The Mariinsky label's release of Wagner's Parsifal, with Valery Gergiev leading the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra and Chorus and a majority of Russian soloists, is proof that the company is competitive with the top tier of international opera companies not only in Russian works but in the broader repertoire. Parsifal is a demanding opera to pull off, and in this magisterial, broadly paced reading, Gergiev and his players make it sound gorgeously luminous while at the same time maintaining a sense of dramatic urgency. The ...
Read More
The Mariinsky label's release of Wagner's Parsifal, with Valery Gergiev leading the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra and Chorus and a majority of Russian soloists, is proof that the company is competitive with the top tier of international opera companies not only in Russian works but in the broader repertoire. Parsifal is a demanding opera to pull off, and in this magisterial, broadly paced reading, Gergiev and his players make it sound gorgeously luminous while at the same time maintaining a sense of dramatic urgency. The generous acoustic of the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre gives the music a warmth and radiance that practically shimmer. Vocal honors go to René Pape, whose lyrical and intensely sympathetic Gurnemanz seems destined to go down as one of the outstanding interpretations on disc; his performance alone is easily reason enough for any Wagnerian to hear this version. Also outstanding is the Klingsor of Nikolai Putilin, a monster of snarling malevolence. In comparison, the rest of the...
Read Less