The Parsifal Craze: Giuseppe Borgatti (Bologna Jan 1 1914), Guido Vaccari/Emilio Perea (Costanzi, Roma, Jan. 1 1914), Edoardo di Giovanni/G. Borgatti (La Scala, Jan 4 1914), Guido Vaccari (Teatro Regio, Torino, March 4 1914), Augusto Assandria (La Fenice, Apr. 12, 1914)

Speranza

By courtesy of F. D. V.

**********************************************************************

1902 April 7.

Paris, Nouveau-Théâtre (Casino de Paris).

Excerpts in concert.

French metrical translation: by Judith Gautier and Maurice Kufferath -- ?]
conductor: Alfred Cortot

Kundry: Félia Litvinne

Parsifal: Léon Laffitte

****************************************************************

1903 April 12 -- Easter Sunday.

Milano, Teatro all Scala

Concert version of Prelude and Act III.

Italian metrical translation by Angelo Zanardini—?


Conductor:

Arturo Toscanini

CAST:



------------------------------------------
Parsifal ....  Giuseppe Borgatti --- featuring aria, "Amfortas! La piaga, la piaga!"
-----------------------------------------

Also: Bice Silvestri (Kundry), Angelo Scandiani (Amfortas), and Giulio Rossi (Gurnemanz).


**************************************

1913 January 23
Monte Carlo, Salle Garnier (Opéra), Monaco.

Private performance.

French metrical translation: by Judith Gautier and Maurice Kufferath.
conductor:
Léon Jehin
Kundry: Félia Litvinne
---------------------------------------
Parsifal: Charles Rousselière
--------------------------------------
Amfortas: André Allard

******************************

1913 June 20
Buenos Aires, Teatro Coliseo
Italian singing version… —?
conductor: Gino Marinuzzi

*******

1913 September 30
Rio de Janeiro, Teatro Municipal
Italian singing version… —?
c. Gino Marinuzzi

*******

1913 December 31
Barcelona, Gran Teatro del Liceu
Italian singing version… —?

Onto the 1914 performance boom.

********************************

German-language productions are acknowledged but not given in detail.

****************************

There are two different
French metrival translations by

(a) Gautier/Kufferath
(b) Alfred Ernst

There are two different Italian singing versions:

(a) Angelo Zanardini 

(b) Giovanni Pozza.

Angelo Zanardini's translation was published by Ricordi, both in libretto and piano/vocal format,
sometime in the 1880s (he passed away in 1893).

Pozza's came a little later. The only «date» we could find for it was «primi del '900». He died in 1914.

Pozza's version was a joint publication by Ricordi and rival publishing house Sonzogno.

It's still available in the Ricordi full score edition.

***********

1914 JANUARY 01 (New Year's Day) — Simultaneous premieres:


Bologna, Teatro Comunale.

Italian singing version by Angelo Zanardini

Conductor: Rodolfo Ferrari

CAST:




-------
Parsifal ...... tenor ..... Giuseppe Borgatti

------

Also: Elena Rakowska-Serafin (Kundry), Alfredo Gandolfi (Amfortas), Luigi Rossi-Morelli (Klingsor), Giulio Cirino (Gurnemanz) and Medardo Medosi (Titurel).



****************

Roma, Teatro Costanzi
Italian singing version by Angelo Zanardini—?
conductor Edoardo Vitale



--------------------
Parsifal ....... tenor ---- Guido Vaccari, a renowned Wagnerian tenor.

Alternate dates: Emilio Perea
--------------------

Also: Lina Pasini-Vitale (Kundry), Giuseppe De Luca (Amfortas), Edoardo Faticanti/Ciro Patino (Klingsor), Angelo Masini Pieralli (Gurnemanz), and Giuseppe Tisci Rubini (Titurel).





***************************

Prague, Neues Deutsches Landesttheater
in German

**********************

Prague, Národní Divadlo (National Theatre)
In Czech

***************************


1914 Jan 1.

The Met gave its 72nd performance of Parsifal.



********

1914 JANUARY 04.

Simultaneous premieres:


Paris, Opéra (Garnier)
French singing version by Alfred Ernst.

Conductor: André Messager

CAST:

Kundry: Lucienne Bréval
Parsifal: Paul Franz
Amfortas: Louis Lestelly
Klingsor: Marcel Journet
Gurnemanz: Jean-François «Francisque» Delmas
Titurel: André Gresse

******

1914 Jan 04

Milano, La Scala
Italian singing version by Angelo Zanardini—?
Conductor: Tullio Serafin

CAST:


-------------------------------------

Parsifal ..... "Edoardo di Giovanni" (future Met general director Edward Johnson).
Later performances, Giuseppe Borgatti, and then Johnson again.



---------------------------------------

Also: Lucie Weidt-Margot Kaftal (Kundry), Carlo Galeffi/Angelo Scandiani-Alfredo Gandolfi (Amfortas), Luigi Nicoletti Korman (Klingsor), Nazzareno de Angelis-Umberto Nicoletti (Gurnemanz), and Berardo Berardi (Titurel).



**************

1914 JANUARY 05
Bruxelles, La Monnaie
French metrical version by Judith Gautier and Maurice Kufferath
c. Otto Lohse

CAST:

Kundry: Lucyle Panis [Lucile de Panis]
Parsifal: Heinrich Hensel [Henri Hensel]

---- Also with
Amfortas: Édouard Roux «Rouard»
Klingsor: Auguste Bouilliez
Gurnemanz: Étienne Billot
Titurel: J. Grommen

Some sources mistakenly give the date as the 2nd—which was the dress
rehearsal date—or the 4th.

******

1914 JANUARY 14
Wien,
Opernhaus am Ring

*****************

1914 JANUARY 20
Monte Carlo, Salle Garnier (Opéra)
French singing version by Judith Gautier and Maurice Kufferath
c. Léon Jehin

CAST:

Kundry: Félia Litvinne
Parsifal: Charles Rousselière
Amfortas: Jean Bourbon
Gurnemanz: Marcel Journet

Sources also list Alfred Maguenat as part of the cast of this production.


1914 JANUARY 23
Hamburg, National Stadttheater (Opernhaus)


1914 FEBRUARY 02
London, ROH Covent Garden

*****************************

1914 March 8

Torino, Teatro Regio
Italian metrical version by Angelo Zanardini.

Conductor:
Ettore Panizza

CAST:
Kundry: Elena Rakowska-Serafin

--------------------------------
Parsifal .... tenor .... Guido Vaccari
--------------------------------
Amfortas: Alfredo Gandolfi
Klingsor: Enrico Molinari
Gurnemanz: Luigi Nicoletti Korman
Titurel: Paolo Argentini

*******

1914 MARCH 24
Dresden, Königlich-Sächsisches Hoftheater (Sächsische Hofoper-Semperoper)

**********************

1914 April 12, Easter Sunday.

Venezia, La Fenice

Italian metrical translation by Angelo Zanardini

Conductor: Rodolfo Ferrari


------------------------------------
Parsifal: Augusto Assandria
-------------------------------------

Also with Teresina Burchi (Kundry),

Amfortas: Giuseppe Giardini
Klingsor: Leone Paci
Gurnemanz: Mansueto Gaudio
Titurel: Giuseppe Pacchiani

********************


1914 JUNE 03
Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
[in German, we are assuming]

c. Felix von Weingartner

Kundry: Margarete Matzenauer
Parsifal: Johannes Sembach
Amfortas: Murray Davey
Klingsor: Paul Knüpfer
Gurnemanz: Paul Bender
Titurel: August Kiess
*************************

Regarding the later years of Parsifal in italiano.

1948 was the final Italian-language "Parsifal" (in the Pozza version) presented by the Teatro alla Scala (Ettore Panizza conducting).

The original German was established most emphatically at the Teatro alla Scala by the 1951 production: Martha Mödl, Hans Beirer, Otto Edelmann, Josef Greindl, and Hilde Güden as the first Flowermaiden, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler.

The next production, at the Teatro alla Scala, in 1960, was conducted by André Cluytens
and starred Rita Gorr, Sándor Konya, Gustav Neidlinger, Boris Christoff, and
making her Scala debut as the first Flowermaiden, Montserrat Caballé.

However, "Parsifal: dramma mistico in tre atti" was still being performed in Italian in other theatres throughout Italy.

1949 witnessed two Italian-language productions ( the Zanardini version, according to what we could find) in Roma and Venezia.

The Roma production had Serafin conducting a cast which included Maria Callas as Kundry.

The Venezia production featured, unusually for a production sung in the vernacular, Anny
Konetzni as Kundry and

Günther Treptow

 as Parsifal.

However, the 1950 Roman RAI broadcast (Gui conducting, Maria Callas as Kundry) is in the Pozza version.

According to what we could find, the 1958 Roman "Parsifal" conducted by Gui and
starring Mödl, Windgassen, and Frick was sung in Italian (Zanardini version) —
perhaps the last production to be executed thus.