Wagner: Parsifal (Bayreuth, 2016)

In the third 21st century Bayreuth production of Parsifal, director Uwe Eric Laufenberg portrays Wagner's last opera with immense, striking images set in the context of international religious conflicts. The ensemble of soloists, celebrated by both the audience and the press, is led by Klaus Florian Vogt, Elena Pankratova and Georg Zeppenfeld. Making his festival debut, conductor Hartmut Haenchen, who stepped in on relatively short notice, brought to the stage his decades-long expertise: "The orchestra holds the singers by the hand: eloquent, dramatically sharpened diction, transparent orchestral writing, softly contoured in terms of tonal sense, with flowing transitions, brisk tempi and luminous climaxes." (FAZ)

Soloists: 

Klaus Florian Vogt (Tenor), Georg Zeppenfeld (Bass), Tansel Akzeybek (Tenor), Stefan Heibach (Tenor), Timo Riihonen (Bass), Karl-Heinz Lehner (Bass-Baritone), Gerd Grochowski (Bass-Baritone), Elena Pankratova (Soprano), Alexandra Steiner (Soprano), Mareike Morr (Soprano), Charles Kim (Tenor), Anna Siminska (Soprano), Katharina Persicke (Soprano), Bele Kumberger (Soprano), Ingeborg Gillebo (Mezzo-Soprano), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (Contralto), Ryan McKinny (Baritone)

Ensembles: 

Bayreuth Festival Chorus, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra

Conductor: 

Hartmut Haenchen