A pure fool, englightened by compassion
Met music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts Francois Girard's timeless production of Richard Wagner's Arthurian, the epic returns to the Met this season in a welcome revival starring commended European tenor Klaus Florian Vogt as the titular Parsifal, a Knight who sets out on a mystical quest to save the realm and his King from the evil sorcerer Klingsor.
In true Wagnerian style Parsifal is a lavish and monumental work. The composer's final masterpiece, it is replete with strange prophecy, religious symbolism, disguise, seduction and action, all of the hallmarks of a winning and unforgettable experience.
French Canadian Girard draws on his filmic career to create a surreal post apocalyptic landscape, designed by Michael Levine, where the Knights own journeys to save their ailing leader are melded into a quest for their very soul against harrowing circumstances.
Don't miss this much anticipated and rare work from the canon, and don't forget the Bayreuth convention, a tradition of not applauding after the first act that grew from the audiences confusion at Wagner's directions on the opera's first outing!