I definitely enjoyed Parsifal at this year's Bayreuth Festival. I didn't pay the $75 or whatever for the simulcast, but I did catch today's rebroadcast on NRK. And I have to say, I liked what conductor Daniel Gatti did more than the audience, or even the orchestra.
With Parsifal, I tend to find it most engaging when the whole thing feels like one long phrase. That's mostly how Gatti read it, and that really kept me involved. He tended to take things much slower than average, but I don't care. His approach still made all the ups and downs in the score feel very organic, all part of a whole. Too bad the horns went to sleep at the end of Act I, and were obviously very cranky when they had to play.
Apparently Gatti's rather long-winded approach brought a few boos from the audience, who thought everything took too long, but he had a clear, direct vision, and stuck to it. I also understand now why Kwangchul Youn has gotten the attention he has.
It would have been great to hear the full sound in person, experiencing the opera in its historic home. But I have to say one benefit of listening on the radio is that I didn't have to sit through all the Nazi flags and nurses. It was apparently quite a spectacle, but that kind of thing a bit stale too me, no matter how wonderfully staged the Nazis are.
A good review is here:
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