The Three Faces of Parsifal

Matthew Ozawa’s conception of Klingsor’s magic garden in the second act of Parsifal (photograph by Cory Weaver, courtesy of SFO)

Yesterday afternoon my wife and I returned to the War Memorial Opera House for our second encounter with Matthew Ozawa’s staging of Richard Wagner’s final opera, Parsifal. As I previously observed, “Wagner himself rejected calling this work an opera, describing it, instead, as Ein Bühnenweihfestspiel (a sacred festival stage play).” Nevertheless, just about everyone else sticks with the noun “opera,” which definitely more easily remembered (not to mention digested)!

My first account focused on the nature of the characters, citing all of the vocalists interpreting those roles. Yesterday, however, I found myself more focused on the overall structure of the narrative. I used my program book to jot down “titles” for each of the three acts. What emerged were three different perspectives on the title character, each associated with a different act as follows:

1. Parsifal the fool
2. Parsifal tempted
3. Parsifal enlightened

Some may find this a bit simplistic; but I feel that, taken as a whole, the narrative is one of the protagonist’s growth through a journey of discovery. After all, it is not too much of a stretch to approach the first act as the beginning of Parsifal’s journey, culminating in a sense of “arrival” in the final act.

Mind you, yesterday’s other advantage was a seat that commanded a generous view of the orchestra pit. Following a score attentively would be too much of a distraction from the staging. Nevertheless, Ozawa’s general approach to minimality allowed time to watch individual instrumental players evoke the spirit of the many different motifs that establish both personalities and actions, all realized through the meticulous attention of Conductor Eun Sun Kim. After all, when you have five hours to experience, dividing that time across a diversity of focal points hardly counts as distraction!

This was one of those experiences in which returning to an opera for a second time awakened a fresh set of impressions, but I am unlikely to return for a third time!