The castle of Monsalvat will never be the same again: Bieito's Parsifal in Stuttgart

Till today, this was the only photo that had been given to the media, shot during rehearsals for the new staging of PARSIFAL, directed by catalan bad boy of opera Calixto Bieito. Rumours have been spreading during the last few weeks about how Bieito would handle Wagner's Bühnenweihfestspiel:

For Bieito, Wagner’s libretto shows obsessed characters, which are exposed to manipulation through guilt and harm– there is no possibility of salvation in afterlife. Love and trust in this life alone can convey security and confidence. In that way one gains responsibility and respect for one’s environment and one’s own life. Parsifal becomes aware of his responsibility during the stages of his “aventure”. “In the end”, Bieito says, “the light will come from within ourselves”.

Inspired by the novel “The Road” by American author Cormac McCarthy, Bieito’s Parsifal is confronted with the remains of civilisation. The protagonists in the novel, father and son, wander through post-apocalyptic, deserted and desolate America. Accordingly, Bieito sees Parsifal set in an apocalyptic scenery. Stage designer Susanne Gschwender creates a destroyed landscape covered by ash, where a ruined motorway bridge is the only evidence of a bygone civilisation. Mercè Paloma provides the characters with an existential basic outfit: Protection from heat, cold and pollution.

A few more hints were already given by tenor Andrew Richards, singing Parsifal, at his own blog:

There is a brutality to the regie that I find somehow exciting in Act One. Milling is masterful in keeping his musical lines flowing all the while beating someone to death. Not an easy thing to accomplish, brutality juxtaposed with musical serenity.
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Dear Mom, Your son managed to make it thru the staging rehearsal of the "Love" Duet scene of Parsifal Act 2 without public nudity. Shirt's off, but pants stay on. Thought you'd like to know....

Much love, Andy
p.s. Of course, we're only half way thru the scene....
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Nothing whatsoever shocking or controversial happened today. Except the part where I, as the fool Parsifal in a drug induced state, became a suckling infant. (.)(.)

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I keep getting people emailing me about the Blumenmädchen scene. Hmmmmm.....how do I put this? Let your imagination go wild...it won't disappoint the Bieito fans.
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I hope to champion that moment as well with the time I'm putting in on the treadmill (very hard to get my butt to the gym though when I'm feeling near dead at the end of a rehearsal).
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Apparently, Andrew Richards got his butt to the gym several times after rehearsal:

***NSFW***

-exclusively at parsifal's-
(click to enlarge)

And if you think this's just it, here's what maestro Manfred Honeck said of Andrew Richard's Parsifal:

"With his dramatic voice he will be the Parsifal of the next ten years internationally"

Parsifal at the Staatsoper Stuttgart opens on March the 28th. All performances are sold-out.

Interpreting the title role, Andrew Richards makes his debut in Stuttgart. American baritone Gregg Baker sings Amfortas. Stephen Milling and Johann Tilli sing Gurnemanz. Christiane Iven sings Kundry, Claudio Otelli is Klingsor and Matthias Hölle is Titurel.