Parsifal
Wagner
Wagner after von Eschenbach
Opens: 16 February 2011 (8 Performances)
Nickolaus Lehnhoff returns to direct his highly acclaimed production of Wagner's masterpiece Parsifal for its final revival. First performed in 1999, Lenhoff's production was hailed as one of the great Wagnerian stagings of the last two decades, and having travelled to San Francisco, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, returns to the London Coliseum for its first revival. British conductor Mark Wigglesworth leads an outstanding ensemble cast with Stuart Skelton in the title role, Iain Paterson as the fallen King Amfortas, John Tomlinson as Gurnemanz and Iréne Theorin sings the role of Kundry.
All of the original creative team return bar one to once again bring-to-life Lehnhoff's visionary staging which is set in a surreal landscape. The designer is Raimund Bauer, costumes by Andrea Schmidt-Futterer, choreography from Denni Sayers and new to the team is lighting designer Duane Schuler. The production was described as, 'the most intelligent, provocative and ultimately moving production of Wagner's final masterpiece that the capital has ever seen.' (The Independent, 1999).
Wagner took the universal quest for redemption as the theme for his final masterpiece, calling it his 'farewell to the world'. Based on the 13th century epic poem, Parzival, by Wolfram von Eschenbach, Wagner's Parsifal is the story of the 'pure fool' Parsifal, saved by compassion, whose ascension to King becomes the ultimate salvation of the Knight's of the Holy Grail. Nikolaus Lehnhoff has commented that, 'Under the guise of a religious drama, Wagner's music mercilessly tells of acute loneliness and of living in an empty world stripped of all its former meaning'. Mark Wigglesworth conducts Parsifal for the first time and the world-class cast is led by Stuart Skelton in the title role as the 'innocent fool' who revitalises the Grail Knight's moralistic world through the power of human compassion. He was hailed for his portrayal of Peter Grimes at ENO which won the South Bank Award for Best New Opera Production in 2009. He is joined by John Tomlinson who sings Gurnemanz, the trusty chronicler of the Grail's troublesome history. Tomlinson is renowned for his Wagner interpretations having performed for 18 consecutive seasons at the Bayreuth Festival from 1988. Iréne Theorin, one of Europe's finest Wagnerian sopranos, makes her Company debut as the conflicted Kundry. Iréne has recently sung the role of Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival to much critical acclaim. Making his role debut, Iain Paterson, in his third major performance for ENO this season, sings the role of the fallen priest-king Amfortas. The cast is completed with Tom Fox as Klingsor and Andrew Greenan singing Titurel.
Parsifal opens at the London Coliseum on 16 February for 8 performances - 16, 24 February & 1, 4, 8, March at 5pm and 19, 27 February & 12 March at 3.30pm.
A co-production with San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera, Chicago.
Production supported by the Friends of ENO and a syndicate of donors
(Press Release/English National Opera)
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento