I’m singing in a Wagner opera and I’m having a ball. Once I never thought I’d say that – I was always a little intimidated by his operas and also by those who sing them. Even though I’ve now sung in quite a few of these epics, I still feel I’m walking on hallowed ground. Much of this is, of course, nonsense. Wagner’s operas may require something different to Mozart’s operas from both the singer and the listener but it doesn’t mean that they are “better” or indeed more “special” than the rest – in fact I’m far from alone in thinking that Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is perhaps the most perfect opera ever written.
But for many others, Parsifal would give it a run for its money, and it is this, Wagner’s last great work, that I am part of now.
