Profile reviews
1Memorable moment No 2 was Florestan’s cry of “Gott!”, piercing as a fire alarm in Simon O’Neill’s spirited portrayal.
Past Production Reviews
3Seeing Isolde sing her Verklärung (Transfiguration – ‘Mild und leise’) standing, centre stage and spotlit, was certainly in line with the production’s aesthetic: it is, of course, all her world then, as the human world recedes, and she ecstatically misreads Tristan’s post-mortem muscle stiffening as a ‘laugh’ (‘… wie er lächelt’). Tristan found himself recumbent for much of the final act on what looked like sheepskin until the delirium became too much for stasis. Memorable takes, both.
Along with that colour, soul and unflagging energy, he knows how to manipulate Wagner’s immense canvas, when to drive the music on through high moments and manage gradual transitions, while his heart-warming rapport with the London Philharmonic bodes well for the future.
Replacing the ailing Simon O'Neill at just a few days notice, Stuart Skelton was magnificent as Parsifal, wielding his powerful tenor with colour and nuance to show the progression of an innocent “fool” to enlightened redeemer. His best singing came in Act 2: when the seductress Kundry’s cajoling and pleading became almost unbearable, Skelton countered with a beautiful and thrilling outburst of high notes to assert his freedom. Parsifal’s final declaration of Amfortas’ redemption and his own assumption of the Grail Knights’ leadership was sung with tenderness and sympathy as Skelton modulated his voice with pianissimo.
