Taped live in Venice’s La Fenice in March, 2005, this performance is noteworthy for its smooth orchestral playing and fleet tempos (237 minutes as opposed to Solti’s 250 and Kubelik’s 252, not to mention Knappertsbusch’s almost 260) as well as for the stunning, heart-felt, beautifully sung Kundry of Doris Soffel and the handsome third-act Parsifal of tenor Richard Decker, a name new to me. In the first two acts he’s expressive and intelligent but somewhat hoarse; in the third (taped on a different evening?) he’s sensitive to all of Wagner’s markings and is moving, musical, and good to listen to.
Matthias Hölle’s Gurnemanz is appropriately world-weary, but his voice is somewhat tattered and there are times when he seems he may not make the notes. The same might be said for Wolfgang Schöne’s Amfortas, who really does sound half dead. The Klingsor of Mikolaj Zalasinski is powerful and nasty, and the Flower Maidens, et al., are just fine.
We can only be amazed at the lack of spirituality conductor Gabor Ötvös brings to the score; I believe he was a last-minute replacement, but that still does not forgive the matter-of-factness with which he puts the music across. The choral moments, though clearly well-rehearsed, sound like Humperdinck, and there’s nary a chill-down-the-spine in reach. We all love a quick tempo, but in this performance you can practically hear the players racing to catch their water taxis home. It equals a big nothing, sadly. The recorded sound has little presence. Stay with Kubelik (Arts).
