Recorded in 2013 at the BBC Proms in celebration of Richard Wagner's bicentennial year, this semi-staged concert performance of Parsifal with the Hallé Orchestra is part of Sir Mark Elder's series of the music dramas, intermittently issued since 2010, which includes Götterdämmerung and Die Walküre, along with projected releases of Das Rheingold and Lohengrin. The stateliness of Wagner's music and the slow pace of the drama give Parsifal some resemblance to a liturgical ceremony, and the frequent use of the Dresden Amen as a ...
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Recorded in 2013 at the BBC Proms in celebration of Richard Wagner's bicentennial year, this semi-staged concert performance of Parsifal with the Hallé Orchestra is part of Sir Mark Elder's series of the music dramas, intermittently issued since 2010, which includes Götterdämmerung and Die Walküre, along with projected releases of Das Rheingold and Lohengrin. The stateliness of Wagner's music and the slow pace of the drama give Parsifal some resemblance to a liturgical ceremony, and the frequent use of the Dresden Amen as a leitmotif reminds us that this work is indeed a "Festival Play for the Consecration of a Stage," composed for the dedication of Wagner's Festspielhaus at Bayreuth. Taking rather slow tempos, Elder captures the reverent, mystical mood that is required in Parsifal, and the cast delivers a compelling performance that works well on disc. Sir John Tomlinson is a stalwart Gurnemanz, who carries the opening with clear narration, while Katarina Dalayman is powerful as Kundry, Detlef Roth is...
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