Wagner Biographies

Pierre Boulez (1925 – 2016)

Pierre Boulez at the Bayreuth Festival: “My main goal was to get rid of the so-called tradition”

“My main goal was to get rid of the so-called tradition, which for me is unbearable. I mean, what is tradition? Tradition is really [somebody's] mannerisms, which are transmitted and transformed [into the worst] mannerism[s] because they at this point have no raison d'etre. Everyone has his own mannerisms. I am sure I have my own mannerisms, but I don't ask anyone to imitate me.”
Pierre Boulez in the documentary about the Chéreau/ Boulez Ring at Bayreuth

“I like the type of danger you experience when conducting...you have no time, you must do nothing but concentrate.”
Pierre Boulez

 

1966

Parsifal
Production: Wieland Wagner

1967

Parsifal
Production: Wieland Wagner

1968

Parsifal
Production: Wieland Wagner

1970

Parsifal
Production: Wieland Wagner

1976

Das Rheingold
Die Walküre
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung
Production: Patrice Chéreau

1977

Das Rheingold
Die Walküre
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung
Production: Patrice Chéreau

1978

Das Rheingold
Die Walküre
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung
Production: Patrice Chéreau

1979

Das Rheingold
Die Walküre
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung
Production: Patrice Chéreau

1980

Das Rheingold
Die Walküre
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung
Production: Patrice Chéreau

2004

Parsifal
Production: Christoph Schlingensief

2005

Parsifal
Production: Christoph Schlingensief

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How I rescued Parsifal: Pierre Boulez shocked the critics in 1966 by stripping down Wagner's most opulent work. He is back in Bayreuth this year for a repeat performance - with a twist. By Tom Service (The Guardian, 2004)

 

 

Selected Biographies