“Kevin said to wear pajamas,” the society matron warned, flashing her 10,000-watt smile as she swept to her seat for the 1992 Houston premiere of Parsifal, Wagner’s highly hieratic farewell to the stage. Has the Lone Star State warmed to Wagner in the meantime? Let’s hope so, especially for the sake of the star tenor Russell Thomas in the title role. Having skyrocketed to international fame in glamorous Verdi roles, Russell’s now going all Teutonic on us as the holy fool who salvages a sacred spear for the brothers of the Holy Grail. Is Russell our first Black Parsifal? To the best of our knowledge, yes, but is anyone keeping official stats? (Google “Black Parsifal” and you’ll call up a vintage Raymond Weil wristwatch.) The numinous Korean bass Kwangchul Youn appears as Gurnemanz, who tells the opera’s back story at length. It’s a signature role of his, and he makes every twist count. Others to watch for: Ryan McKinny as the hubristic leader of the brotherhood who lost the spear in the first place, and Christine Goerke as Kundry, the shape-shifting Delilah type who cooks his goose. The fledgling Wagnerienne Eun Sun Kim conducts. —Matthew Gurewitsch