Reginald Goodall is famed for putting performances of Wagner's Ring Cycle in English back on the map.
This Royal Opera House Heritage Series release of Parsifal should not be confused with his legendary performances of The Ring, sung in English at the Coliseum, which have long been available on CD. Recorded from one performance on 8 May 1971, this production comes from London's other main opera venue and is performed in German.
That said, everything that we have come to associate from Goodall's approach to Wagner is in evidence here. Firstly, there's the attention to detail, which is a result of far more rehearsal time than any other conductor was given. Secondly there's the slow performance speed which is geared towards bringing out every last subtlety from each note.
The results are wondrous. In the Prelude to Act One the individual notes are dwelt on to such an extent that listening to each becomes a multi-faceted experience in its own right. The prelude consequently sounds both melancholic and ethereal which is entirely in keeping with the opera's subject matter of the 'innocent fool enlightened through compassion'. Similarly, the Good Friday Music from Act Three possesses such lyricism that the result is almost hypnotic.
The recording also reminds us that 'Reggie' was perfectly capable of putting power and excitement into the music when appropriate. Parsifal was the only opera Wagner wrote specifically for the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth (itself designed for The Ring). Consequently, its music was constructed to work in that unique setting, flooding up from an orchestra pit deep beneath the stage to entrance the audience. Goodall remarkably enables the listener to undergo a similarly spellbinding experience by bringing out the music's reflective qualities, thus compensating for the lack of drama that at Bayreuth also contributes to producing the overall effect.
Of course, Goodall's beautiful conception is aided by a superb cast which includes Jon Vickers as Parsifal, Louise Hendrikx as Gurnemanz, Donald McIntyre as Klingsor, Amy Shuard as Kundry and Kiri Te Kanawa as the First Flower Maiden. Even amongst the wealth of strong performances that they deliver, Norman Bailey's Amfortas stands out, revealing both security and tenderness in each note.
To me, this Parsifal is worthy of the highest rating. There are, however, people (perhaps only a few) who do not warm to Goodall's approach, and are unlikely to relish such a slow performance. It's unlikely that this recording could be regarded as definitive given the number of scholars who believe that Wagner would have disliked hearing the work played at such a pace. I would, however, defy anyone to present another recording that could easily be classed as being 'better' than this.
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