New artistic territory: ‘Parsifal‘ at the Goetheanum
Richard Wagner‘s music drama ‘Parsifal’ will come to the Goetheanum Stage at Easter 2023 as a coproduction of Pamy Mediaproductions and the Goetheanum. The venture will bring opera and eurythmy together.
The Goetheanum is occasionally referred to as the Castle of the Grail. Now it is about to become just that. Richard Wagner has unlocked ‘Parsifal’, the last European myth, for the modern era. An independent project team will bring the festival opera to the Goetheanum near Basel, Switzerland. The team will consist of Jasmin Solfaghari (opera director), Walter Schütze (set and costumes), Stefan Hasler (director eurythmy) and Klaus Suppan (lighting design).
The musical bridge Richard Wagner built from the here and now to transcendent inner worlds will be made audible by conductor Roland Fister and the Baden-Baden philharmonic orchestra, Germany, and visible by 29 eurythmists from the Goetheanum Eurythmy Ensemble, Switzerland, and the Else Klink Ensemble Stuttgart, Germany. Opera and eurythmy will meet in Wagnerian grandeur, with Jasmin Solfaghari‘s stage language and Stefan Hasler‘s fluid eurythmy movement exploring the music.
Where, if not in ‘Parsifal’, which is all about movement as a means of releasing the keeper of the Grail who has been caught in rigidity, and opening the gate towards development and redemption, could such a crossover of art forms be of interest? “Knowing through compassion” is the magic word with which Parsifal, after many errors, heals the wound. Grail and spear come together again, head and heart unite.
This production of ‘Parsifal’ at the Goetheanum at Easter 2023 is new artistic territory. According to Jasmin Solfaghari and Stefan Hasler, the figure of Parsifal was the best inspiration for “fearlessly mounting” this communal work. That this production can become a reality is owed to the initiative and commitment of Alexander von Glenck.
English by Margot M. Saar
‘Parsifal’ performances 2, 7 and 9 April 2023, 4 pm, Goetheanum
Web 'Parsifal'
Photo Team ‘Parsifal’: Klaus Suppan, Stefan Hasler, Jasmin Solfaghari, and Walter Schütze (Photo: Pamy Mediaproductions, and Goetheanum)