A Parsifal touched with greatness
Hans Knappertsbusch (conductor)
Jon Vickers (Parsifal), Hans Hotter (Gurnemanz) et al; Bayreuther Festspielorchester Orfeo C690074L Wagner wanted performances of Parsifal to be given only in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, but his heirs weren’t able to maintain a ban, and from 1913 onwards it has been performed throughout the world. Thanks to the extraordinary atmosphere it creates from the opening bar, interpretations of the most varied kinds have been attached to it. The fundamental thing to bear in mind is, perhaps, that Parsifal is not a religious work, not like a mass or Passion, but a study at the highest artistic level of what makes people religious, how a genuinely religious community is possible: above all, how we can see the basic beliefs of Christianity without believing in their literal truth.
But as to the best recording, this is where things get difficult. Given the work’s complexity and immense demands on its performers, it is amazing just how many recordings there are – beginning with that of conductor Fritz Busch at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires in 1936. And this being a drama, the visual element comes into the reckoning too. It seems that now every production of Parsifal emerges as a DVD, and I have sampled well over a dozen of them. Sadly, as a spectacle at least, I can’t recommend any of them. So it’s back to the audio-only format. The first recording of Parsifal from Bayreuth itself comes from 1951. It was conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch, who was uniquely devoted to the work and gave many performances of it. Eleven of those are still available to hear today, cast from strength and capturing the Bayreuth Festspielhaus’s unique acoustic.
My top recommendation is of his last performance, from 1964. Not only is Knappertsbusch able to command huge stretches of music, but he has at least three great singers: the bass-baritone Hans Hotter is the Gurnemanz who will
Tenor Jon Vickers simply is Parsifal, mastering all the complexities of the role
never be equalled – he catches every inflection of the part, but without ever making a meal of it; the tenor Jon Vickers, admittedly an acquired taste, simply is Parsifal, mastering all the complexities of an increasingly demanding role, but one with which he fully identified; and bassbaritone Thomas Stewart is an agonised Amfortas without ever lapsing into ugly over-emphasis.
The Bayreuth chorus is , as ever, sublime, though admittedly you have to put up with some coughers and stage noises. No recording of Parsifal is ideal, but this is the closest there is.