Parsifal, Wagner and other assorted ramblings...

Its been a while since my last blog post...mainly due to real life getting in the way of opera-going but also a slow down in my operatic activity at ROH. My last excursion was to see my first Wozzeck with Karita Mattila and Simon Keenleyside.  It was a disturbing but yet invigorating experience but one that I didn't feel remotely qualified to blog about except to say that I want to see it again.  Its the sort of peice you need to see more than once before commenting on!

I'm going to apologise in advance about the rambling nature of this post which has been provoked by my first experience of a fully staged Parsifal at the ROH. Let me make this clear - this is absolutely not a review of the production.  For even though the first night has come and gone, the 'performance' I saw was in fact the final rehearsal and the ROH have asked me nicely not to blog about it...and on reflection they are probably right.  Although nice to know that my blog is being read in high places.

I had absolutely not intended to see this new production at all. Regular readers and Twitter followers will know that I'm not exactly the world's biggest Wagner fan although I have been making a distinct effort in this anniversary year - especially as there were so many riches on offer at this years BBC Proms.  But still, even after some great concert versions at the Albert Hall, I felt frustrated that I still didn't really 'get' Wagner in the way that I do Verdi or even Puccini.

So it was in the spirit of adventure that I snapped up a last minute rehearsal ticket to Parsifal and sallied forth. While not exactly reviewing the detail of what I saw on stage, I can say that I was utterly overwhelmed, intrigued and finally won over by the 'evil genius' that is Wagner.  I will explain 'evil genius' in a while but my reaction to this opera really puzzled and intrigued me.  What was it about this particular work that finally won me over? After all this is not an easy work....surely Lohengrin and Tannhauser are more accessible? Certainly it terms of length (5 and half hours including intervals) its the sort of thing that usually has me running for the exit.  And yet....

And yet this is where Wagner's evil genius kicks in.  There is something in the music of this work, in the story and in the absolute totality that reaches out and resonates with audience if only they let it.  Let me explain. Normally when I go to the opera I go for the emotional hit rather than the intellectual high, although both is good of course.  But if I don't get the emotional impact of a piece then you've lost me and I come away disappointed.  And most of the time the emotional high comes from a specific situation i.e. tragic love story gone wrong, combined with sublime music etc..  Verdi, Puccini et al are masters of this, and in years of opera going/listening I more or less know exactly where my own personal 'lump in the throat' moments occur, for example, Mimi's death, 'Amami Alfredo' in Traviata, end of Otello, etc etc.  Big emotional wallop moments.

Now this is where the evil genius of Wagner kicks in for me.  For he doesn't really do those obvious tear-jerking moments in opera.  So why did I find myself with tears running down my cheeks in the second act of Parsifal?  It did catch me rather by surprise as there was nothing really obvious going on in the music or on stage that I thought would warrant such a reaction.  And yet I believe that in this opera Wagner and his music just suck you in, make you slow down and give in...and that whatever is uppermost in your mind is given voice.  Sorry if that sounds bizarre and sentimental but that is the only explanation I have.  I finally figured out that what had triggered my emotional reaction was the scene with  Kundry talking about Parsifal's mother.  I lost my own mother to cancer this time last year but I wasn't really aware of that being a trigger until the tears were running down my face.  Like I said, 'evil genius'.

Now that the official first night of this production has been and gone, I'm also intrigued by the many and varied reactions to it, and it got me to thinking about how we experience live performance, what we compare it to and how we critically appraise it...not only for those who blog or those get paid to critique for a living, but just the audience in general.  Most of the time I like to pride myself that I don't pre-judge a performance and take each new or old production on its own merits.  But I now ask myself....is that really possible?

I came to this Parsifal with no previous preconceptions of performance history or even vocal history.  The only experience I've had is a few YouTube clips with Jonas Kaufmann and half of a concert performance at the Proms this year....and I really didn't like it enough to stick around for the second half.  So I was a fairly blank canvas.  Now with the best will in the world, if you are turning up for your 20th performance of Boheme or Traviata, it is very difficult NOT to compare with previous singers or productions, and this does colour your perception of what you are seeing on stage TODAY!.  For me, seeing my first staged Parsifal was almost like seeing a brand new opera - I had no history, no idea of what had gone in the past, but only a total involvement in what was happening on stage, right here, right now.  It was thrilling.

And so if nothing else, this Parsifal has given me a determination to experience opera differently if at all possible, to mentally wipe clean those memories of vocal and production's gone by, and just experience the performance in the here and now.  It might still be a disappointment or it might be a triumph, but at least I hope I will be judging it on its own merits.

And a final word about this particular production - please go see it, the cast are wonderful, committed and thrilling and the production, even if it doesn't succeed on all levels, is certainly one that will get the brain ticking.  I loved it.