My favourite was when writing brochure copy for the Royal Opera and autocorrect helpfully changed Wagner’s Parsifal to Wagner’s Pratfall.
November 9, 2025 at 12:02 PM
My favourite was when writing brochure copy for the Royal Opera and autocorrect helpfully changed Wagner’s Parsifal to Wagner’s Pratfall.
An interesting aspect of Parsifal: succumbing to the temptation of a woman leads Amfortas to be pierced with the holy spear and an unhealing wound is inflicted on him, diminishing him as the penetrated man. So, Wagner was maybe the first to articulate "fellas, is it gay to have sex with a woman?"
November 8, 2025 at 10:27 PM
An interesting aspect of Parsifal: succumbing to the temptation of a woman leads Amfortas to be pierced with the holy spear and an unhealing wound is inflicted on him, diminishing him as the penetrated man. So, Wagner was maybe the first to articulate "fellas, is it gay to have sex with a woman?"
Saw Wagner’s Parsifal last night at SFO. After the 1st scene of Act 2 it was obvious he didn’t like women. The music sounded like the weakest part of a 1930s movie soundtrack. The word, “bourgeois” came to mind. I had enough and walked out.
November 8, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Saw Wagner’s Parsifal last night at SFO. After the 1st scene of Act 2 it was obvious he didn’t like women. The music sounded like the weakest part of a 1930s movie soundtrack. The word, “bourgeois” came to mind. I had enough and walked out.
Tonight's viewing - "Parsifal" - San Francisco Opera Livestream
November 3, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Tonight's viewing - "Parsifal" - San Francisco Opera Livestream
Good evening from the opera house.
November 8, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Good evening from the opera house.
Anyway, back to Parsifal: if you can see it in person, I urge you to do so.
And here's @joshuakosman.bsky.social raving about the musical and physical dimensions of the production, if you need further persuasion:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
And here's @joshuakosman.bsky.social raving about the musical and physical dimensions of the production, if you need further persuasion:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
Forget the sacred mystery — San Francisco Opera’s ‘Parsifal’ is pure, dazzling spectacle
San Francisco Opera’s “Parsifal” shimmers with beauty and bold staging, trading Wagner’s mysticism for visual wonder and musical brilliance under Music Director Eun Sun Kim.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Anyway, back to Parsifal: if you can see it in person, I urge you to do so.
And here's @joshuakosman.bsky.social raving about the musical and physical dimensions of the production, if you need further persuasion:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
And here's @joshuakosman.bsky.social raving about the musical and physical dimensions of the production, if you need further persuasion:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
Watching the @sfopera.bsky.social Parsifal Livestream on demand.
I am genuinely shocked at how it looks. In the house it is gorgeously lit and the colors pop and glow. The stream is dim and genuinely doesn't represent how beautiful the production is.
1/
I am genuinely shocked at how it looks. In the house it is gorgeously lit and the colors pop and glow. The stream is dim and genuinely doesn't represent how beautiful the production is.
1/
November 3, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Watching the @sfopera.bsky.social Parsifal Livestream on demand.
I am genuinely shocked at how it looks. In the house it is gorgeously lit and the colors pop and glow. The stream is dim and genuinely doesn't represent how beautiful the production is.
1/
I am genuinely shocked at how it looks. In the house it is gorgeously lit and the colors pop and glow. The stream is dim and genuinely doesn't represent how beautiful the production is.
1/
Announcing WAGNER IN VERMONT 2026 - August 14-19 at the Latchis Theatre, Brattleboro VT - Mainstage: Tristan und Isolde (14 & 19) - Der Fliegende Holländer (16) - Parsifal Act II (17) - Plus lectures and talks, a Liederabend, staged scenes shows, and Unshielded: The story of Wotan and Brünnhilde.
November 1, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Announcing WAGNER IN VERMONT 2026 - August 14-19 at the Latchis Theatre, Brattleboro VT - Mainstage: Tristan und Isolde (14 & 19) - Der Fliegende Holländer (16) - Parsifal Act II (17) - Plus lectures and talks, a Liederabend, staged scenes shows, and Unshielded: The story of Wotan and Brünnhilde.
My @sfopera.bsky.social Parsifal review, with a couple of edits I asked for:
www.sfcv.org/articles/rev...
www.sfcv.org/articles/rev...
Parsifal Triumphs at SF Opera
Richard Wagner’s symbol-laden drama becomes human in the company’s subtle, dramatically keen production.
www.sfcv.org
October 31, 2025 at 1:49 AM
My @sfopera.bsky.social Parsifal review, with a couple of edits I asked for:
www.sfcv.org/articles/rev...
www.sfcv.org/articles/rev...
I will concede that a nearly 5-hour Wagner opera can be something of an acquired taste. Still, what a magnificent performance of Parsifal at the San Francisco Opera tonight.
October 29, 2025 at 6:09 AM
I will concede that a nearly 5-hour Wagner opera can be something of an acquired taste. Still, what a magnificent performance of Parsifal at the San Francisco Opera tonight.
New post at On a Pacific Aisle, with thoughts on Parsifal, Shostakovich, and David Afkham.
pacificaisle.substack.com/p/hard-to-pa...
pacificaisle.substack.com/p/hard-to-pa...
Hard to parse
Not even the San Francisco Opera's superb new production could dispel the essential problems of Wagner's Parsifal
pacificaisle.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:12 PM
New post at On a Pacific Aisle, with thoughts on Parsifal, Shostakovich, and David Afkham.
pacificaisle.substack.com/p/hard-to-pa...
pacificaisle.substack.com/p/hard-to-pa...
The start of a media round-up for the magnificent @sfopera.bsky.social "Parsifal." I've got more to say, but I've got a cold and an article due this week, so it might have to wait.
irontongue.blogspot.com/2025/10/pure...
irontongue.blogspot.com/2025/10/pure...
Pure Foolishness
Parsifal , Act 2 Photo: Cory Weaver / courtesy of San Francisco Opera I've got many thoughts that aren't in my review, but I also have a col...
irontongue.blogspot.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:04 PM
The start of a media round-up for the magnificent @sfopera.bsky.social "Parsifal." I've got more to say, but I've got a cold and an article due this week, so it might have to wait.
irontongue.blogspot.com/2025/10/pure...
irontongue.blogspot.com/2025/10/pure...
@sfopera.bsky.social Maybe you need an ad telling people Parsifal is shorter than a World Series game.
October 28, 2025 at 6:37 AM
@sfopera.bsky.social Maybe you need an ad telling people Parsifal is shorter than a World Series game.
Some things that are shorter than last night's ball game:
• Wagner's Parsifal
• Branagh's HAMLET
• Wenders's UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
Béla Tarr's SÁTÁNTANGÓ is approximately one inning longer than game three was.
• Wagner's Parsifal
• Branagh's HAMLET
• Wenders's UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
Béla Tarr's SÁTÁNTANGÓ is approximately one inning longer than game three was.
October 28, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Some things that are shorter than last night's ball game:
• Wagner's Parsifal
• Branagh's HAMLET
• Wenders's UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
Béla Tarr's SÁTÁNTANGÓ is approximately one inning longer than game three was.
• Wagner's Parsifal
• Branagh's HAMLET
• Wenders's UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
Béla Tarr's SÁTÁNTANGÓ is approximately one inning longer than game three was.
Hey hey, it’s an @inbedwiththeright.bsky.social field trip to the @sfopera.bsky.social #Wagner #Parsifal
October 25, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Hey hey, it’s an @inbedwiththeright.bsky.social field trip to the @sfopera.bsky.social #Wagner #Parsifal
18th inning.
Time to grab the flask of Glenfiddich I took to the Parsifal final dress rehearsal last Tuesday.
(I drank only water and coffee at the primo on Saturday.)
Time to grab the flask of Glenfiddich I took to the Parsifal final dress rehearsal last Tuesday.
(I drank only water and coffee at the primo on Saturday.)
October 28, 2025 at 6:31 AM
18th inning.
Time to grab the flask of Glenfiddich I took to the Parsifal final dress rehearsal last Tuesday.
(I drank only water and coffee at the primo on Saturday.)
Time to grab the flask of Glenfiddich I took to the Parsifal final dress rehearsal last Tuesday.
(I drank only water and coffee at the primo on Saturday.)
"In tackling Wagner’s final and most enigmatic operatic creation, the company has deftly bypassed all the piece’s most intractable challenges and opted instead to dazzle the eyes and ears."
I'm back in the Chronicle today, with a review of SF Opera's radiant new Parsifal.
I'm back in the Chronicle today, with a review of SF Opera's radiant new Parsifal.
Forget the sacred mystery — San Francisco Opera’s ‘Parsifal’ is pure, dazzling spectacle
San Francisco Opera’s “Parsifal” shimmers with beauty and bold staging, trading Wagner’s mysticism for visual wonder and musical brilliance under Music Director Eun Sun Kim.
www.sfchronicle.com
October 26, 2025 at 8:57 PM
"In tackling Wagner’s final and most enigmatic operatic creation, the company has deftly bypassed all the piece’s most intractable challenges and opted instead to dazzle the eyes and ears."
I'm back in the Chronicle today, with a review of SF Opera's radiant new Parsifal.
I'm back in the Chronicle today, with a review of SF Opera's radiant new Parsifal.
Comparto unas reflexiones sobre tres distintos "Parsifal" a los que asistí en el Teatro Real, en mi ciudad, Madrid. Un cordial saludo. juliocesarabadvidal.wordpress.com/2016/04/03/e...
El Parsifal de Guth: de la ópera del “loco puro” hacia la pura insensatez
La versión escénica de Claus Guth de Parsifal constituye una relectura radical del Bühnenweilhfestpiel (festival dramático sacro), como el propio Richard Wagner subtituló a su última obra, en la q…
juliocesarabadvidal.wordpress.com
October 25, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Comparto unas reflexiones sobre tres distintos "Parsifal" a los que asistí en el Teatro Real, en mi ciudad, Madrid. Un cordial saludo. juliocesarabadvidal.wordpress.com/2016/04/03/e...
I do awfully like the prelude to Parsifal
What’s the closest you ever got to a “Nazi phase”?
Mine was my “Nietzsche is great, besides, he hated Christians, not Jews” moment in college
Either that or my Nation of Islam/Malcolm X fascination. Either way, specifically anti-Nazi!
Mine was my “Nietzsche is great, besides, he hated Christians, not Jews” moment in college
Either that or my Nation of Islam/Malcolm X fascination. Either way, specifically anti-Nazi!
October 21, 2025 at 7:27 PM
I do awfully like the prelude to Parsifal
San Francisco Opera brings Wagner’s Parsifal back after 25 years. Director Matthew Ozawa highlights healing & empathy: “Parsifal speaks directly to the crisis of disconnection so many of us feel.” Check out the text “Amfortas! Die Wunde!” (buff.ly/QZ2QAUR)
Listen to Jonas Kaufmann: buff.ly/LLaDG6i
Listen to Jonas Kaufmann: buff.ly/LLaDG6i
October 22, 2025 at 1:16 PM
San Francisco Opera brings Wagner’s Parsifal back after 25 years. Director Matthew Ozawa highlights healing & empathy: “Parsifal speaks directly to the crisis of disconnection so many of us feel.” Check out the text “Amfortas! Die Wunde!” (buff.ly/QZ2QAUR)
Listen to Jonas Kaufmann: buff.ly/LLaDG6i
Listen to Jonas Kaufmann: buff.ly/LLaDG6i
Today, #Wagner's 'Parsifal' with Sokolowski, Kaiser, Dohmen and Karagedik from #Antwerp
www.worldconcerthall.com/en/schedule/... #wch
www.worldconcerthall.com/en/schedule/... #wch
Wagner's 'Parsifal' with Sokolowski, Kaiser, Dohmen and Karagedik from Antwerp - Schedule // - www.worldconcerthall.com
Wagner's 'Parsifal' is an opera in three acts. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival (Percival) and his…
www.worldconcerthall.com
October 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Digital drama, celestial singing: Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s Parsifal in Antwerp
✍️ Simon Thompson
bachtrack.com/review-parsi...
✍️ Simon Thompson
bachtrack.com/review-parsi...
October 15, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Digital drama, celestial singing: Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s Parsifal in Antwerp
✍️ Simon Thompson
bachtrack.com/review-parsi...
✍️ Simon Thompson
bachtrack.com/review-parsi...
Back from the metaverse.
PARSIFAL at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen is a musical triumph that drowns in the visual excess of AI-generated images. In that sense, it's a true reflection of our times in a world that is inundated with stimuli.
#opera
www.wagner-heavymetal.com/blog/parsifa...
PARSIFAL at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen is a musical triumph that drowns in the visual excess of AI-generated images. In that sense, it's a true reflection of our times in a world that is inundated with stimuli.
#opera
www.wagner-heavymetal.com/blog/parsifa...
Parsifal in the Metaverse
Algorithmic imagination It is only fitting that a production of Parsifal, Wagner's “Bühnenweihfestspiel” , confronts us with new possibilities for staging an opera. Since its premiere in...
www.wagner-heavymetal.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Back from the metaverse.
PARSIFAL at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen is a musical triumph that drowns in the visual excess of AI-generated images. In that sense, it's a true reflection of our times in a world that is inundated with stimuli.
#opera
www.wagner-heavymetal.com/blog/parsifa...
PARSIFAL at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen is a musical triumph that drowns in the visual excess of AI-generated images. In that sense, it's a true reflection of our times in a world that is inundated with stimuli.
#opera
www.wagner-heavymetal.com/blog/parsifa...
In the Parsifal myth, nobody in the court of the ailing king, in the ailing land, dares name the festering wound in the royal groin. The generative organ is rotting. It takes Parsifal openly naming the wound, calling it what it is, for the spell to be broken, for healing to begin.
October 14, 2025 at 8:23 AM
In the Parsifal myth, nobody in the court of the ailing king, in the ailing land, dares name the festering wound in the royal groin. The generative organ is rotting. It takes Parsifal openly naming the wound, calling it what it is, for the spell to be broken, for healing to begin.