Wagner: Parsifal Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

Wagner: Parsifal Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 27, 2018

Decades before Dan Brown started offering supposed “revelations” about The Holy Grail in The Da Vinci Code, Richard Wagner was concocting his own take on the venerable tale of a (non Templar) knight attempting to retrieve the holy chalice. Parsifal has remained one of Wagner’s most opaque works, which is saying quite a bit, but it also contains some of his most ravishing music and, when staged effectively, several memorably epic scenes. This new audio Blu-ray from Decca obviously can’t offer any visual allure, but from a purely sonic standpoint, it’s one of the most glorious accountings of Wagner’s epochal score, even if it doesn't quite attain the delirious heights of some other vaunted versions.

There have been several Blu-ray releases of staged version of Parsifal, and for those interested in a little musical and/or plot analysis of the piece, I refer you to my Wagner: Parsifal Blu-ray review from several years ago. This version currently under review boasts an all star cast that includes Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Amfortas, Christa Ludwig as Kundry, and René Kollo as Parsifal, all under the forceful but nuanced baton of Georg Solti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. Solti tends to keep things just a bit tamped down in his interpretation, something that may not appeal to Wagnerites who want things as hyperbolic as possible, but the performances here, including by the orchestra, are all first rate, and the listening experience is often undeniably thrilling.

Wagner: Parsifal Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There's no real video element here, other than a static menu with track listings.

Wagner: Parsifal Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Parsifal features both LPCM 2.0 and Dolby TrueHD 2.0 tracks, and while the streaming rates are at times variant between the two options, I really couldn't hear any appreciable difference between them, other than some perhaps slightly more masked high frequencies on the Dolby TrueHD version. Both tracks offer sumptuous accountings of this huge, often overpowering, score, with Wagner's iconic massed brass voicings sounding really warm and forceful, and the often elegant string writing presented with clarity and a good deal of warmth itself. The singing here is probably the real showcase, though, even with the brilliant playing of the Vienna Philharmonic, and all voices are rendered with clarity and precision throughout the recording.

Wagner: Parsifal Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While there are no on disc supplements, this is another handsomely packaged release from Decca, with a hardback cover enclosing the 4 CDs and Blu- ray audio disc, and with a rather hefty volume inside that has some excellent writing, along with a wonderful listing of all the major lietmotifs, and (best of all) the complete libretto in German, French and English (in columns next to each other, for easy following and/or translation).

Wagner: Parsifal Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In some ways this is a just ever so slightly tame performance, never quite reaching the over the top theatrics of some other versions (notably the Von Karajan), but Decca is offering a nicely packaged release with superb audio. For Wagnerites if for no one else, this Parsifal comes Recommended.