Wagner: Parsifal

This has long been my favourite performance of this magnificent work, and this new re-mastering takes it still further away from the (excellent) competition of Karajan, and Kubelik. (There's also, I suppose, for historical interest, the Knappertsbusch recordings at Bayreuth: and, by the way, I wish reviewers hereabouts would take five seconds of their lives to write the man's name in full, and not use "Kna", as if they were personally known to the old chap.)One runs out of superlatives for this one now. While Gottlob Frick might not have been everyone's idea for Gurnemanz, he is, quite simply, magnificent. While the lovely, mellifluous bass of Kurt Moll on both the other versions is superb, he comes over as a slightly detached observer of the decay around him. Frick, on the other hand, is pious, and passionate, but full of humanity - like some kindly old uncle. It's a more nuanced performance than Moll's, and a revelation. Wonderful.Fischer-Dieskau gives a towering performance as the anguished Amfortas, wringing every ounce of meaning from the text. A true Wagnerian (like Rene Kollo, he's written a book on Wagner), this might be his finest recording of the master's work.Some might find the aggressive, caustic delivery of Zoltan Kelemen's Klingsor a little hard to take, but it's a completely believable rendering of the psychology of a self-castrated magician longing for revenge. And with Lucia Popp and Kiri Te Kanawa leading the sickly-sweet lilt of the attempted seduction of Parsifal, that scene (which should never be just pretty voices) is near-perfect.And what can one say about Christa Ludwig's Kundry? Stupendous. Immense. Totally authentic. Her delivery of the line "His mother is dead" in the presence of Parsifal, is devastatingly effective; her laugh as Parsifal approaches the magic garden is chilling, and full of demonic shadings - as it must be; her account of why she was cursed - the mocking laugh is electrifying - is the best I've ever heard. Every detail of the text is understood, and weighed, and enunciated with brilliant balance and power, by a singer in total command of her part. Act Two, with Kollo playing his part with great effect, is thus almost overwhelming.But of course we aren't finished. There's Act Three, and that moment - inexplicably omitted from almost all other studio recordings - where the Grail Knights "break into a cry of woe" at the sight of Titurel's corpse, is the proper and only precursor to Amfortas's last anguished peroration. That whole Grail Knights scene is simply immense. (I knew I'd run out of superlatives.)This new re-mastering is a revelation. The orchestral detail is such that absolutely everything can now be heard, and followed. Examples: the brass still clearly audible above even the terrific sound of the Grail Knights in full flow: the bowed cellos and double-basses so clear that it's almost possible to count them; the alto voice at the very end of the work actually distinguishable from the orchestra (where normally it's almost swamped by it); all this, and much more, make this compelling - almost addictive.History might judge this as a greater Decca/Solti/Vienna Philharmonic performance even than the Solti Ring. (It's just a thought.)Richard Wagner would turn in his grave on hearing this - but only to be sure of not missing a single note of this wonderful recording.

Where Karajan’s Parsifal touches the sublime, Solti’s is elemental. Such seems to have been the case between these two conductors, both of whom established landmark interpretations of Wagner, not forgetting earlier grandees such as Knappertsbusch and more recent conductors such as Haitink and Barenboim.Solti’s Wagner is, like Karajan’s, a thing of wonder. It has always been so, even if in the case of Parsifal, Solti’s has been less celebrated. But we have never before experienced it as we can now in this extraordinary new transfer on Blu ray. The remastering is something to behold, and we surely hear (on a good sound system) something beyond the experience that the original record producers and performers heard. Lucky us!Parsifal is, of all operas, an ‘experience’, and the ruggedness of humanity combines with the transcendental in this deeply moving performance.While we can and must glory at Kurt Moll as Gurnemanz in several great recordings (Karajan, Levine’s Met and Kubelik) Gottlob Frick creates an equally profound interpretation for Solti. His voice is every bit as special and is darker in hue. The grisly Hagen he so tellingly portrayed in Der Ring is replaced with a figure of immense humanity and generosity. This is magnificent singing. Christa Ludwig’s Kundry is one of the finest of all interpretations, her voice resplendent in its prime. Then there is Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Amfortas. He, like the equally glorious José van Dam (Karajan and Barenboim) brings a mix of beauty, nobility and anguish to this central character. We are fortunate indeed to be able to enjoy both great singers in this role. Hans Hotter, another great Gurnemanz, is a deeply sonorous Titurel.The malignant Klingsor of Zoltan Kéléman sends chills down the spine, his voice cutting right though you. And then there is Rene Kollo at his heroic finest. His voice fresher than I’ve heard even in other fine recordings.Finally there is the great Vienna Philharmonic. Which orchestra to choose? Berlin or Vienna? Both so different and both setting standards one can only dream of. The great moments where orchestra and chorus combine are in both transformation scenes where we are drawn into a land of sonorous tolling bells and knights of the grail singing their hearts out. Solti generates such a mix of exultant tension and magnificence that one is simply left in awe.In terms of performance, Solti’s Parsifal is a glorious achievement with all soloists, chorus and orchestra working to achieve a masterful result. But now we can hear it on Blu ray as if it was recorded yesterday - and brilliantly so. The performers enter our home and we are entrapped in their magical world. The quality of the remastering by Paschal Byrne is simply extraordinary, and I imagine that Christopher Rayburn and his mentor John Culshaw would be thrilled that their recording techniques had been so magnificently presented.This is a deeply special release and no lover of opera, especially Wagner, should be without it. Buy it, and if you don’t have a good sound system, then surf the second hand audio pages for some speaker bargains!You will also need to purchase Karajan’s recording, and perhaps others too. But if you only have this recording, you’ll treasure it for always, and for good reason.The standards being set by Decca and Deutsche Grammophon for these special Blu ray limited editions are truly state of the art.

This is rightly regarded as one of the greatest recordings of this work. I treasured the LP's for many years and now have this lovely new CD version in a pleasing book format with the libretto.

A wonderful recording that I first purchased on vinyl almost 40 years ago now. Everything is top notch, sound, orchestra performers. No one has ever made " Erbarmen!!" sound more poignant. Excellent in every way.