Dieter Dorn’s Parsifal brings the full Monty to Monsalvat

By Jonathan Sutherland, 27 March 2018

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Evgeny Nikitin had the requisite malevolence and snarly low register to be a credible Klingsor”

Reviewed at Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden on 24 March 2018

Wagner, Parsifal

Sir Simon Rattle, Conductor

Dieter Dorn, Director

Magdalena Gut, Set Designer

Monika Staykova, Costume Designer

Ruxandra Donose, Kundry

Stephen Gould, Parsifal

Gerald Finley, Amfortas

Evgeny Nikitin, Klingsor

Franz-Josef Selig, Gurnemanz

Iwona Sobotka, First Flowermaiden / First Group

Kiandra Howarth, Second Flowermaiden / First Group

Kismara Pessatti, A voice from on high

Ingeborg Gillebo, First squire

Elisabeth Jansson, Second squire

Neal Cooper, First knight of the Grail, Third squire

Iurie Ciobanu, Fourth squire

Guido Jentjens, Second knight of the Grail

Robert Lloyd, Titurel

Martin Gruber, Choreography

Tobias Löffler, Lighting Designer

Berliner Philharmoniker

Philharmonia Chor Wien

Cracked mirror: La traviata at Staatsoper Berlin

Stephen Crowe, 27th April

A gripping performance of one of opera’s masterpieces in Berlin.

****1

Sisters shine in Munich's Così

Paul Selar, 16th February

An opening night of Così fan tutte in Munich in which Gaëlle Arquez and Marina Rebeka as the two sisters take the honours.

***11

Figaro in Munich: great singing

Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 8th December

In this minimalist period production of Figaro, the singing and acting are the centre of attention. A very talented cast carries the show, delivering beautiful singing and engaging comedy.

****1

An evening of wonder, or The marriage of Figaro

Larissa Schütz, 17th July

What man wants most is that which he cannot have. With a great deal of humour and attention to detail, Dieter Dorn leads Figaro and the household of his baronial palace through its “day of madness” to give us an evening of wonder.

****1

An effervescent Figaro at the Bayerische Staatsoper

Max Woods, 13th May

Although written many years before Rossini's The Barber of Seville, the story of The Marriage of Figaro is in fact the sequel to that of the later opera. This farcical masterpiece of the opera buffa style was the first of three operas Mozart worked on with the Italian librettist Lorenzo da Ponte and was a risky undertaking.

****1

Bavarian State Opera: Così fan tutte at the Hong Kong Arts Festival

Alan Yu, 26th February

For its 40th anniversary, the Hong Kong Arts Festival chose Mozart’s Così fan tutte as its main opera offering. Whatever you may call it – opera buffa, comedy of manners, or “dramma giocoso” – Mozart’s lovely music makes Così fan tutte wonderful entertainment. That’s what the Bavarian State Opera delivered on Sunday afternoon to commemorate this important milestone of the Festival.

***11

More reviews...

Jonathan Sutherland

Jonathan Sutherland is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is also an internationally renowned concert pianist specializing in the music of the 1930s. Jonathan’s first operatic experience was hearing Maria Callas sing Tosca in Covent Garden and he has since heard performances in all continents of the world including over 60 different productions at the Wiener Staatsoper. He has written for The Australian, Opera Today and The Opera Critic as well as Bachtrack. Jonathan speaks English, French, German and Italian fluently and is based in the south of France near Nice.

Dieter Dorn’s Parsifal in Baden-Baden brings the full Monty to Monsalvat