"The Metropolitan Opera: Parsifal"02 March 2013Music280 mins
The Met assembled an ideal cast for François Girard’s acclaimed new production of Wagner’s final masterpiece: Jonas Kaufmann in the title role of the fool “made wise by compassion”, René Pape as Gurnemanz, the veteran Knight of the Grail, Katarina Dalayman as Kundry, Peter Mattei is Amfortas, the anguished ruler of the Grail’s kingdom, and Evgeny Nikitin sings the evil magician Klingsor.
Richard Wagner's dream of a Gesamkuntswerk becomes reality through La Fura dels Baus' visual fantasy and blending of video technology, lighting and props (often formed of human beings): Their 30 computer projections and organic structures built of athletic performers that recall Cirque du Soleil are predestined for Wagner's visionary expressive world.
In the words of the prestigious German weekly 'Die Zeit,' the stage production of Wagner's 'Rheingold' and 'Walküre' by La Fura dels Baus 'quite possibly shows us the path that musical theater will be taking in the future.
It has been a long time since the events of Das Rheingold. Wotan has fathered nine Valkyries, warrior women who bring dead heroes to Valhalla (the castle of the Gods).
Rossini's "Le Comte Ory" tells the story of a libidinous and cunning nobleman who disguises himself first as a hermit and then as a nun in order to gain access to the virtuous Countess Adele, whose brother is away at the Crusades.
Cecilia Bartoli stars in this ebullient Zurich Opera House production of Rossini’s first French-language comedy opera described by the international press as “pure, unadulterated fun” and reminds us of her comic gifts and her naturalness as a stage actor — as well as her total sympathy with the music of Rossini.
Rising Met star Angela Meade is Elvira, the young woman caught between three men: her lover, the nobleman-turned-outlaw Ernani (Marcello Giordani); her guardian, the rich, elderly de Silva, who wants her for himself (Ferruccio Furlanetto); and Don Carlo, the King of Spain, who also desires Elvira (Dmitri Hvorostovsky).
In celebration of Verdi's anniversary year, the Mariinsky label presents a high-definition video recording of Verdi's Attila, led by maestro Valery Gergiev, produced by Arturo Gama and featuring acclaimed Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov in the title role.
Richard Wagner's dream of a Gesamkuntswerk becomes reality through La Fura dels Baus' visual fantasy and blending of video technology, lighting and props (often formed of human beings): Their 30 computer projections and organic structures built of athletic performers that recall Cirque du Soleil are predestined for Wagner's visionary expressive world.
The historic, original, live airing of what would become an annual Christmas tradition throughout the 1950s, this opera tells the story of Amahl, a crippled shepherd boy, and his destitute mother, who provide temporary shelter to three men who are following a star to the newly-born Christ child.
A bullied student sees visions of a rabbit he was forced to kill as a child, and those visions propel him into a state where his imagination causes him to carry out violent acts.
Víctor Terx is a young, attractive, and mysterious man, preacher and leader of a spiritualist sect. He compulsively murders his occasional partners with cruelty.
Surfer Dane Reynolds takes a sharp look into the timeless style of Craig Anderson. A modern approach with hints to the past, Slow Dance follows Craig in and out of the water as he travels the world meeting up with heroes and friends in Australia, Chile, India, West Africa and Tahiti to name a few.
Hamdan is a former Palestinian leader who spent 15 years locked up in the old Israeli prisons. In 1973, while living in Syria, he was given a mission to smuggle explosives across the border and train a person he trusted.
Natan tells the remarkable story of Bernard Natan, a Romanian immigrant who came to Paris in 1905 and was involved almost immediately with French cinema.
A true Canadian iconoclast, acclaimed transgender country/electro-pop artist Rae Spoon revisits the stretches of rural Alberta that once constituted “home” and confronts memories of growing up queer in an abusive, evangelical household.
Using massive piloted robots to combat the alien threat, earth's survivors take the fight to the invading alien force lurking in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
When local heavy and ex-boxer Tom Sheridan (Ian Pirie) agrees to hire his strip club out to lifelong friend and colleague Ian Levine (Michael Mckell) he soon discovers the private party involves child prostitution and trafficking, catering for wealthy paedophiles.
Comments
Have you watched Parsifal yet? What did you think about it?
