Parsifal

Christian inflected symbolism, Buddhist ideas and the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer are blended in Wagner's ambitious drama. The master of Bayreuth labelled his work a "Bühnenweihfestspiel", a festival drama with a religious aura, in which art takes on the function of a religious revelation. For her production of 'Parsifal' at Opera Vlaanderen in the Wagner year 2013, director Tatjana Gürbaca was awarded the Opera Award for Best Wagner Anniversary Production in London. The production was also picked by Opernwelt as best production of the 2012-2013 season and Tatjana herself was crowned the season's best director.

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Richard Wagner's Parsifal thrusts us into two contradictory universes: a spiritual community gathered around the mysterious Grail and the opposing world of the banished Klingsor, where everything revolves around physicality. Tatjana Gürbaca sees Wagner's final musical drama as an endgame between two worlds in crisis. Rien ne va plus… Although the Grail community and Klingsor's world are strictly separated as polar opposites, they remain fatefully bound to one another through Kundry, who serves both worlds. In Gürbaca's perceptive reading of Parsifal, she becomes the focal point for the entire story – the woman who sacrifices herself for both communities and in whom all the paradoxes and contradictions of the story converge.

The orchestra will be led by the young German maestro Cornelius Meister. The role of Parsifal will be performed by the American tenor and Wagner specialist Erin Caves. With the German mezzosoprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner in the role of Kundry, expectations are running high.

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Length: 5 h 15 min including 2 intervals German with Dutch surtitles