Augmented Reality? This is the conductor and Kundry's triumph! Parsifal at the 2023 Bayreuth Festival.

"Kinder, macht neues!"

"Children, create something new!"

This is what Wagner said, pretty much, in a letter addressed to Franz Liszt, then his future father-in-law, in 1852, referring to the new creation of Hector Berlioz, Benvenuto Cellini. One hundred and seventy-one years later, this revolutionary quote by the master has been used to legitimize any new creation concerning performances of Wagner's operas.

Every late July, I celebrate my blog's anniversary, the sixth one this year, commenting each new production at the Bayreuth Festival. This year, and after four years of absence, it is the turn of  Parsifal, the sacred work, the sacred  festival that Wagner created especially for the Festspielhaus' stage, hoping that it would only be performed there, almost as an act of faith. As the 2026 Festival (which celebrates its 150th Anniversary) is coming closer and closer, and with the uncertainty on Katharina Wagner's future as the Festival leader, this year's new production of Parsifal caused great excitement when last year, the designed director, American-born Jay Scheib, announced that the staging would incorporate augmented reality, and that viewers would need 3D glasses to enjoy the experience. On the other hand, it was also announced that, for the first time in Bayreuth Festival history, a Spanish conductor was going to conduct there: Pablo Heras-Casado, the maestro from Granada, who recently has conducted the Ring in Madrid. It is true that the superstar tenor (and ocassionally conductor) Plácido Domingo conducted Die Walküre in 2018, but he is not precisely widely known as conductor, specially after his recent and resounding failure at the Verbier Festival conducting music by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky less than two weeks ago.

Augmented reality's image for this show.

Scheib, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, creates a staging whose, probably, true main attraction must rely on the Augmented Reality animations, which were only available for the privileged 300 viewers who have been able to get the special glasses, because what is seen in the video is much simpler and more minimalist. Meentje Nielsen's costumes are , however, sort of disappointing because of their simplicity and ugliness, especially in the first act, being slightly enhanced in the second with the costumes of Kundry, Klingsor and the flower girls. On the other hand, the excellent lighting by Reiner Casper, who creates different environments that match the initial pessimism and the final hope of the work, has to be mentioned. A few minutes after the prelude begins, the curtain opens to show a wide stage, very darkly lit. Gurnemanz and the squires sleep, and as a nod to the previous successful production, Gurnemanz wakes up first, and finds himself with a beautiful and seductive woman with whom he gropes, while a video camera films everything and is projected on a screen. When the others wake up, the stage takes on a more bluish lighting. Another seductive woman, dressed in white, enters the scene, it is Kundry, the woman in the prelude being an avatar of her. Amfortas appears, this time dressed in white and with a bleeding wound, as well as bathing in the before mentioned puddle. Parsifal appears dressed in a life jacket, with sneakers and shorts, an aesthetic reminiscent of a shipwrecked man or an immigrant who risks his life in a boat. What if he was a newcomer, from the real world, to this magical world? The scene change to the Grail scene begins with a lighting play, and the empty stage, now with an ovalated, circle shape, from which the Grail knights emerge. This moment, of  visual beauty, is somewhat reminiscent of the aesthetics of Wieland Wagner. The Grail procession takes place, and true to the script, Amfortas discovers the Grail, this time a huge diamond-shaped boulder. Titurel appears on the scene, as a decrepit old man, although with the blood of Amfortas, poured over the Grail into the chalice, Titurel is spectacularly rejuvenated, and then embraces his son Amfortas. At the end of the act, Kundry appears, solemn, triumphant, as a huge circled dome descends, surrounding her.

The second act continues with that electrifying and terrifying minimalism: A huge prism, shaped like the Grail, but illuminated in pink, appears to the right of the stage, in which Klingsor, dressed in a pink suit and high heels, invokes Kundry in the distance, while donning a demon mask. Kundry lies to one side of the huge, empty stage, again with a nod to 1950s "Neu Bayreuth." The scene of the flower girls, on the other hand, is really colourful, with flowery images and bright colors taking over the stage as the young flower girls firstly pick up their loved ones killed by Parsifal, and then make advances on him. One thing that pleasantly surprises is the chemistry between Schager and Garanča, enhanced by the direction of the actors, since Parsifal's attitude towards Kundry is not one of rebuke, but rather one of tenderness, compassion and understanding, even in a moment as tense such as the scene after the kiss between the protagonists. In the third act, the pond from the first act now appears flooded, with an abandoned tank, a tent where Gurnemanz seems to live with the mysterious woman from the prelude. As written, Gurnemanz awakens Kundry, Parsifal appears with the Grail spear and baptizes Kundry. The scene change is spectacular, with an illuminated circle underwater. In the end, Parsifal destroys the Grail, the fruit of misfortune for Amfortas and for the Grail order, as well as containing the evil that Klingsor represented, a pyrrhic holiness that causes pain. Finally, Parsifal and Kundry walk into the water, entranced, while Gurnemanz and the other woman embrace.

Heras-Casado has received many positive reviews of his conducting of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. His tempi are fast, but very theatrical, seeming more passionate than rushed or impersonal. The prelude and interlude of the second act surprise with their devilish, furious sound. The quivering strings of the orchestra are noted in the prelude, in the arrival of Kundry, in the Grail scene, and in the prelude to the third act. The Act 3 interlude is so majestic that it arouses the sense of tragedy, just like the sweetness of the wood at Kundry's baptism and the charm of Good Friday. It is not surprising that after the performance has finished, he received huge ovations. In Spain there have been great Wagnerian conductors, from José Lasalle who introduced Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner and Strauss to Spanish audiences at the beginning of the 20th century, going through Jesús López-Cobos, with so much experience conducting in Berlin, or Josep Pons at the Liceu in Barcelona, but it was the young maestro from Granada who was the first to officiate the maestro's music in his sacred temple. The Bayreuth Festival Choir once again shows its excellence, in the Grail scene with the female choir behind the scenes, and with the powerful male choir at the end of it. In the flower scene, the female chorus stood out for its sensuality and its performance, representing the lust between them. In the third act, the male chorus gave a mournful, not powerful but solemn rendition of Titurel's funeral march.

Along with Heras-Casado, the other great triumph of the night was that of the superstar, the mezzo-soprano Elina Garanča, who replaced Ekaterina Gubanova in three performances, including the premiere, thus making her Bayreuth debut. Garanča had already sung the role in Vienna, in a closed streaming in 2021, with no audience, featuring a stellar cast. Already then he surprised with his magnificent Kundry. Now, after listening her rendition in the opening broadcast, one wonders if we are in front of  Waltraud Meier's successor in this role. Garanča has a voice with a velvety timbre, seductive, with exquisite singing, a really beautiful middle voice with a dark touch. The low voice is excellent, heartbreaking, dramatic, and this was shown in the first scene of the second act with Klingsor. The treble is very well projected, and comes to astonish in the terrible line "ich sah ihn, und - lachte!" The renditions of his arias "Ich sah das Kind" and "Grausamer" were remarkable, the first one in a sensual display of his vocal attributes, and the second one in a dramatic display in which she bares the character's torment, not in a wild way like expected, but sensitive and fragile. At an acting level, her expressions, her stage magnetism, her captivating look and her great physical beauty round off her portrait of this tormented and cursed woman. A historic performance, and certainly one of the most important in Bayreuth in recent years.

In the role of Parsifal, Andreas Schager, today's most demanded heldentenor, surprises again with his resistance and his heroic and robust tone, which never sounds badly. As actor, he is capable of conveying innocence in the first act, slyness and strength in the second one, and authority in the third one. In a role not as complicated as Siegfried but one that still requires resistance, Schager comes out on top once again, becoming, along with Vogt, the indispensable tenor of each season in Bayreuth.

Georg Zeppenfeld, who has already sung the role in Bayreuth, and also in Vienna with Garanča, is an excellent Gurnemanz, even if he doesn't have a gigantic voice. His voice is endowed with expressiveness, which he puts at the service of the drama, and a beautiful low voice, as well as a dark bass tone that conveys authority.

Derek Welton, who was Klingsor in the last production, is now an Amfortas who has a voice and knows how to sing dramatically, although his character inspires more pity than nobility. Jordan Shanahan, who this time plays the role of Klingsor, has a remarkable tone, without being too loud, a baritone that knows how to convey evil, but above all, the disgust his character inspires.

Tobias Kehrer as Titurel has a deep, dark voice, which suits his character from beyond the grave.

The supporting ensemble is as always exceptional, highlighting the tenor Siyabonga Maqungo, and the bass Jens Erik-Aasbø as the Grail Knights, or the Spanish tenor Jorge Rodríguez-Norton as a squire, with an excellent voice, or Marie-Henriette Reinhold like the voice from on high. The flower girls were also excellent.

Something rare in Bayreuth, few boos have been heard at the end of this performance, except for some at the end of the first act and for the stage crew, this new production being received with more enthusiasm than disdain. This Parsifal has suffered from changes in the cast, but luckily they improved the final result. The staging, despite the much-heralded augmented reality which has only been enjoyed by less than a seventh of the public, has resulted more functional and conservative than shocking and innovative. But let's trust that with the successive seasons it will be refined. What is beyond any doubt is that it has been a musical hit, with an experienced and unbeatable cast, in one of the best casts heard at the Festspielhaus in recent years. Once again, we can only thank the streaming that arrives every year on BR Klassik, 3sat and now Stage+, as well as YouTube and other platforms, which every July 25th bring the magic of the Bayreuth Festival to the world, turning the audience from thousands into millions. Wagner would have loved it.

My reviews are not professional and express only my opinions. As a non English native speaker I apologise for any mistake.

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