Parsifal (complete opera)

"The tenor is in reliably fine voice as always – though his German is typically unidiomatic – but the set's real hero is its conductor, Christian Thielemann. The urgency and depth of his conducting are irresistible."
(Editor's Choice Gramophone June 2006)

Rosette (highest rating) Penguin Stereo Guide

Thielemann can rightly be seen as one of the last conductors to uphold the tradition of such legends as Furtwängler, Celibidache and Karajan, here comes his first complete recording of the Parsifal from Wiener Staatsoper.

Wagner's last great opera in probably the best interpretation at the moment: Christian Thielemann is joined by the dream team Plácido Domingo (Parsifal) and Waltraud Meier (Kundry).

Falk Struckmann (Amfortas and Thielemann's new Wotan in Bayreuth) and Franz-Josef Selig (Gurnemanz) are world-wide acclaimed Wagner singers, who have worked regularly with Maestro Thielemann.

Reviews celebrated the 3 Parsifal performances in June 2005 as the highlight of the Vienna season. Other opera houses can only dream of a season finale like this one…Domingo…phrases gloriously and is intelligent enough to know where he needs to conserve his strength for the final attack…But all enthusiasm for the singers notwithstanding, the real event of the evening is Christian Thielemann's conducting. No praise is too high for his first Vienna Parsifal, the way in which he gave Wagner time to breathe, how he inspired the orchestra to an incomparable transparency, how he made every detail of the score audible. Enormous acclaim for a great occasion. (Kurier, Vienna June 2005)

Mikósa.