Parsifal, Royal Opera House

This innovative new production of Richard Wagner’s final great masterpiece is one of the highlights of the coming season at the Royal Opera House.

First given at the Bayreuth Festival in 1882, Parsifal has come in for a 'classical contemporary' makeover in this bicentenary year of Wagner’s birth. Opera lovers are eager to see the inventive new staging by Stephen Langridge, the new artistic director of Gothenburg Opera, and Alison Chitty, the production designer whose credits include a string of Mike Leigh films.

Playing Parsifal is none other than the New Zealand tenor Simon O’Neill, described as 'THE Wagnerian tenor of his generation'. His turbo-charged voice, which is known for its extreme clarity, is definitely worth getting excited about. Performing alongside him is Angela Denoke, a much sought-after German soprano.

Wagner first conceived Parsifal in 1857, and finished it 25 years later, shortly before his death. The story is loosely based on Parzival, a 13th century epic poem by Wolfram von Eschenbach about the Arthurean knight Parzival’s quest for the Holy Grail. It charts his painful journey from utter ignorance to enlightenment, with sexual passion surpassed and transfigured into a universal compassionate love.

But let’s be clear: there is nothing Arthurian about this production. The characters wear modern, slightly stylized costumes, from no clearly defined era. And many of the characters are said to have back stories, which will be projected as video stills onto a large box at the centre of the set.

Wagner did not regard Parsifal as an opera as such, but rather 'A Festival Play for the Consecration of the Stage'.

To us mere mortals, it is five and a quarter hours of almost unearthly music which is sure to engulf you.

A word of warning, tickets are selling fast and the remaining seats are very expensive.

Ticket price: £187 to £230