A new production of Wagner’s final opera Parsifal inaugurates Victorian Opera’s 2019 season, an intriguing mix of the familiar and new. With a cast to rival the one Opera Australia put together for its concert performances in 2017, the titular Holy Fool will be performed by German tenor Burkhard Fritz, an experienced Parsifal who’s sung the role in European houses and under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. Swedish mezzo Katarina Dalayman, herself a distinguished Kundry, will bring her celebrated interpretation of Wagner’s cursed temptress to Melbourne, alongside the towering Gurnemanz of British bass Peter Rose, yet another experienced Wagnerian. Australian bass-baritone Derek Welton, who impressed with his Klingsor at this year’s Bayreuth Festival, will reprise the role in this new staging from Roger Hodgman. Artistic Director Richard Mills conducts the Australian Youth Orchestra in what he calls “a mystical testament to the power of harmony and sound.”

Parsifal. Photo © Victorian Opera 

“It’s my favourite Wagner opera,” he says. “There’s something about the sound world and the musical language that’s immensely appealing to me. It’s an extraordinary document so it’s a great...