Hans Knappertsbusch at Bayreuth

1951

Das Rheingold (Conductor)
Die Walküre (Conductor)
Siegfried (Conductor)
Götterdämmerung (Conductor)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Conductor)
Parsifal (Conductor)

1952

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Conductor)
Parsifal (Conductor)

1954

Parsifal (Conductor)

1955

Der fliegende Holländer (Conductor)
Parsifal (Conductor)

1956

Das Rheingold (Conductor)
Die Walküre (Conductor)
Siegfried (Conductor)
Götterdämmerung (Conductor)
Parsifal (Conductor)

1957

Das Rheingold (Conductor)
Die Walküre (Conductor)
Siegfried (Conductor)
Götterdämmerung (Conductor)
Parsifal (Conductor)

1958

Das Rheingold (Conductor)
Die Walküre (Conductor)
Siegfried (Conductor)
Götterdämmerung (Conductor)
Parsifal (Conductor)

1959

Parsifal (Conductor)

1960

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Conductor)
Parsifal (Conductor)

1961

Parsifal (Conductor)

1962

Parsifal (Conductor)

1963

Parsifal (Conductor)

1964

Parsifal (Conductor)

Said about Knappertsbusch

"The truth was that Knappertsbusch took very badly to recording conditions, and, no matter what we did, the genius which he so certainly revealed in the theatre refused to come alive in studio conditions [...] In the theatre I believe that he was a Wagner conductor of supreme ability. But on records he was a total failure." (John Culshaw: Ring Resounding, 1967)

Selected Biographies

Parsifal: Articles and Reviews

William Kinderman: Wagner’s Parsifal (Review and comments by Germán A. Bravo-Casas)

Mark Berry: Bayreuth 2017: Parsifal

Mark Berry: Bayreuth 2016: Parsifal

Mark Berry: Bayreuth Festival: 2012: Parsifal

Mark Berry: Bayreuth Festival: 2011: Parsifal

Colin Bayliss: Parsifal and anti-Semitism

Bayreuth 2008: Stefan Herheim: Parsifal (Per-Erik Skramstad)

Jerry Floyd on Claus Guth's Parsifal production at Gran Teatre Liceu

Daniel Barenboim: Complete Wagner Operas (34 CD)

Social Media

One of the finest monuments in sound ever to have been raised to the everlasting glory of music. (Claude Debussy on Parsifal)

"The thing about Wagner is that there can be no true success in any production of his operas, only degrees of failure. There is so much in these bloody pieces, all you can do is try to live up to them." (Keith Warner, The Guardian)

"I have never come across an audience with so much hatred, so much anger, such a thirst for revenge. They take everything personally. It makes you a little bit scared, and it's really quite terrifying." (Lance Ryan on the audiences at Bayreuth)

"People sometimes complain that Wagner operas are too long, that they get stiff and sore about 10.30 because they have rushed in to hear one of his works straight from work and are not properly prepared for listening to his music. The audience, as much as the artists, must be prepared for a performance."
(Benjamin Britten to Alan Blyth, Gramophone)

"I was bowled over. It was the year after Wieland Wagner had died; to be able to see his productions was a total knock-out. These bare stagings, where everything was done with lighting. The light changed with the music, and the shadows and patterns seemed as archetypal as the music itself. Nobody had done that on the stage before. I thought it was extraordinary and wonderful."
(Patrick Carnegy to The Guardian)

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