La Monnaie Parsifal | Love's Labour

Hartmut Haenchen, conducting

Sitzprobe's are finally here. I was excited to find that Maestro Haenchen has had over 6 separate rehearsals with this orchestra before our joining them. With shortness of funds in today's economy I have to assume that that amount of time given by the orchestra was, in part, a sacrifice. This is the largest orchestra La Monnaie will use this season. Some concessions must have been made on their part to allow this kind of careful work.

But such is the joy of playing and singing this score. The technical challenges so great, the complexity of the score so acute it just makes you want to dig in and meet the challenge.

And leading the way is the worlds leading conductor of this score: Hartmut Haenchen. Regarded as today's leading authority on Parsifal, has given his career to plumbing its depths. And it shows. There is a reason why Opera-Cake singled him out as one of the very finest conductors today.  He calmly stepped up in the rehearsal and the orchestra went to work. No words can describe the sounds of this score, in a rehearsal space like this. The stone walls shook.

„Zum Raum wird hier die Zeit“ (Space becomes Time Here) 

This statement by Gurnemanz describes the specificity of "Parsifal," which is a specific dramatic form. No opera. No drama. No oratory. A modern, dialectical, binary structure of action and reflection. The traditional concept of "action" is repealed.  

-Hartmut Haenchen

"The traditional concept of action is repealed." Concerning this production, truer words have not been spoken.