell on the themes and symbols being portrayed. Yea I would have favored a more dramatic spear toss and perhaps an on stage Titurel but the sparse staging as a whole forces you to focus on the characters and what they are singing. Yes I realize the HD broadcast director was leading around by the ring in my intellect but so what. It got me through a work I have never before liked. Perhaps he (or she) can get me through Francesca in two weeks. I thought it was a ludicrous Levine indulgence when I attended performances in its first run decades ago.

 

They announced that Levine was in the HD line-up for next season conducting Cosi. I have a vague recollection that he conducted Cosi from the keyboard in the past. Can anyone help me on this?

 

He certainly hasn't conducted Cosi from the keyboard in my experience. At least not in the last 25 years.

 

Where did you see Parsifal in HD with only 5 people in the theater? Everyone I know who saw it -- in around 6 different cities -- reported that it was sold out and packed.

[+ Charlie]

Afterall, there is good even in Massenet and Meyerbeer (okay, not much).

 

I am outraged that you think there is anything in Meyerbeer that isn't magnificent. (Massenet, well.....)

[operalover21]

I am outraged that you think there is anything in Meyerbeer that isn't magnificent. (Massenet, well.....)

 

I think the Reader's Digest version of Meyerbeer would be better. Whittle those 4 hours of nothingness into 15 minutes of nothingness.