On occasion, an opera performance is so pitch-perfect, so theatrical, that the audience asks for more when the final curtain descends. That’s what happened at Saturday’s opening of San Francisco Opera’s new production of Richard Wagner’s “Parsifal.”
The audience in the sold-out War Memorial Opera House sat rapt for nearly five hours as Wagner’s quirky tale of compassion and redemption rolled out on the big stage.
The opera, Wagner’s last music drama, is not easy to stage. Big themes and elements—good vs. evil, a melding of Western and Eastern spiritual philosophies, Wagner’s weird racial hangups, a hero tasked with nothing less than saving mankind —unfurl over hours of magnificent music, but sometimes with murky theatrics.
The Temple of the Grail scene in Act 1 of San Francisco Opera’s “Parsifal” is striking. (Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera via Bay City News)
Director Matthew Ozawa’s take on “Parsifal” is literal when it needs to be. Wagner’s idea to explore the values of mythic symbols to get to universal truths is played out in the Act 1 communion scene: the ritual, which has Christian, Buddhist and Hindu symbolism, is presented materially: the Holy Grail, the spear, even the hunted swan, appear, with touches of Noh and Butoh choreographed in for good measure.
Designer Robert Innes Hopkins’ sets and Jessica Jahn’s costumes are elegant and descriptive. The anguished ruler Amfortas, wounded by Klingsor’s spear, appears to be 10 feet tall in a white mantled gown; the evil Klingsor’s bleached body and dress scream his villainy. Parsifal’s rustic tunic gives way to jeweled black and blood-red leather as he matures. Klingsor’s flower maidens out to tempt Parsifal dance in a wave of sea blue. The striking images go on and on.
L-R, Brandon Jovanovich portrays Parsifal and Kwangchul Youn is Gurnemanz in San Francisco Opera’s new production of “Parsifal” by Richard Wagner onstage at the War Memorial Opera House through Nov. 13. (Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera via Bay City News)
However, setting aside the scenery, Saturday’s performance was all about the music. Under SFO Music Director Eun Sun Kim, a master of the score in every detail, the orchestra’s performance was fresh and exciting. Likewise, the opera chorus, directed by John Keene, was at its most lustrous.
The cast works together like a charm.
Korean bass Kwangchul Youn as Gurnemanz delivers the narrative with softness and an exceptional humanity, and Brandon Jovanovich’s sturdy, sweet tenor makes for an appealing and believable Parsifal, as if he were made for the role.
The role of Amfortas is a trial for any singer. Brian Mulligan’s arched, heroic baritone brings a notable level of nobility to the fore, and mezzo soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner in her company debut is a madcap, rich-voiced Kundry, a bewitcher of many lives. Bass-baritone Falk Struckmann as Klingsor is made to menace.
“Parsifal” doesn’t come around very often. There have been only six productions in San Francisco Opera’s history. This one is a standout on all levels.
San Francisco Opera’s “Parsifal” continues at 6 p.m. Oct. 28, Nov. 7 and Nov. 13, and 1 p.m. Nov. 2 at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. For tickets ($35-$447; $25 for Nov. 2 livestream), call (415) 864-3330 or visit sfopera.com.