John Tomlinson Parsifal Masterclass (The Royal Opera)

Join Wagnerian legend Sir John Tomlinson as he coaches a young tenor in the final scene from Act 3 of Wagner's Parsifal. At this moment in the opera, Parsifal heals Amfortas with the Spear.
Find out more at www.roh.org.uk/parsifal
The creative team behind The Royal Opera's production of The Minotaur, director Stephen Langridge and designer Alison Chitty, bring a new staging of Parsifal to Covent Garden. Parsifal, Wagner's final opera, was first given at Bayreuth in 1882. For many years, at the insistence of Wagner and then his widow Cosima, performances outside the Bayreuth Festival were banned. This embargo was lifted in January 1914; by August of the same year Parsifal had been performed at more than fifty opera houses throughout Europe.
Wagner loosely based the opera on scenes from Wolfram von Eschenbach's medieval romance Parzifal. The score contrasts the sacred with the sensual, from the stark magnificence of the music for the procession to the Grail Hall in Act I to the richly orchestrated scene in which Kundry attempts to seduce Parsifal in Act II. There are sections of almost unearthly beauty such as the Act I Prologue, the Good Friday music in Act III, and the closing scene of the opera, in which Parsifal reveals the Grail to the knights.

[@DONXMEN]

It's not easy to be so vulnerable to an audience. I commend the singer for being able to rehearse in front of an audience and have it taped.

[@MrAristaeus]

At 02:38, when Sir John "spreads the phrase over ten seconds" (whilst speaking)... that is PURE theatre. The intention, meaning, import, resonating meaning... whatever you want to call it, is THERE and he has the audience in the palm of his hands! The sheer physicality of that spoken phrasing, if you can call it that, is so generous that it compels the audience to listen. Amongst many other reasons, that's why (and how) Sir John could sing Wagner with the necessary economy and required strength. A legend and an indispensable video for singers who wish to learn.

[@BenEmberley]

Sir John Tomlinson - Legend

[@MrGratefulheart]

John sang Hagen in the SF OPERA Ring in 1980... unforgettable!! I ran into him with his family on the street... Very kind, and generous with his time.

[@SFCAsandalmaker]

Having John Tomlinson as an instructor must be an awesome experience.

[@matthewwalsh7813]

Großartig

[@SFCAsandalmaker]

He "Keeps it real" like no one I've ever seen.

[@carlfredriktohver]

Wow! Great sound 🙏🏻

[@damianjb1]

I can imagine a Masterclass must be terrifying. Fascinating for the audience though.

[@Wolf.88]

Yeah!

[@LordMgls]

absolutely! i couldn't care less about the technical aspects of singing; as an audience member, i can only assume that all of that is in place. what makes some of these masterclasses so interesting to me is seeing the masters break down the dramatic faults which would otherwise make the difference between a compelling performance and a slack one. in this case, the guy has a great voice but the was clearly oversinging--which may have been acceptable 100 years ago but is totally out of place and anti-dramatic nowadays.

[@Wolf.88]

+LordMgls Great comment. Unlike other composers, you have to "get" Wagner first before you can truly sing his music dramas.

[@LordMgls]

Tomlinson's speaking voice sounds like Dumbledore. I wonder if he could sing!

[@KaleidoscopeAct]

Singing is very hard to do. Singing Parsifal is especially hard. Listen to Max Lorenz(my favorite singer of all time)singing it here on youtube. It can change your life like it did mine.

[@Wolf.88]

Thank you. My life was completely changed by Wagner 15 years ago. And, yes, especially Parsifal.

[@needtoknowbasis3499]

no

[@flaze3]

I also thought he was pushing and oversinging. I imagine it's a common problem with Wagnerian singing where the singer is worried about being drowned out by the orchestra.

[@Horichdaslicht1858]

The irony is that Bayreuth is such a singer-friendly environment that those with voices up to task do not have to push unduly. Wagner himself encouraged a Bel Canto style, to quote Jonas Kaufmann: "Italian opera sung in German", but when Cosima revived the festival, a louder, shoutier manner was becoming fashionable in Italian Verismo, and she chose to pursue that path. A pity. The British tenor, Alberto Remedios, sang Siegfried in a manner that Wagner may well have approved of, and a recording of The Ring in English, in which he also sang Siegmund, is still in the catalogue.

[@ftumschk]

@@Horichdaslicht1858 It's a real shame that, when Remedios was in his pomp, the German opera scene was still hiring Windgassen and Kollo. Much as I admire both those fine artists, I'd give my right arm to have had Remedios sing Walther in Karajan's Dresden Meistersinger, and Siegfried in a decently-recorded Bayreuth "Ring". As it is, I'm happy to content myself with Goodall and Sadler's Wells.

[@ahava77]

8:00-8:08

[@tylercooper6611]

I had a masterclass with JT and he was so constructive but not very helpful vocally for a tenor