From https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/02/wagner-parsifal-review-royal-opera-house-london-titov-hrusa-gerhaher Photo by Marc Brenner. Christian Gerhaher as Amfortas.
Well, Readers, you might remember that I am very much a latecomer to opera (not a lot of it in East London in the 1960s when I was growing up), but just lately I’ve been trying out various performances to see what I actually like. My heart really belongs to Mr Handel, a true Londoner and one of those people who were endlessly prolific. I defy anyone’s heart not to be lifted by one of his great arias, but I figured that if I wanted a contrast, what better than Mr Wagner? And so on Sunday I took myself off to the Royal Opera House for Parsifal, Wagner’s last opera and five and a half hours long.
Well.
I am speaking from the point of view of a complete Wagner novice, and so I arrived in the cheap seats (cheap being relative), crammed in with no armrests. It was a full house, however, and as is often the case I got talking to my neighbours, who were all much more experienced than me. All praised the orchestra, and I could see why – this is a monumental score, and, to my ears at least, very beautiful. Which rather contrasts with the story of a ‘pure’ man, the knights of the holy grail, and a woman, Kundry, who epitomises the virgin/whore dichotomy. It goes without saying that Wagner himself held hideously anti-semitic views which were weaponised by the Nazis, and that brings us into difficult territory that is shared with many artists. How can we still enjoy the works of people who behaved abominably, and who yet created work of extraordinary beauty? But that’s probably a topic for a book, not a blogpost, though I’d be very interested in your views.
Stanislas de Barbeyrac as Parsifal at the Royal Opera House. Photograph: Marc Brenner
This was a very modern production – no forests, no gardens. The flower maidens were fembots, and the grail ceremony involves everyone drinking blood from the wound of Amfortas, who was beguiled by Kundry and stabbed with the holy spear that was used to wound Jesus, leaving him with a wound that won’t heal. The singing was amazing, though there is none of the vocal gymnastics that I love in Handel, and also (of course) no counter tenors. But it gripped me from start to finish, and I suspect I will have a look at some of Wagner’s other operas. Maybe something light-hearted like Götterdämmerung.
Anyhow, I would also like to flag up that the London Handel Festival will be open for booking soon – there’s some great stuff for any Handel fans out there. Let me know if you’re planning to go to anything!