Description:

Pros:

• Eugen Jochum weaves magic and mystery into Wagner’s final opera. At times his impressionistic touch comes at the cost of some precision in the orchestra, but Parsifal, unlike Meistersinger for example, is an opera where sharp edges can sometimes be at odds with the meaning of the work. Personally, I would take the poetry he invests in the music over an accurate, yet sterile, performance any day.
• Sandór Kónya is perfection in the title role. His Parsifal is youthful and robust, and he never loses the honey-toned sheen of his fundamentally lyrical instrument.
• Janis Martin, as Kundry, is well-paired with Kónya. Like Kónya, her approach is lyrical in nature, bringing Mozartean grace to the part.
• Franz Crass brings majesty to the role of Gurnemanz and Thomas Stewart’s anguished yet virile Amfortas was and is near definitive.

Cons:

• None to mention.

In Stereo

OD 11889-4