11/26/16 – BAYREUTH FESTIVAL – Parsifal @1pm

The Bayreuth Festival

Parsifal by Richard Wagner

The Bayreuth Festival is arguably the world’s most authentic festival, launched by Wagner himself in 1876 and presenting only works by him ever since, including our featured performance, “Parsifal,” as well as the Ring cycle and five other operas. All performances take place in the Bayreuth “Festspielhaus,” the theater the composer specially designed to create the optimal blend of orchestral and vocal sound his works require.

This year’s opening day features Wagner’s last work and the one he wrote especially for this location. During the intermissions of “Parsifal,” host Rick Fulker will share musical insights with the conductor, stage director and major soloists.

Performed by:

Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Hartmut Haenchen, conductor
Uwe Eric Laufenberg, stage director

Roles and Soloists:

Parsifal – Klaus Florian Vogt
Kundry – Elena Pankratova
Gurnemanz – Georg Zeppenfeld
Amfortas – Ryan McKinny
Klingsor – Gerd Grochowski
Titurel – Karl-Heinz Lehner
First knight – Tansel Akzeybek
Second knight – Timo Riihonen
First page – Alexandra Steiner
Second page – Mareike Morr
Third page – Charles Kim
Fourth page – Stefan Heibach
Klingsor’s flower maidens – Anna Siminska, Katharina Persicke, Mareike Morr, Alexandra Steiner, Bele Kumberger, Ingeborg Gillebo
Alto soloist – Wiebke Lehmkuhl

Richard Wagner
Parsifal

Recorded by Radio Bavaria, Munich (BR) in the Festspielhaus, Bayreuth on July 25, 2016

Front page photo credit: Bayreuther Festspiele/ Enrico Nawrath