"El País" - In Review (English translation) PARSIFAL - Manaus, Brazil May 26, 2013 by Juan Ángel Vela del Campo WAGNER REJUVENATES IN MANAUS The Amazonas Opera Festival Celebrates the 200th Birthday of composer Richard Wagner with a Latin American Approach to Parsifal full of Humor and Magical Realism Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig on May 22, 1813. These days, half the world is celebrating his 200th birthday. Opera houses seek to gather today’s best interpreters of this repertoire, from, say, Thielemann to Kaufmann, and recreate the most famous, or the rarest, operatic works of the composer. The echoes of tribute have now come to Manaus, Brazil, with a Latin American proposal commanded by two great Wagnerian specialists: Brazilian conductor and music director of the Amazonas Opera Festival, Luiz Fernando Malheiro, and Mexican stage director Sergio Vela. The artistic result of this combination has surpassed the highest of expectations. It really should not have been surprising. The Amazonas Opera Festival had already mounted, in 2005, under Malheiro’s direction, a Der Ring des Nibelungen of great merit, and served as host of a world class international Wagnerian conference at which several German musicologists pronounced Manaus “the second Bayreuth”. In 2007, Manaus experienced a Der Fliegende Holländer produced by influential German opera director Christoph Schlingensief, with references in the performance to the Amazon forest. And last season’s Lulu by Alban Berg won the award for best opera production in Brazil, led by Malheiro and stage director Gustavo Tambascio, confirming the Amazonas Opera Festival in Manaus as one of the most exciting operatic events in the Latin American universe. These merits amply justify Malheiro’s position as Brazil’s greatest Wagnerian conductor and one only need look at the schedules of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo for confirmation. It should also be pointed out that the public in Manaus is much younger than those attending opera theaters in Europe. While attire is casual and ties are scarce, the tickets themselves suggest, “without t-shirts, shorts or flip-flops." The prices for all programs are in the U.S. equivalent range of 5.00 - 40.00 dollars, and young people respond not only with their attendance, but with an extraordinary level of concentration. The explosion of shouts and cheers at the end resembles those of rock concerts. As for Sergio Vela, his own Der Ring des Nibelungen made history in Mexico, published afterward into a book of great interest. Seemingly, birds of a feather really do flock together. Mr. Vela’s and his collaborators’ scenic approach to Parsifal plays with the concepts of time and space to enhance the musical understanding of the work. Ruby Tagle’s choreography is commendable. The treatment of makeup and movement is in the aesthetic of Japan’s Noh musical drama, which aids viewers in adapting to Wagner’s long lengths, especially the first act. Psychoanalysis is the main theme in the interaction between Parsifal and Kundry in the second act, with the kiss between them as a trigger of inner conflicts. Compassion is always in the foreground in this symbolic and theatrical setting. The lack of extra interpretations results in closeness in a presentation that seduces and captivates, from its early suggestion of dualities in the testimonial image of two tree trunks to its absence of conceit. The expression “sublime miracle” in the libretto must also be used to describe Malheiro’s highly inspired level of musical performance with an orchestra of young people who follow his instructions with undisguised passion on the edge of outburst, a passion which extends to the chorus. The chorus is located on the top floor of the theater, causing a very attractive surround and converting the theater space into an emulation of the Grail temple. The vocal cast is mostly composed of Brazilians and Mexicans, reinforced by American tenor Michael Hendrick as Parsifal and Russian soprano Olga Sergeeva as Kundry. Mexican baritone Noe Colín as Amfortas and Brazilian bass Pepes do Valle as Titurel are at a level of excellence in a uniform and stylistically impeccable cast. The success was indescribable. The level of quality touches the tenets of magical realism which is so inseparable from South America and is so admired in Spain.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 00:11:06 +0000
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