WAGNER: “Parsifal.” Siegfried Jerusalem, Waltraud Meier, Jose...

WAGNER: “Parsifal.” Siegfried Jerusalem, Waltraud Meier, Jose van Dam, Matthias Holle; Chorus of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin; Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Teldec 9031-74448-2 (four CDs). Despite the potential for a superior realization of Wagner’s consecrational festival play, Barenboim only intermittently coaxes his forces into conjuring the uninterrupted lyric line and slowly enveloping climaxes that have set the standard for “Parsifal” in our time. The Berlin Philharmonic wants nothing in luster, but not until Act III does the conductor add dramatic pulse to his obsessive savoring of detail. In Jerusalem and Meier, however, the recording boasts the most satisfying Parsifal and Kundry of recent times, with Meier contributing in sheer intelligence what her instrument lacks in distinctive allure. Van Dam contributes a restrained Amfortas. Holle introduces a lightweight Gurnemanz. The choral passages and Teldec’s spacious, somewhat recessed sound are tops.