Wagner's 'Parsifal'

Radio Klasik FM, the only radio station in town that plays European classical music, has treated its listeners to Wagner in the last days of 1997. Parsifal is usually performed during Easter, but it sounds equally good during the Christmas season.

The station played Act One of Parsifal on Sunday Dec. 21 and on Sunday Dec. 28 we will be able to listen to Act Two and Act Three. I am looking forward to listening to the "Flower Maiden Chorus" and the "Good Friday Spell", two important parts in the concluding acts.

It is by courtesy of Deutsche Welle that we in Jakarta are in a position to enjoy Richard Wagner's work in a recording made less than half a year ago. What is special is that the performance was recorded live during the 1997 Bayreuth Festival. It is unedited, complete with some applause between acts which Wagner would have disapproved of in the case of Parsifal.

Italian conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli manages to bring out the many orchestral colors from Wagner's score. Listening to Act One for an uninterrupted two hours did not tire the ear.

I would like to quote some excerpts from a book: "Be on your guard if your are one of the many who approach Richard Wagner with a predisposition to be bored. It's impossible to like the man, but the musician can invade you in a hard-to-combat manner.

"Wagner described 'music drama' as a total work of stage art designed to unify dramatic, musical, poetic and scenic aspects. In the music dramas he features `endless melody'.

"The leitmotif (leading motive) is an integral part of Wagner. He identifies these short special musical themes with individual characters, emotions, or ideas. During an opera, one leitmotif often runs right into another to become forged parts of the orchestral 'endless melody'."

These thoughts from the book came to mind when I was listening to Act One last Sunday.

The cast of singers includes Denmark's Poul Elming and America's Janis Martin (as Parsifal and Kundry). Other important roles are sung by Falk Struckmann, Matthias Holle, Hans Sotin and Gunter von Kannen, most of them unknown to me. The singing is very good. The choir and the orchestra are also of exceptional quality.

S. HARMONO

Jakarta