Wagner

Parsifal

Vickers, Denize, Moll, Adam, Bastin; Stein
Paris, 1976

Regular price $34.95
Select Format
Add to Wishlist Added to Wishlist

Parsifal

Jon Vickers delivers a Parsifal of rare emotional and physical magnitude. His stentorian voice and monumental stage presence coalesce into a portrayal that is at once mythic in stature and deeply human. The raw anguish he unleashes in the second act verges on the overwhelming, grounding the opera’s metaphysical weight in visceral reality.

Nadine Denize, as Kundry, brings a lush mezzo-soprano that resonates most fully in the rich center of her voice. While the upper reaches pose occasional challenges, her performance is marked by sincerity and dramatic commitment. She meets the intensity of Vickers’ Parsifal head-on, holding her own against his towering energy.

Kurt Moll lends a noble gravitas to Gurnemanz, though his delivery can feel somewhat reserved. Theo Adam, by contrast, brings impressive force and urgency to Amfortas, shaping a figure whose torment is palpable without tipping into excess.

Recently viewed

Example product title

Example product title

Example product title

Example product title

Example product title

Example product title

Customer Reviews

Share your experience with fellow collectors

5.0 Based on 2 reviews
5 ★ 2
4 ★ 0
3 ★ 0
2 ★ 0
1 ★ 0
Horia G.✓ Top Reviewer

Romania

Overall rating

RICHARD WAGNER'S PARSIFAL

There were still great Wagner performers at that time (1976)...
Report
Robert B.✓ Verified Buyer

United Kingdom

Overall rating

A great, incisive, dramatic Parsifal

One can’t have too many recordings of Parsifal sung by Jon Vickers. He gave extraordinarily intense and elemental performances of the title role, and this one is as interesting as those under Knappertsbusch and Goodall. This recording also provides a better ambience for Kurt Moll’s great Gurnemanz (the other main role) than does Karajan’s somewhat uneven and somnolent studio job. The French cast-members and the Paris Opera orchestra and chorus acquit themselves very well and help to make the overall sound warmer and less Germanic than usual. This superbly played, sung and conducted performance is considerably faster and more dramatic than the great Parsifal recordings conducted by Knappertsbusch, Goodall, Solti and Kempe, who focus more on incandescence and spirituality. It is closer to the approaches associated with Boulez and Armin Jordan, but is less hard-driven. To considerable degrees, like Barenboim and Philippe Jordan, Horst Stein manages to heighten both drama and spirituality. Although he was long underrated, videos and non-commercial recordings (including those on OD) have been gradually redressing that. This recording is well worth hearing for refreshing variety of sound and approach, and both the performance and the sound quality are excellent.
Report