Parsifal

Approximate running time 5 hrs. 35 min.

Director François Girard’s timeless new vision for Wagner’s final masterpiece explores the many facets of this mystical score, while designer Michael Levine (Eugene Onegin) creates a surreal landscape. Jonas Kaufmann stars in the title role of the innocent who finds wisdom. His fellow Wagnerian luminaries include Katarina Dalayman as the mysterious Kundry, Peter Mattei as the ailing Amfortas, Evgeny Nikitin as the wicked Klingsor, and René Pape as the noble knight Gurnemanz. Asher Fisch conducts.

“François Girard successfully transforms the opera into a timeless story… Arresting, consistently absorbing…a moving, modern vision.” (Wall Street Journal)

“A magnificent new production...an exquisite pleasure for the eye and ear, it’s also food for the soul. “(New York Post)

“An unforgettable evening…I don’t think better singers exist anywhere in the world “(Bloomberg).

“Entrancing and Enigmatic” (WQXR)

"A Parsifal to treasure, elevated to the highest musical level by...the dedication of a dream cast of singing actors... Breathtaking. Jonas Kaufmann looks and acts the part to perfection... Thrilling tone...Pape pours out unstintingly rich, velvety sound... a deeply felt interpretation... The revelation of the night is baritone Peter Mattei, tackling the role of Amfortas for the first time. When has any singer so powerfully expressed the suffering of this tormented character while producing burnished sounds of such breathtaking beauty? Katarina Dalayman rises to the challenge of the seduction scene with a fearless performance." (AP)

"The Met has assembled about the best Parsifal cast available today... Kaufmann is in his glory... Handsome and limber, he is a natural onstage. The baritonal colorings of his sound, his clarion top notes, the blend of virility and tenderness in his singing, his refined musicianship — all these strengths come together in his distinctive Parsifal... Katarina Dalayman brings a gleaming voice and sultry phrasing to her performance..." (New York Times)

“Both the production and the performance caught fire, and the Parsifal of Wagner's imagination came vividly to life.” (Musical America)

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Production a gift of the Gramma Fisher Foundation, Marshalltown, Iowa

Major funding from Rolex

Additional funding from Marina Kellen French, and the Edgar Foster Daniels Foundation

A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, the Opéra National de Lyon,
and the Canadian Opera Company

Synopsis