Parsifal

Youngest Son (he likes German) and I went to the Met simulcast of Parsifal this afternoon. The singing was excellent, the casting very good (I especially liked the Gurnemanz, but the Kundry was also great), and the sets interesting. Well, the second act pool of blood was maybe a little distracting. The projections on the rear screen were impressive and generally fit quite well.

I grant you that Gurnemanz' speculations on Kundry's reincarnations are Hindu or Buddhist-flavored, and the compassionate redeemer is a concept also found there. But almost all the prayer gestures were Hindu or Buddhist (or the producer's own imagination), and in no scene (including the elevation of the Grail) was there a cross anywhere--except among the constellation of necklaces Kundry wore. When Parsifal takes the spear, he sings about making a sign, but doesn't make the sign of the cross anymore. The background projections show gigantic planets rising at dramatic times--quite a dramatic accompaniment, but not quite in sync with explicitly Christian lyrics.

And... The sort-of mass with fingers touching lips didn't work--distractingly different. And... The flower maidens trying to seduce Parsifal tried hard, but the pool of blood they sloshed in was distracting, and the seductive stroking of the forest of spears was a little over the top--though I suppose Wagner might have liked that part. And... I didn't think his dunking the Spear in the Grail held by Kundry at the end of the opera was quite the right symbolism for the occasion.

I'd heard the opera before, but not seen it and so this was the first time I understood what was going on. The opera has been called "unstageable", and I think I see what they mean. Very often the music moves at a pace that, while beautiful, leaves people on stage with nothing to do but stand there. Making sure they are able to do something moderately interesting, even if slow, makes a difference.

My better half was listening on the radio--the commentator explained that François Girard's changes were supposed to be an effort at "universal spirituality": what they were was meaningless. The Grail guardian story has elements that aren't quite orthodox, and Wagner's take on it was much less so, but how do you do justice to his vision if you take away half the language?

Parsifal's salvation pivots on rejecting unlawful love, which is a bit of a change-up from some of Wagner's other operas where human love is the sanctifying force.

Despite my list of gripes, I'm glad we went. But I hope somebody can explain to Girard that allergy to Christianity is a fault when trying to stage Parsifal.