By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter
The celebrated German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) reportedly said that no theater but the Bayreuth Festspielhaus would stage his opera ``Parsifal’’ thereby preventing the widespread performance of his last piece.
Although it is not only for this reason, Korean fans have not had occasion to savor the beautiful score and story for the past 125 years since its premiere in 1882 in the German theater.
However, patience will finally pay off. ``Parsifal’’ will premiere in Korea at the Seoul Arts Center in April next year in celebration of the center’s 20th anniversary.
Moreover, Katharina Wagner, the great-granddaughter of the late composer, will direct the performance. She will revive the version that her father, the celebrated director Wolfgang Wagner, produced for the 1989-2001 production at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
The 28-year-old director expects the messages in the piece will be successfully delivered to audiences here as it deals with universal questions on humanity, Wagner said in a press conference in Seoul last week.
``There will be no change from the 1989 version,’’ she said. ``His (Richard Wagner) pieces look into issues such as love that transcends time and space, and hatred, power, religion and the pursuit of salvation. I believe these are still valid for the Korean audience.’’
The three-act opera, loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach’s medieval epic poem ``Parzival,’’ tells of a witless fool, the knight Parsifal, and his quest for the Holy Grail. The upcoming version, whose running time reaches five to six hours including recess time, will be performed on a minimal stage setting that resembles a labyrinth.
The young director, who made her directing debut in 2002, has recently drawn public attention as she has been tipped to head the world-famous Bayreuth Festival when her 87-year-old father Wolfgang Wagner steps down. The annual month-long music festival is dedicated solely to the musical works of her great-grandfather.
Wagner is scheduled to direct a new production of ``Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg’’ later this year at the festival, which will be her first opera at Bayreuth.
``I never saw my great-grandfather. I just indirectly know him through his biography. But I think I inherited my musical talent from him,’’ Wagner said. ``I often get assessed by my background. I need to be free from it. I want to be judged by my directing.’’
Much sought-after Korean singers in the international opera scene will join her for the Seoul production. Bass Youn Kwang-chul and baritone Samuel Yoon will perform the roles of Gurnemanz and Amfortas, respectively. Tenor Kim Jae-hyung will sing the role of Parsifal, while bass Chung Locky will perform Klingsor.
``Gurnemanz is one of the biggest roles for a basso profundo,’’ Youn said. ``I believe `Parsifal’ will have a big impact on Korean performing arts and contribute to the development of Korea’s music society.’’
It will be Youn’s first performance as Gurnemanz, the main narrator of the opera, although he has taken on Titurel in other productions in Germany. He is also scheduled to sing Gurnemanz in Stephan Herheim’s version of ``Parsifal’’ next year in Bayreuth.