Parsifal

Wagner himself called his last opera a Bühnenweihfestspiel ("festival play for the consecration of the stage"), so much so that the work resembles a coming-of-age story, in this case that of Parsifal, Lohengrin's father. A sort of Christic figure, he appears as the one who redeems humanity from its faults. The libretto, written by Wagner himself, is full of references to medieval legends and allusions to the philosophies of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. The orchestral writing is articulated throughout between chromatic tensions and leitmotif, each of the motifs being associated with a character or theme, one of the musical compositional signatures of the Bayreuth master. The testamentary work, created in 1882 a year before his death, is considered one of the most difficult in the repertoire. Part Christian drama and part coming-of-age story, this tale of redemption through love demands "extraordinary" qualities from its vocal interpreters. The line-up, led by a "formidable Wagnerian couple", the Parsifal by heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich and Anja Kampe's Kundry, supported by the musical prowess of the Bavarian State Orchestra, lives up to the challenge.

PRODUCTION Théâtre des Champs-Elysées