Parsifal

On Wednesday night, we went to hear the new production of Parsifal at the Met.  It was a long evening, starting with dinner in the Grand Tier restaurant at 4 PM and ending just before midnight.   Parsifal might be the ultimate Wagnerian opera; it is problematic, to say the least.  The plot could probably be described in a paragraph, and parts of it stretch time out to an extremely slow pace, and characters reflect endlessly on their situation.  The Wagnerian view of Christianity is confusing, and ultimately, I ended up not looking at the surtitles.  The last act, however, contains what is to me some of the most sublime music I have ever heard, and the orchestra and singing were nothing short of superb.  The production itself sets the opera in a kind of post-apoclyptic landscape; barren ground and barely any light.  Non-stop gloom, in fact.  The second act is set in a kind of cave, with the entire stage covered in a pool of blood.   When one of the characters sings about all the flowers around, there are none to be seen.   While the sets and video projections (including some 2001-like cosmic images) are stunning, the relentless gloom and darkness get to you after a while.   But ultimately, it is about the music, and to hear Wagner's music played and sung in a performance of such intensity is a thrilling experience.  Though not one I would want to repeat very often.

A few images

The pool of blood, and the flower maidens, in a very wide screen image: