The idea of freedom
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On Parsifal's memory work and the unexpected in the divine
At the end of his career, Richard Wagner looks back on his work in a "Bühnenweihfestspiel": Amfortas as a "heightened Tristan", Parsifal as a double figure of Siegfried, Kundry as a combination of Erda, Brünnhilde and Venus and Klingsor with traits of Alberich and Wotan. Wagner conjures up the musical aura of his characters and gives them a final, refined form.
This extraordinary opera from the late 19th century invites us to reflect on life. Wagner leaves behind a work that looks both spiritually and critically at religious certainties. In Parsifal, a space is created that evokes memories of one's own youth and reflects the protagonist's journey. This memory harbors repressed and painful experiences that he relives and sometimes tries to gloss over. In the end, there is an encounter between past and present, the two Parsifal characters face each other, sometimes close, sometimes alien.
A poetic space of memory
In my production, levels of memory merge and often remain deliberately fragmented and contradictory. The scenes do not follow a linear chronology; they reflect the fluid boundaries between experience and fantasy, a perspective that is driven by Parsifal's inner conflict and his spiritual search.
The symbol of the Grail and the idea of freedom
For me, the Grail symbolizes freedom in its universal form. The Knights of the Grail, trapped in a narrow view of the world, have lost part of their faith. They see the world through dogmatic glasses that increasingly distance them from their essence. In my production, a prison embodies this self-imposed isolation - a dark metaphor for the dogmatic world that the knights have built around themselves.
A dystopian journey
This opera unfolds a dystopian world. The characters have lost their faith, love and hope. People try to create new, eclectic symbols from the debris and fragments of former beliefs. In my depiction, the prisoners wear tattooed symbols of faith on their skin, while in Klingsor's magic castle, such symbols are commercialized and put on display.
Kundry's resistance and hope
In my production, Kundry remains resistant and self-determined. She is a complex character who rebels against the patriarchal expectations of the 19th century that Wagner imposed on her. Instead of submitting to the baptism sought by Wagner, she holds on to her own hope.
The magic in reality
Any naïve illustration would devalue the subtle connections of Wagner's score. I try to place Wagner's miracles and symbols in a real, living context. For example, while filming in snowy Moscow, we discovered a ruin with magical sunlight shining through its ruined walls - a moment that reveals the beauty and deep metaphysics of our reality.