Pierre Audi’s time as artistic director of Dutch National Opera is approaching its end – he will leave this position for that of director of the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2018 – and the revival of his Parsifal from 2012 already feels a bit like a tribute to his work in the Dutch capital. His staging of Wagner’s last masterpiece is undoubtedly one of his most memorable productions, both visually and dramatically.
As often with Audi, this is an abstract staging that leaves a lot of space for the spectator’s own interpretation. It offers a particularly dark vision of the tale: at the end of the piece, not only Kundry but everyone else collapses, while Parsifal leaves to pursue his quest. Ultimately, Amfortas and his knights of the Grail only find their salvation through death.
Visually, this Parsifal is spectacular. Magnified by the lighting by Jean Kalman, the monumental sets designed by Anish Kapoor are breathtaking. They have a recognisable Kapoorian flavour. There is the use of bold matte colours, especially a deep red pigment, a few shades darker than vermilion, which is reminiscent of some installations by the Mumbai-born artist, like My Red Homeland from 2003. This same red pigment outlines the ridge of the giant rocks that loom over the knights’ refuge of Monsalvat, and echoes the ever-opening wound in Amfortas’ flesh. There is, most memorably, the gigantic mirror that is tilted from the ceiling in Act 2 – think of Sky Mirror at Nottingham Playhouse, another of Mr. Kapoor’s signature works. This giant disk of polished metal creates a stunning effect as it reflects and distorts light and images on the stage. Inadvertently perhaps, it also at times distorts and amplifies the voices of the choir of Flower Maidens as they try to seduce Parsifal. This eerie side-effect only adds to the other-worldly atmosphere of Klingsor’s magic castle.