Opera North

In the second of three episodes focusing on Wagner's epic final opera, New Yorker critic and author of https://www.therestisnoise.com/wagnerism/ (Wagnerism) and The https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/mar/15/music (Rest is Noise) https://www.therestisnoise.com/ (Alex Ross) and https://www.york.ac.uk/music/staff/academic/aine-sheil/ (Dr. Áine Sheil) of the University of York discuss gender, sexuality and ritual in Parsifal, and in Richard Wagner’s work as a whole. The multi-faceted character of Kundry – ‘Wandering Jew’, mother, seductress – is unpicked, and ambiguous readings of the brotherhood of the Grail Knights are offered. Parsifal’s enduring mystery and power is seen through the disparate audiences for its early performances – from American debutantes sent to Bayreuth for their self-improvement, to gay men and women attracted by an atmosphere of acceptance unknown in the wider society of the time. Finally, there are close readings of the music itself: an echo from Wagner's 1868 opera Die Meistersinger