Michael Tanner

Michael Tanner remembers the greatest musical experience of his life

The first performance of Parsifal at the 1962 Bayreuth Festival remains unforgettable, as some of my patient and weary friends will agree, having heard me fail to forget it

Wieland Wagner's revolutionary 1951 Bayreuth production of Parsifal, taken from the book 'Wieland Wagner. Revolutionär und Visionär des Musiktheaters' by Till Haberfeld and Oswald Georg Bauer. Image: Nationalarchiv der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung Bayreuth, Zustiftung Wolfgang Wagner 
issue 25 April 2020
  • Comments

No surprise: the greatest musical experience of my life was Parsifal at Bayreuth in 1962. I thought at the time that I would never again be so moved by a performance of anything. I have kept an open mind ever since, and still it takes me no time or effort to answer the question.

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY A MONTH FREE
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Try a month of Britain’s best writing, absolutely free.

Read next

Trending

Robert Taylor

What has Ofcom got against the Carry On films?

Why must we all be such killjoys? Why so prudish? Why so terrified of history? In the dock this week, accused of crimes against common sense, are the bods at Ofcom, whose ‘guidance’, say broadcasters, means that Carry On films are now under threat. It appears the Carry On films have made the unpardonable error

More on astrid varnay

Also by Michael Tanner

Latest

Comments

Join the debate, free for a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.

Already a subscriber? Log in