Prom 57 - 25.08.13: Wagner – Parsifal

[amac4165]

Or roast swan.

I shall listen (if I get back from a trip to Edinburgh in time, & don't go to see this film - http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/w...ut_in_the_dark), but John Tomlinson as Gurnemanz is a serious turn-off so I wouldn't mind if I missed the first half hour (or even hour) of Act 1.

Had to leave after first act - John Tomlinson ok in the hall (away he was a replacement) - main problem is the slow tempo - nearly 2 hours for act 1 there will be there all night at this rate

[LeMartinPecheur]

Steady on! Calling an Oswaldtwistine a Manchunian has consequences not dissimilar to those of calling an Orangutan a monkey.

I'll be more careful - had never realised orangutans were that sensitive!

[Flosshilde]

Perhaps the arena fountain should have been re-instated for this act?

[Petrushka]

Had to leave after first act - John Tomlinson ok in the hall (away he was a replacement) - main problem is the slow tempo - nearly 2 hours for act 1 there will be there all night at this rate

Just short of two hours is about right for Act 1 of Parsifal, amac.

[Nick Armstrong]

Steady on! Calling an Oswaldtwistine a Manchunian has consequences not dissimilar to those of calling an Orangutan a monkey.

.... ... are you implying similar levels of comprehension on the part of all concerned?

[Nick Armstrong]

In the words of Andrew McGregor on 'Twitter'

Wow!! Katarina Dalayman as Kundry just ripped up the Royal Albert Hall...

Discuss.

[DracoM]

Elder held it together exceptionally well, partic given [a] his chosen tempi are slow, and [b] by Act 3 everyones; knackered, and [c] that the celestial choruses were nerve-wracking distances away from his beat, relayed though it obviously was. Final chorus was truly magnificent. Dalayman - yes, very fine.

But for me Lars Cleveman was truly a find - all the notes, plenty of stamina, much expression, authority and intelligence.

Terrific evening, and for once the acoustic of RAH came into its own.

[Simon B]

Act I was listed as 95 minutes in the programme. I think not quite right somehow!

I can believe JT has become difficult to listen to on a relay; live he "gets away with it" in my (not very informed) opinion in the way he gets the meaning of what he's singing across, including to the back of the hall (though I was again nearly onstage meself tonight).

Overall a compelling evening live (apart from the @$$%#&g !@#$ two seats along from me who spent most of the latter part of Act I doing stage whisper conversation. FF would ban me if I said what I really thought about that at the time...

[ostuni]

I'm normally pretty allergic to singers' vibrato - but both times I've heard John Tom's Gurnemanz live, at ENO and tonight, I've been utterly convinced by his performance. It's partly the words, crystal-clear in both languages, and partly his conviction as a stage performer.

Yes, Dalayman was great - in the flesh, she was more striking than in the on-screen Met production earlier this year. And yes, Elder's speeds were slow. But for me, apart from JT, the stars of the evening were the choruses: using the height of the hall to give the spatial effects Wagner asks for; properly youthful voices for the youths, and angelic sounding boys.

[Stanley Stewart]

Indeed, I was also puzzled by the brochure timing of 95 mins as I was planning the layout for recording to minidisc, 160 mins (LP2 setting) per disc. However, I decided to check the great Goodall's ROH 1971 recording, Jon Vickers & Amy Shuard), and his timing for Act I was almost two hours - compared to 100 mins by Christian Thielmann on the DG recording! I then used a second MD for Acts II & II at approx 75 mins and 85 mins; the disc expired as the vociferous applause finally diminished. A deeply satisfying performance, albeit with a degree of disappointment on hearing the wear and tear on Sir John Tomlinson's voice after many decades of fine performances. Remembered hearing him for the first time singing in Verdi's Sicilian Vespers for Chelsea Opera at Camden Town Hall, circa 1975/76, followed by his rapid success to international status. A great voice and presence.

[PhilipT]

Just got home from this. The boys choruses were seriously good. I liked the characterisation of Parsifal, with an idiot's toothy grin; Kundry was over the top in places. Despite the claims of Parsifal having fewer jokes than an electricity bill there was almost a funny moment at Klingsor's first entry when the steward at the top of Door A steps moved to send him back and then realised he was part of the performance. John Tomlinson was not as bad as I have known him, though I'm sure he improvised a few words here and there (I'll leave it to others to say whether he sang the right notes) - I've thought for a while that it really is time he went for the pipe and slippers. But I am seriously annoyed with Mark Elder about the timings: over-running by 25 minutes on a Sunday is a real no-no. In the event, I got home an hour later and £55 poorer than expected after discovering that the fall-back train had become a bus. Mark Elder needs reminding that a professional is someone who takes account of the needs of the people who pay his salary.

[Resurrection Man]

..... In the event, I got home an hour later and £55 poorer than expected after discovering that the fall-back train had become a bus.....

Consider yourself lucky that you actually can get back! To get my last train home on a Sunday, I'd have to leave the RAH at 7pm !!!

[BBMmk2]

I loved this performance last night. I will definitely hear it again! Everything that Sir Mark Elder seem to be just right. The pacing, etc.....

[Oliver]

Parsifal 25 August

Ten years ago, Rattle conducted a magnificent performance of Parsifal at The Proms, the best that I've ever heard live. I'm not sure that Sir Mark Elder quite equalled that, but he was very close. And with Sir John Tomlinson in magisterial form and a Halle that maintained astonishing levels of controlled passion, he conducted a performance that will long live in my memory. I don't think that Barenboim would have done better; it was that good.

Nailing my colours to the mast, I assert that there is no finer achievement in the history of Western art than Parsifal and it is the one work that can be sure of bringing me to tears. On this occasion, they started to flow at Gurnemanz's Act One narration. I note that I wasn't the only one...as I left, another man was telling someone on his mobile that he'd been the same.

And how reassuring that, when the prelude was over a curtain didn't rise to reveal a kitchen, a spaceship or a car park.

I admit that my heart sank when I saw that the bells were to be replaced by a synthesiser; Rattle had the real thing in the gallery in 2000 and the result was stunning. I remember Haitink's otherwise wonderful ROH performance being flawed by the use of a synthesiser. But, as it transpired, last night's electric bells worked quite well.

One question for those among you who are orchestral musicians. Elder split his double bases in two- four behind the first and four behind the second violins, which were divided left and right. I've never seen this before.
Why?

[Petrushka]

But I am seriously annoyed with Mark Elder about the timings: over-running by 25 minutes on a Sunday is a real no-no... Mark Elder needs reminding that a professional is someone who takes account of the needs of the people who pay his salary.

This can't go unchallenged! I can very well understand your annoyance (I've been there myself on occasion) but you can't seriously expect Elder, or any other conductor, to alter their interpretation in order to ensure punters can catch the last train home! Parsifal is a very long opera, it was never going to be over in reasonable time to allow for trains, so on this occasion I would have elected to have bedded down for the night in one of the capitals numerous hotels. The very last thing one wants after an experience such as Parsifal is to have to make a mad dash out of the hall. Such things can ruin your evening. Been there, done that, hotels for me every time and b****r the cost.

If Elder felt it should go as slow as he did that's his right as an artist and while we may disagree with that you really can't expect him to look at his watch and suddenly whip up the tempo!