Redemption Laid Bare: Roland Matthews applauds Opera North’s latest Wagnerian concert staging

Richard Wagner would have had mixed emotions towards this performance of his final work given by Opera North at London’s Royal Festival Hall. He would undoubtedly have been confounded by a presentation diametrically opposed to the conditions for which he created Parsifal. Far from an ‘invisible orchestra’ hidden behind Bayreuth’s famous Schalldeckel (hood), here we had the orchestra centre-stage and on full display. With the Chorus of Opera North in robust voice in the choir seats behind and to the sides, the principals sang without scores along the front of the platform, a monitor their sole means of contact with the conductor.