An unforgettable Parsifal in Berlin

By Hugo Shirley, 07 April 2018

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“one of the most gripping and moving performances of Wagner’s great Bühnenweihfestspiel I’ve seen”

Reviewed at Philharmonie: Großer Saal, Berlin on 6 April 2018

Wagner, Parsifal

Sir Simon Rattle, Conductor

Stuart Skelton, Parsifal

Nina Stemme, Kundry

Gerald Finley, Amfortas

Evgeny Nikitin, Klingsor

Franz-Josef Selig, Gurnemanz

Reinhard Hagen, Titurel

Neal Cooper, First knight of the Grail, Third squire

Berliner Philharmoniker

Iwona Sobotka, Soprano

Kiandra Howarth, Soprano

Elisabeth Jansson, Mezzo-soprano

Mari Eriksmoen, Soprano

Ingeborg Gillebo, Mezzo-soprano

Kismara Pessatti, Mezzo-soprano

Rundfunkchor Berlin

Petrenko and Serebrennikov forge a new Ring in Salzburg

Phillip Richter, 1st April

The Berliner Philharmoniker’s much-anticipated return to Salzburg gets off to an impressive musical start. Kirill Serebrennikov’s staging raises numerous questions, but answers few of them.

****1

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera brings Spanish to the Lyric Opera

Graham Meyer, 29th March

The Lyric Opera of Chicago's presentation of El último sueño de Frida y Diego brings the Mexican artists to life... or at least a life reminiscent of their real ones.

****1

Eyes wide shut for Berlin’s new Ballo

Mark Pullinger, 29th March

At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Rafael R Villalobos addresses the problems he perceives with Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, although the musical performances – led by Anna Netrebko – compensate.

***11

Young stars shine in the Staatsoper Berlin’s Rosenkavalier

Mark Pullinger, 28th March

Patricia Nolz makes an outstanding role debut as Christian Thielemann conducts a thrusting Rosenkavalier to open the Staatsoper Unter den Linden's Festtage.

*****

Handel’s Belshazzar at Komische Oper Berlin

Zenaida des Aubris, 28th March

The Baroque confectionery of Herbert Fritsch's production of Handel's oratorio belies a serious core which is all too close to today's headlines.

****1

A Baroque Netflix evening: Zurich’s star-studded Giulio Cesare

Mengguang Huang, 28th March

Davide Livermore’s high-octane production transforms Handel into a lavish blockbuster. While the superstars shine, the relentless entertainment-first approach often sacrifices musical refinement and dramatic logic for Netflix-style spectacle.

***11

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Hugo Shirley

Hugo Shirley is a Berlin-based writer and musicologist. He has written widely as a critic in the UK, including for The Spectator, the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, and has held editorial posts at both Opera and Gramophone. He was editor of 30-Second Opera (Ivy Press, 2015) and has a PhD in musicology from King's College London, where his thesis focused on Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s Die Frau ohne Schatten.

An unforgettable Parsifal from Rattle, the Berlin Phil and a world-beating cast