''Parsifal'' (
WWV 111) is an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
or a
music drama
is a German word that means a unity of prose and music. Initially coined by Theodor Mundt in 1833, it was most notably used by Richard Wagner, along with Gesamtkunstwerk, to define his operas.
Usage
Mundt formulated his definition explicitly ...
in three acts by the German composer
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
and his last composition. Wagner's own
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...
epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
''
Parzival
''Parzival'' is a medieval romance (heroic literature), romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Percival, Parziva ...
'' of the ''
Minnesänger
(; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wr ...
''
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.
Life
Little is known of Wolfram's life. There are ...
, recounting the story of the
Arthurian
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest tradition ...
knight Parzival (
Percival
Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the G ...
) and his quest for the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
.
Wagner conceived the work in April 1857, but did not finish it until 25 years later. In composing it he took advantage of the particular acoustics of his
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The ''Bayreuth Festspielhaus'' or Bayreuth Festival Theatre (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspielhaus, ) is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, built by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performa ...
. ''Parsifal'' was first produced at the second
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...
in 1882. The Bayreuth Festival maintained a monopoly on ''Parsifal'' productions until 1903, when the opera was performed at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Wagner described ''Parsifal'' not as an opera, but as (a festival play for the consecration of the stage). At Bayreuth a tradition has arisen that audiences do not applaud at the end of the first act.
Wagner's spelling of ''Parsifal'' instead of the ''Parzival'' he had used up to 1877 is informed by one of the theories about the name ''Percival'', according to which it is of Persian origin, ''Parsi ''(or ''Parseh'') ''Fal'' meaning "pure (or poor) fool".
Composition
![Disegno per copertina di libretto, disegno di Peter Hoffer per Parsifal (s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Disegno_per_copertina_di_libretto%2C_disegno_di_Peter_Hoffer_per_Parsifal_%28s.d.%29_-_Archivio_Storico_Ricordi_ICON012446.jpg)
Wagner read von Eschenbach's poem ''Parzival'' while
taking the waters
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. ...
at
Marienbad in 1845. After encountering
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
's writings in 1854, Wagner became interested in Asian philosophies, especially
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. Out of this interest came ''
Die Sieger
''Die Sieger'' (''The Victors''; WWV 89), is a draft sketch for an opera text by Richard Wagner.
''Die Sieger'' was drafted between 1856 and 1858, at a period when Wagner had become greatly interested in Buddhism. The fragmentary prose sketch w ...
'' (''The Victors'', 1856), a sketch Wagner wrote for an opera based on a story from the life of
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
. The themes which were later explored in ''Parsifal'' of self-renunciation, reincarnation, compassion, and even exclusive social groups (
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
s in , the Knights of the Grail in Parsifal) were first introduced in .
According to his autobiography , Wagner conceived ''Parsifal'' on
Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
morning, April 1857, in the (German: "Asylum"), the small cottage on Otto Wesendonck's estate in the
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
suburb of Enge, which Wesendonck – a wealthy silk merchant and generous patron of the arts – had placed at Wagner's disposal, through the good offices of his wife
Mathilde Wesendonck
Agnes Mathilde Wesendonck (née Luckemeyer; 23 December 182831 August 1902) was a German poet and author. The words of five of her verses were the basis of Richard Wagner's ''Wesendonck Lieder''; the composer was infatuated with her, and his w ...
. The composer and his wife
Minna
Minna is a city in Middle Belt Nigeria. It is the capital city of Niger State, one of Nigeria's 36 federal states. It consists of two major ethnic groups: the Gbagyi and the Nupe.
History
Archaeological evidence suggests settlement in the ...
had moved into the cottage on 28 April:
However, as his second wife
Cosima Wagner
Francesca Gaetana Cosima Wagner ( née Liszt; 24 December 1837 – 1 April 1930) was the daughter of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt and Franco-German romantic author Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of the German co ...
later reported on 22 April 1879, this account had been colored by a certain amount of poetic licence:
The work may indeed have been conceived at Wesendonck's cottage in the last week of April 1857, but Good Friday that year fell on 10 April, when the Wagners were still living at Zeltweg 13 in
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
. If the prose sketch which Wagner mentions in was accurately dated (and most of Wagner's surviving papers are dated), it could settle the issue once and for all, but unfortunately it has not survived.
Wagner did not resume work on ''Parsifal'' for eight years, during which time he completed ''
Tristan und Isolde
''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...
'' and began ''
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
(; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...
''. Then, between 27 and 30 August 1865, he took up ''Parsifal'' again and made a prose draft of the work; this contains a fairly brief outline of the plot and a considerable amount of detailed commentary on the characters and themes of the drama. But once again the work was dropped and set aside for another eleven and a half years. During this time most of Wagner's creative energy was devoted to the
''Ring'' cycle, which was finally completed in 1874 and given its first full performance at
Bayreuth
Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...
in August 1876. Only when this gargantuan task had been accomplished did Wagner find the time to concentrate on ''Parsifal''. By 23 February 1877 he had completed a second and more extensive prose draft of the work, and by 19 April of the same year he had transformed this into a verse
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
(or "poem", as Wagner liked to call his
libretti
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
).
In September 1877 he began the music by making two complete drafts of the score from beginning to end. The first of these (known in German as the and in English as either the ''preliminary draft'' or the ''first complete draft'') was made in pencil on three
staves, one for the voices and two for the instruments. The second complete draft (, ''orchestral draft'', ''
short score
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, Ara ...
'' or ''particell'') was made in ink and on at least three, but sometimes as many as five, staves. This draft was much more detailed than the first and contained a considerable degree of instrumental elaboration.
The second draft was begun on 25 September 1877, just a few days after the first; at this point in his career Wagner liked to work on both drafts simultaneously, switching back and forth between the two so as not to allow too much time to elapse between his initial setting of the text and the final elaboration of the music. The of Act 3 was completed on 16 April 1879 and the on the 26th of the same month.
The full score () was the final stage in the compositional process. It was made in ink and consisted of a fair copy of the entire opera, with all the voices and instruments properly notated according to standard practice. Wagner composed ''Parsifal'' one act at a time, completing the and of each act before beginning the ''Gesamtentwurf'' of the next act; but because the already embodied all the compositional details of the full score, the actual drafting of the was regarded by Wagner as little more than a routine task which could be done whenever he found the time. The prelude of Act 1 was scored in August 1878. The rest of the opera was scored between August 1879 and 13 January 1882.
Performance history
The premiere
On 12 November 1880, Wagner conducted a private performance of the prelude for his patron
Ludwig II of Bavaria
Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...
at the Court Theatre in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. The premiere of the entire work was given in the
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The ''Bayreuth Festspielhaus'' or Bayreuth Festival Theatre (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspielhaus, ) is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, built by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performa ...
on 26 July 1882 under the baton of the Jewish-German conductor
Hermann Levi
Hermann Levi (7 November 1839 – 13 May 1900) was a German Jewish orchestral conductor.
Levi was born in Giessen, Germany, the son of a rabbi. He was educated at Giessen and Mannheim, and came to Vinzenz Lachner's notice. From 1855 to 1858 L ...
. Stage designs were by
Max Brückner
Johannes Max Brückner (5 August 1860 – 1 November 1934) was a German geometer, known for his collection of polyhedral models.
Education and career
Brückner was born in Hartau, in the Kingdom of Saxony, a town that is now part of Zittau, ...
and
Paul von Joukowsky, who took their lead from Wagner himself. The Grail hall was based on the interior of
Siena Cathedral
Siena Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and ...
which Wagner had visited in 1880, while Klingsor's magic garden was modelled on those at the Palazzo Rufolo in
Ravello
Ravello (Campanian: ) is a town and ''comune'' situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, Southern Italy, with approximately 2,500 inhabitants. Its scenic location makes it a popular tourist destination, and earned it a ...
. In July and August 1882 sixteen performances of the work were given in
Bayreuth
Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...
conducted by Levi and
Franz Fischer. The production boasted an orchestra of 107, a chorus of 135 and 23 soloists (with the main parts being double cast). At the last of these performances, Wagner took the baton from Levi and conducted the final scene of Act 3 from the orchestral interlude to the end.
At the first performances of ''Parsifal'', problems with the moving scenery (the ) during the transition from Scene 1 to Scene 2 in Act 1 meant that Wagner's existing orchestral interlude finished before Parsifal and Gurnemanz arrived at the Hall of the Grail.
Engelbert Humperdinck, who was assisting the production, provided a few extra bars of music to cover this gap. In subsequent years this problem was solved and Humperdinck's additions were not used.
Ban outside Bayreuth
For the first twenty years of its existence, the only staged performances of ''Parsifal'' took place in the
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The ''Bayreuth Festspielhaus'' or Bayreuth Festival Theatre (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspielhaus, ) is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, built by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performa ...
, the venue for which Wagner conceived the work (except eight private performances for Ludwig II at Munich in 1884 and 1885). Wagner had two reasons for wanting to keep ''Parsifal'' exclusively for the Bayreuth stage. First, he wanted to prevent it from degenerating into 'mere amusement' for an opera-going public. Only at Bayreuth could his last work be presented in the way envisaged by him—a tradition maintained by his wife, Cosima, long after his death. Second, he thought that the opera would provide an income for his family after his death if Bayreuth had the monopoly on its performance.
The Bayreuth authorities allowed unstaged performances to take place in various countries after Wagner's death (London in 1884, New York City in 1886, and Amsterdam in 1894) but they maintained an embargo on stage performances outside Bayreuth. On 24 December 1903, after receiving a court ruling that performances in the United States could not be prevented by Bayreuth, the New York
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
staged the complete opera, using many Bayreuth-trained singers. Cosima barred anyone involved in the New York production from working at Bayreuth in future performances. Unauthorized stage performances were also undertaken in Amsterdam in 1905, 1906 and 1908. There was a performance in Buenos Aires, in the Teatro Coliseo, on June 20, 1913, under
Gino Marinuzzi
Gino Marinuzzi (24 March 188217 August 1945) was an Italian conductor and composer, particularly associated with the operas of Wagner and the Italian repertory.
Biography
Marinuzzi was born and studied in Palermo, and began his career there a ...
.
Bayreuth lifted its monopoly on ''Parsifal'' on 1 January 1914 in the
Teatro Comunale di Bologna
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season.
While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early 1 ...
in Bologna with
Giuseppe Borgatti
Giuseppe Borgatti (Cento, 17 March 1871 – Reno di Leggiuno, 18 October 1950) was an Italian dramatic tenor with an outstanding voice. (See Michael Scott, cited below, for a laudatory appraisal of his singing.) The creator of the title role i ...
. Some opera houses began their performances at midnight between 31 December 1913 and 1 January. The first authorized performance was staged at the
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Gran may refer to:
People
*Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran"
* Gran (name)
Places
* Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary
* Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...
in Barcelona: it began at 10:30pm Barcelona time, which was
an hour behind Bayreuth. Such was the demand for ''Parsifal'' that it was presented in more than 50 European opera houses between 1 January and 1 August 1914.
Applause
At Bayreuth performances audiences do not applaud at the end of the first act. This tradition is the result of a misunderstanding arising from Wagner's desire at the premiere to maintain the serious mood of the opera. After much applause following the first and second acts, Wagner spoke to the audience and said that the cast would take no
curtain calls until the end of the performance. This confused the audience, who remained silent at the end of the opera until Wagner addressed them again, saying that he did not mean that they could not applaud. After the performance Wagner complained, "Now I don't know. Did the audience like it or not?"
At subsequent performances some believed that Wagner had wanted no applause until the very end, and there was silence after the first two acts. Eventually it became a Bayreuth tradition that no applause would be heard after the first act, but this was certainly not Wagner's idea. In fact, during the first Bayreuth performances, Wagner himself cried "Bravo!" as the Flowermaidens made their exit in the second act, only to be hissed by other members of the audience.
At some theatres other than Bayreuth, applause and curtain calls are normal practice after every act. Program notes until 2013 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York asked the audience not to applaud after Act 1.
Post-war performances
''Parsifal'' is one of the Wagner operas regularly presented at the
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...
to this day. Among the more significant post-war productions was that directed in 1951 by
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner (5 January 1917 – 17 October 1966) was a German opera director, grandson of Richard Wagner. As co-director of the Bayreuth Festival when it re-opened after World War II, he was noted for innovative new stagings of the operas, depa ...
, the composer's grandson. At the first Bayreuth Festival after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he presented a radical move away from literal representation of the Hall of the Grail or the Flowermaiden's bower. Instead, lighting effects and the bare minimum of scenery were used to complement Wagner's music. This production was heavily influenced by the ideas of the
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
stage designer
Adolphe Appia
Adolphe Appia (1 September 1862 – 29 February 1928), son of Red Cross co-founder Louis Appia, was a Swiss architect and theorist of stage lighting and décor.
Early life
Adolphe Appia was raised in Geneva, Switzerland, in a "strictly Calvinis ...
. The reaction to this production was extreme:
Ernest Newman
Ernest Newman (30 November 1868 – 7 July 1959) was an English music critic and musicologist. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His ...
, Richard Wagner's biographer described it as "not only the best ''Parsifal'' I have ever seen and heard, but one of the three or four most moving spiritual experiences of my life". Others were appalled that Wagner's stage directions were being flouted. The conductor of the 1951 production,
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss.
Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Germ ...
, on being asked how he could conduct such a disgraceful travesty, declared that right up until the
dress rehearsal
A rehearsal is an activity in the performing arts that occurs as preparation for a performance in music, theatre, dance and related arts, such as opera, musical theatre and film production. It is undertaken as a form of practising, to ens ...
he imagined that the stage decorations were still to come. Knappertsbusch was particularly upset by the omission of the dove that appears over Parsifal's head at the end of the opera, which he claimed inspired him to give better performances. To placate his conductor Wieland arranged to reinstate the dove, which descended on a string. What Knappertsbusch did not realise was that Wieland had made the length of the string long enough for the conductor to see the dove, but not for the audience. Wieland continued to modify and refine his Bayreuth production of Parsifal until his death in 1966.
Martha Mödl
Martha Mödl (22 March 1912, Nuremberg – 17 December 2001, Stuttgart) was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano. She specialized in large dramatic roles such as Isolde, Brünnhilde, and particularly Kundry, and is considered, along with Ast ...
created a "complex, tortured Kundry in Wieland Wagner's revolutionary production of Parsifal during the festival's first postwar season", and would remain the company's exclusive Kundry for the remainder of the decade.
Roles
Synopsis
Act 1
Prelude to Act 1
Musical introduction to the work with a duration of c. 12–16 minutes.
Scene 1
In a forest near the seat of the Grail and its Knights,
Gurnemanz
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
, elder Knight of the Grail, wakes his young squires and leads them in morning prayer ("He! Ho! Waldhüter ihr"). He sees Amfortas, King of the Grail Knights, and his entourage approaching. Amfortas has been injured by his own
Holy Spear, and the wound will not heal. Gurnemanz asks the lead Knight for news of the King's health. The Knight says the King has suffered during the night and is going early to bathe in the
holy lake
Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, spring (hydrosphere), springs, Water reservoir, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with t ...
. The squires ask Gurnemanz to explain how the King's injury can be healed, but he evades their question and a wild woman – Kundry – bursts in. She gives Gurnemanz a vial of balsam, brought from
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
, to ease the King's pain and then collapses, exhausted.
Amfortas arrives, borne on a stretcher by Knights of the Grail. He calls out for the knight
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
, whose attempt at relieving the King's pain had failed. He is told that Gawain has left again, seeking a better remedy. Raising himself somewhat, the King says that going off without leave ("Ohn' Urlaub?") is the sort of impulsiveness which led him into Klingsor's realm and to his downfall. He accepts the potion from Gurnemanz and tries to thank Kundry, but she answers abruptly that thanks will not help and urges him onward to his bath.
The procession leaves. The squires eye Kundry with mistrust and question her. After a brief retort, she falls silent. Gurnemanz tells them Kundry has often helped the Grail Knights but that she comes and goes unpredictably. When he asks directly why she does not stay to help, she answers that she never helps. The squires think she is a witch and sneer that if she does so much, why will she not find the
Holy Spear for them? Gurnemanz reveals that this deed is destined for someone else. He says Amfortas was given guardianship of the Spear, but lost it as he was seduced by an irresistibly attractive woman in Klingsor's domain. Klingsor grabbed the Spear and stabbed Amfortas. The wound causes Amfortas both suffering and shame, and will never heal on its own.
Squires returning from the King's bath tell Gurnemanz that the balsam has eased the King's suffering. Gurnemanz's own squires ask how it is that he knew Klingsor. He solemnly tells them how both the Holy Spear, which pierced the side of the Redeemer on the Cross, and the Holy Grail, which caught the flowing blood, had come to Monsalvat to be guarded by the Knights of the Grail under the rule of
Titurel
''Titurel'' is a fragmentary Middle High German Romance (heroic literature), romance written by Wolfram von Eschenbach after 1217. The fragments which survive indicate that the story would have served as a prequel to Wolfram's earlier work, ''Parzi ...
, father of Amfortas ("Titurel, der fromme Held"). Klingsor had yearned to become one of the Knights but, unable to stifle sinful desires in his mind, resorted to
self-mutilation
Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilatio ...
, for which offense Titurel refused to allow him to join the Order. Klingsor then set himself up in opposition to the Knights, learning dark arts, claiming the valley domain to the south of the mountainous realm of the Grail and filling it with beautiful Flowermaidens to seduce and enthrall wayward Grail Knights. It was here that Amfortas lost the Holy Spear, kept by Klingsor as he schemes to get hold of the Grail. Gurnemanz tells how Amfortas later had a holy vision which told him to wait for a "pure fool, enlightened by compassion" ("Durch Mitleid wissend, der reine Tor") who will finally heal the wound.
At this moment, cries are heard from the Knights: a flying swan has been shot, and a young man is brought forth, a
bow in his hand and a quiver of matching arrows. Gurnemanz speaks sternly to the lad, saying this is a holy place. He asks him outright if he shot the swan, and the lad boasts that if it flies, he can hit it ("Im Fluge treff' ich, was fliegt!") Gurnemanz tells him that the swan is a holy animal, and asks what harm the swan had done him, and shows the youth its lifeless body. Now remorseful, the young man breaks his bow and casts it aside. Gurnemanz asks him why he is here, who his father is, how he found this place and, lastly, his name. To each question the lad replies that he doesn't know the answer. The elder Knight sends his squires away to help the King and now asks the boy to tell what he ''does'' know. The young man says he has a mother, Herzeleide (literally meaning Heart's Sorrow) and that he made the bow himself. Kundry has been listening and now tells them that this boy's father was
Gamuret, a Knight killed in battle, and also how the lad's mother had forbidden her son to use a sword, fearing that he would meet the same fate as his father. The youth now recalls that upon seeing Knights pass through his forest, he had left his home and mother to follow them. Kundry laughs and tells the young man that, as she rode by, she saw Herzeleide die of grief. Hearing this, the lad first lunges at Kundry but then collapses in grief. Kundry herself is now weary for sleep, but cries out that she must not sleep and wishes that she might never again waken. She disappears into the undergrowth.
Gurnemanz knows that the Grail draws only the pure of heart to Monsalvat and invites the boy to observe the Grail rite in the hope that perhaps he might be the pure fool of the prophecy revealed to Amfortas. The youth does not know what the Grail is, but remarks that as they approach the ascending mountain path leading through rocky walls to the Castle of the Grail it seems to him he scarcely moves, yet feels as if he had already traveled far. Gurnemanz answers him mysteriously that here time becomes space ("Zum Raum wird hier die Zeit").
Orchestral interlude – ''Verwandlungsmusik'' (Transformation music)
Scene 2
![Paul von Joukowsky - Bühnenbild Parsifal - Gralstempel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Paul_von_Joukowsky_-_B%C3%BChnenbild_Parsifal_-_Gralstempel.jpg)
Parsifal and Gurnemanz arrive at the Sanctuary of the Grail inside the Castle, where its Knights are just assembling to receive
Holy Communion
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
("Zum letzten Liebesmahle"). A procession of squires brings the Holy Grail itself in a reliquary to the centre of the hall, while an other procession brings Amfortas on his litter to perform the ritual. The voice of the retired king Titurel then resounds from a vaulted nook in the background, as if from a tomb, telling his son Amfortas to uncover the Grail and serve his kingly office ("Mein Sohn Amfortas, bist du am Amt?"). Only through the life-giving power of the sacred chalice and the Saviour's blood contained therein may Titurel himself, now aged and very feeble, live on. Upon hearing his father's pleas to reveal the Grail, Amfortas is overcome with shame and suffering ("Wehvolles Erbe, dem ich verfallen"). He, the chosen guardian of the holiest of relics, has succumbed to sin and lost the Holy Spear, suffering an ever-bleeding wound in the process, a wound inflicted by that very selfsame Speer whose protection had been bestowed upon him, a wound condemning his existence to one of unending torment. Declaring himself unworthy of his kingship, Amfortas cries out for forgiveness ("Erbarmen! Erbarmen!"), begging the Saviour to end his anguish and give him the only grace capable of putting an end to his misery, the peace of death, but hears only again the same promise once given to him repeated by the Knights and squires: he will one day be
redeemed by a pure fool.
On hearing Amfortas' cry of pain, Parsifal appears to suffer with him, clutching convulsively at his heart. The Knights and Titurel urge Amfortas to reveal the Grail ("Enthüllet den Gral!"), and he finally does. The dark hall is illuminated by its radiant light and the Knights eat. Gurnemanz motions to Parsifal to participate, but he seems entranced and does not. Amfortas also does not share in taking communion and, as the ceremony ends, again collapses in agony and is carried away. Slowly all the Knights and squires disappear, leaving Parsifal and Gurnemanz alone. Gurnemanz asks the youth if he has understood what he has seen. As Parsifal is unable to answer the question, Gurnemanz dismisses him as just a fool after all and angrily sends him out with a warning to leave the swans in the Grail Kingdom alone. A voice from high above repeats the promise: "The pure fool, made knowing by compassion".
Act 2
Prelude to Act 2
Musical introduction of c. 2–3 minutes.
Scene 1
![Egusquiza-Parsifal2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Egusquiza-Parsifal2.jpg)
Klingsor's magic castle. Klingsor conjures up Kundry, waking her from her sleep. He calls her by many names: First Sorceress (), Hell's Rose (),
Herodias
Herodias ( el, Ἡρῳδιάς, ''Hērǭdiás''; ''c.'' 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with John the Baptist's execution.
Family relat ...
, Gundryggia and, lastly, Kundry. She is now transformed into an incredibly alluring woman, as when she once seduced Amfortas. She mocks Klingsor's mutilated condition by sarcastically inquiring if he is chaste (), but she cannot resist his power. Klingsor observes that Parsifal is approaching and summons his enchanted knights to fight the youth. Klingsor watches as Parsifal overcomes his knights, and they flee. Klingsor wishes destruction on their whole kin. Seeing the young man stray into his Flowermaiden garden Klingsor calls to Kundry to seek the boy out and seduce him, but when he turns, he sees that Kundry has already left on her mission.
Scene 2
![Scene from Parsifal from the Victola book of the opera (1917)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Scene_from_Parsifal_from_the_Victola_book_of_the_opera_%281917%29.jpg)
The triumphant youth finds himself in a wondrous garden, surrounded by beautiful and seductive Flowermaidens. They call to him and entwine themselves about him while chiding him for wounding their lovers (). They soon fight and bicker among themselves to win his devotion, to the point that he is about to flee, but a different voice suddenly calls out "Parsifal!". He now recalls this name is what his mother called him when she appeared in his dreams. The Flowermaidens back away from him and call him a fool as they leave him and Kundry alone.
Parsifal wonders if the Garden is a dream and asks how it is that Kundry knows his name. Kundry tells him she learned it from his mother (), who had loved him and tried to shield him from his father's fate, the mother he had abandoned and who had finally died of grief. She reveals many parts of Parsifal's history to him and he is stricken with remorse, blaming himself for his mother's death. He thinks himself very stupid to have forgotten her. Kundry says this realization is a first sign of understanding and that, with a kiss, she can help him understand his mother's love. As they kiss Parsifal suddenly recoils in pain and cries out Amfortas' name: he feels the wounded king's pain burning in his own side and now understands Amfortas' passion during the Grail Ceremony (). Filled with this compassion, Parsifal rejects Kundry's advances.
Furious that her ploy has failed, Kundry tells Parsifal that if he can feel compassion for Amfortas, then he should also be able to feel it for her. She has been cursed for centuries, unable to rest, because she saw Christ on the cross and laughed at His pains. Now she can never weep, only jeer diabolically, and she is enslaved to Klingsor. Parsifal rejects her again but then asks her to lead him to Amfortas. She begs him to stay with her for just one hour, and then she will take him to Amfortas. When he still refuses, she curses him to wander without ever finding the Kingdom of the Grail, and finally calls on her master Klingsor to help her.
Klingsor appears on the castle rampart and hurls the Spear at Parsifal to destroy him, but it miraculously stops in midair, above his head. Parsifal seizes the Spear in his hand and makes with it the sign of the Cross, banishing Klingsor's magic. The whole castle with Klingsor suddenly sinks as if by an earthquake and the enchanted garden withers. As Parsifal leaves, he tells Kundry that she knows where she can find him.
Act 3
Prelude to Act 3
Musical introduction of c. 4–6 minutes.
Scene 1
The scene is the same as that of the opening of the opera, in the domain of the Grail, but many years later. Gurnemanz is now aged and bent, living alone as a hermit. It is Good Friday. He hears moaning near his hut and finds Kundry lying unconscious in the brush, similarly as he had many years before ("Sie! Wieder da!"). He revives her using water from the Holy Spring, but she will only speak the word "serve" ("Dienen"). Gurnemanz wonders if there is any higher significance to her reappearance on this special day. Looking into the forest, he sees a figure approaching, armed and in full armour. The stranger wears a helmet and the hermit cannot see who he is. Gurnemanz admonishes him firmly for being armed on a hallowed ground of the Kingdom of the Grail and all the more so on a day when the Saviour himself, bereft of all arms, had offered his own blood as a sacrifice to redeem the fallen world, but gets no response. Finally, the apparition removes the helmet and Gurnemanz recognizes the lad who shot the swan; to his amazement the Knight also bears the Holy Spear.
![Van Dyck Materna](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Van_Dyck_Materna.jpg)
Parsifal tells of his desire to bring healing to Amfortas (). He relates his seemingly unending arduous wandering, how he strayed again and again, unable to find a way back to the Grail. He was forced to resist and fight countless enemies to guard the Spear, suffering all manner of harms in the process, but has never desecrated the relic by wielding it in battle, preserving the purity of its holiness. Gurnemanz tells Parsifal that the evil curse preventing him from finding the right path has now been lifted, since he finds himself in the Grail's domain. However, in his absence Amfortas has never unveiled the Grail, and lack of its sustaining powers has caused the death of Titurel. Parsifal is overcome with pity, blaming himself for this state of affairs, and almost faints with exhaustion. Gurnemanz tells him that today is the day of Titurel's funeral, and that Parsifal has a great duty to perform. Kundry washes Parsifal's feet and Gurnemanz anoints him with water from the Holy Spring, recognizing him as the pure fool, now enlightened by compassion and freed from guilt, and proclaims him the foretold new King of the Knights of the Grail.
Parsifal looks about and comments on the beauty of the meadow. Gurnemanz explains that today is
Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
, when all the world is renewed. Kundry silently weeps with remorse and is baptised by Parsifal, who gently kisses her on the forehead and tells her to believe in the Redeemer. Tolling bells are heard in the distance. Gurnemanz says "Midday: the hour has come. My lord, permit your servant to guide you!" () – and all three set off for the castle of the Grail. A dark orchestral interlude leads into the solemn gathering of the Knights.
Orchestral interlude – ''Verwandlungsmusik'' (Transformation music) – ''Titurels Totenfeier'' (Titurel's Funeral)
Scene 2
![Parsifal 1882 Act3 Joukowsky NGO4p119](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Parsifal_1882_Act3_Joukowsky_NGO4p119.jpg)
Within the Castle of the Grail, Titurel's funeral is to take place. Mourning processions of Knights bring the deceased Titurel in a coffin and the Grail in its shrine, as well as Amfortas on his litter, to the Grail hall (). Expected to perform the ritual, Amfortas begs his deceased father, whose demise he acknowledges as his further guilt, to plead by the Redeemer to grant him the unique mercy of death, which alone would finally deliver him from all his pain. (). The Knights desperately urge Amfortas to keep his promise and at least once more, for the very last time uncover the Grail again, but Amfortas, in a frenzy, says he will never again show the Grail, as doing so would just prolong his unbearable torment. Instead, he commands the Knights to kill him and end with his suffering also the shame he has brought on the brotherhood. At this moment, Parsifal appears and declares only one weapon can help here: only the same Spear that inflicted the wound can now close it (). He touches Amfortas' side with the Holy Spear and both heals the wound and absolves him from sin. Extolling the virtue of compassion that made a pure fool knowing, Parsifal replaces Amfortas in his kingly office and orders to unveil the Grail. As the Grail glows ever brighter with light and a white dove descends from the top of the dome and hovers over Parsifal's head, all Knights praise the miracle of salvation () and proclaim the redemption of the Redeemer (). Kundry, also at the very last released from her curse and redeemed, slowly sinks lifeless to the ground with her gaze resting on Parsifal, who raises the Grail in blessing over the worshipping Knighthood.
Reactions
Since ''Parsifal'' could initially only be seen at the
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...
, the first presentation in 1882 was attended by many notable figures. Reaction was varied. Some thought that ''Parsifal'' marked a weakening of Wagner's abilities, many others saw the work as a crowning achievement. The famous critic and Wagner's theoretical opponent
Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick (11 September 18256 August 1904) was an Austrian music critic, aesthetician and historian. Among the leading critics of his time, he was the chief music critic of the ''Neue Freie Presse'' from 1864 until the end of his life. H ...
gave his opinion that "The Third act may be counted the most unified and the most atmospheric. It is not the richest musically," going on to note "And Wagner's creative powers? For a man of his age and his method they are astounding ...
utIt would be foolishness to declare that Wagner's fantasy, and specifically his musical invention, has retained the freshness and facility of yore. One cannot help but discern sterility and prosaicism, together with increasing longwindedness."
On the other hand, the conductor
Felix Weingartner
Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.
Life and career
Weingartner was born in Zara, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (now Zadar, Croatia), to Austrian parents. T ...
found that: "The Flowermaidens' costumes showed extraordinary lack of taste, but the singing was incomparable... When the curtain had been rung down on the final scene and we were walking down the hill, I seemed to hear the words of
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
'and you can say you were present'. The ''Parsifal'' performances of 1882 were artistic events of supreme interest and it is my pride and joy that I participated in them." Many contemporary composers shared Weingartner's opinion.
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Ro ...
was a student at the time of the 1882 Festival, yet still managed to find money for tickets to see ''Parsifal'' twice. He emerged overwhelmed: "Colossal – Wagner's most inspired, sublimest creation." He reiterated this view in a postcard from Bayreuth in 1883: "''Parsifal'' is without doubt by far the most beautiful and sublime work in the whole field of Art."
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
was also present in 1883 and he wrote to a friend; "I can hardly describe my present state to you. When I came out of the Festspielhaus, completely spellbound, I understood that the greatest and most painful revelation had just been made to me, and that I would carry it unspoiled for the rest of my life."
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...
simply noted that "When I first heard ''Parsifal'' at Bayreuth I was fifteen. I cried for two weeks and then became a musician."
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
described ''Parsifal'' in 1909 as "magnificent, overwhelming," and
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...
, visiting the Festival in 1894 said: "Nothing in the world has made so overwhelming an impression on me. All my innermost heart-strings throbbed... I cannot begin to tell you how ''Parsifal'' has transported me. Everything I do seems so cold and feeble by its side. ''That'' is really something."
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
thought the characters and plot ludicrous, but nevertheless in 1903 wrote that musically it was: "Incomparable and bewildering, splendid and strong. ''Parsifal'' is one of the loveliest monuments of sound ever raised to the serene glory of music." He was later to write to
Ernest Chausson
Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.
Life
Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of a ...
that he had deleted a scene he had just written for his own opera ''
Pelléas et Melisande'' because he had discovered in the music for it "the ghost of old Klingsor, alias R. Wagner".
However, some notable guests of the Festival took a more acerbic view of the experience.
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
visited Bayreuth in 1891: "I was not able to detect in the vocal parts of ''Parsifal'' anything that might with confidence be called rhythm or tune or melody... Singing! It does seem the wrong name to apply to it... In ''Parsifal'' there is a hermit named Gurnemanz who stands on the stage in one spot and practices by the hour, while first one and then another of the cast endures what he can of it and then retires to die." Performance standards may have contributed to such reactions;
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
, a committed Wagnerite, commented in 1894 that: "The opening performance of ''Parsifal'' this season was, from the purely musical point of view, as far as the principal singers were concerned, simply an abomination. The bass howled, the tenor bawled, the baritone sang flat and the soprano, when she condescended to sing at all and did not merely shout her words, screamed..."
During a break from composing ''
The Rite of Spring
''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...
'',
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
also traveled to the Bayreuth Festival at the invitation of
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...
to see the work. Stravinsky was repulsed by the "quasi-religious atmosphere" of the festival. Stravinsky's repulsion is speculated to be due to his agnosticism.
Interpretation and influence
Wagner's last work, ''Parsifal'' has been both influential and controversial. The use of Christian symbols in ''Parsifal'' (the Grail, the Spear, references to the Redeemer) together with its restriction to Bayreuth for almost 30 years sometimes led to performances being regarded almost as a religious rite. However, Wagner never actually refers to
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
by name in the opera, only to "The Redeemer". In his essay "Religion and Art", Wagner described the use of Christian imagery thus:
The critic
Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick (11 September 18256 August 1904) was an Austrian music critic, aesthetician and historian. Among the leading critics of his time, he was the chief music critic of the ''Neue Freie Presse'' from 1864 until the end of his life. H ...
objected to the religious air surrounding ''Parsifal'' even at the premiere: "The question of whether ''Parsifal'' should really be withheld from all theatres and limited to... Bayreuth was naturally on all tongues... I must state here that the church scenes in ''Parsifal'' did not make the offensive impression on me that others and I had been led to expect from reading the libretto. They are religious situations – but for all their earnest dignity they are not in the style of the church, but completely in the style of the opera. ''Parsifal'' is an opera, call it a 'stage festival' or 'consecrational stage festival' if you will."
Schopenhauer
Wagner had been greatly impressed with his reading of
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
in 1854, and this deeply affected his thoughts and practice on music and art. Most writers (e.g.
Bryan Magee
Bryan Edgar Magee (; 12 April 1930 – 26 July 2019) was a British philosopher, broadcaster, politician and author, best known for bringing philosophy to a popular audience.
Early life
Born of working-class parents in Hoxton, London, in 1930, w ...
) see ''Parsifal'' as Wagner's last great espousal of Schopenhauerian philosophy.
Parsifal can heal Amfortas and redeem Kundry because he shows compassion, which Schopenhauer saw as the highest form of human morality. Moreover, he displays compassion in the face of sexual temptation (Act 3, scene 2). Schopenhauerian philosophy also suggests that the only escape from the ever-present temptations of human life is through negation of the
Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
, and overcoming sexual temptation is in particular a strong form of negation of the Will. When viewed in this light, ''Parsifal'', with its emphasis on ''Mitleid'' ("compassion") is a natural follow-on to ''
Tristan und Isolde
''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...
'', where Schopenhauer's influence is perhaps more obvious, with its focus on ''Sehnen'' ("yearning"). Indeed, Wagner originally considered including Parsifal as a character in Act 3 of ''Tristan'', but later rejected the idea.
Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
, who was originally one of Wagner's champions, chose to use ''Parsifal'' as the grounds for his breach with Wagner; an extended critique of ''Parsifal'' opens the third essay ("What Is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals?") of ''
On the Genealogy of Morality
''On the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic'' (german: Zur Genealogie der Moral: Eine Streitschrift) is an 1887 book by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It consists of a preface and three interrelated treatises ('Abhandlungen' in German) that ...
''. In ''
Nietzsche contra Wagner
''Nietzsche contra Wagner; Out of the Files of a Psychologist'' is a critical essay by Friedrich Nietzsche, that is made up of selections he chose from among his earlier works. The selections are assembled in this essay in order to focus on Nietzsc ...
'' he wrote:
Despite this attack on the subject matter, he also admitted that the music was sublime: "Moreover, apart from all irrelevant questions (as to what the use of this music can or ought to be) and on purely aesthetic grounds; has Wagner ever done anything better?" (Letter to
Peter Gast, 1887).
Racism debate
Some writers see in the opera a promotion of
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
or
anti-semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
. One line of argument suggests that ''Parsifal'' was written in support of the ideas of the French diplomat and racial theorist Count
Arthur de Gobineau
Joseph Arthur de Gobineau (; 14 July 1816 – 13 October 1882) was a French aristocrat who is best known for helping to legitimise racism by the use of scientific racist theory and "racial demography", and for developing the theory of the Aryan ...
, expressed most extensively in his ''
Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races''. Parsifal is proposed as the "pure-blooded" (i.e.
Aryan
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
) hero who overcomes Klingsor, who is perceived as a Jewish stereotype, particularly since he opposes the quasi-Christian Knights of the Grail. Such claims remain heavily debated, since there is nothing explicit in the libretto to support them.
Wagner never mentions such ideas in his many writings, and Cosima Wagner's diaries, which relate in great detail Wagner's thoughts over the last 14 years of his life (including the period covering the composition and first performance of ''Parsifal'') never mention any such intention.
Having met Gobineau for the first time very briefly in 1876, it was nonetheless only in 1880 that Wagner read Gobineau's essay. However, the libretto for ''Parsifal'' had already been completed by 1877, and the original drafts of the story even date back to 1857. Despite this chronological evidence, Gobineau is sometimes cited as a major inspiration for ''Parsifal''.
The related question of whether the opera contains a specifically anti-Semitic message is also debated. Some of Wagner's contemporaries and commentators (e.g.
Hans von Wolzogen
Baron Hans Paul von Wolzogen (13 November 1848 in Potsdam – 2 June 1938 in Bayreuth), was a German man of letters, editor and publisher. He is best known for his connection with Richard Wagner.
Childhood
Wolzogen's father, Alfred von Wolzoge ...
and
Ernest Newman
Ernest Newman (30 November 1868 – 7 July 1959) was an English music critic and musicologist. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His ...
) who analysed ''Parsifal'' at length, make no mention of any anti-Semitic interpretations. However the critics
Paul Lindau
Paul Lindau (3 June 1839 – 31 January 1919) was a German dramatist and novelist.
Life and Works
Lindau was born in Magdeburg as the son of Carl Lindau, a lawyer (Justizkommissar) whose parents Hertz Levin (a physician) and Henriette Cohen had ...
and Max Nordbeck, present at the world premiere, noted in their reviews how the work accorded with Wagner's anti-Jewish sentiments. More recent commentators continue to highlight the perceived anti-Semitic nature of the opera, and find correspondences with anti-Semitic passages found in Wagner's writings and articles of the period.
![DR 1933 507 Nothilfe Wagner Parsifal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/DR_1933_507_Nothilfe_Wagner_Parsifal.jpg)
The conductor of the premiere was
Hermann Levi
Hermann Levi (7 November 1839 – 13 May 1900) was a German Jewish orchestral conductor.
Levi was born in Giessen, Germany, the son of a rabbi. He was educated at Giessen and Mannheim, and came to Vinzenz Lachner's notice. From 1855 to 1858 L ...
, the court conductor at the
Munich Opera
The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester.
History
The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Prince ...
. Since King Ludwig was sponsoring the production, much of the orchestra was drawn from the ranks of the Munich Opera, including the conductor. Wagner objected to ''Parsifal'' being conducted by a Jew (Levi's father was in fact a
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
). Wagner first suggested that Levi should convert to Christianity, which Levi declined to do. Wagner then wrote to King Ludwig that he had decided to accept Levi despite the fact that (he alleged) he had received complaints that "of all pieces, this most Christian of works" should be conducted by a Jew. When the King expressed his satisfaction at this, replying that "human beings are basically all brothers", Wagner wrote to the King that he "regard
dthe Jewish race as the born enemy of pure humanity and everything noble about it". Seventy-one years later, the Jewish bass-baritone
George London performed in the role of Amfortas at ''
Neu Bayreuth'', causing some controversy.
It has been claimed that ''Parsifal'' was denounced as being "ideologically unacceptable" in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, and that the Nazis placed a de facto ban on ''Parsifal''.
In fact there were 26 performances at the Bayreuth Festival between 1934 and 1939 and 23 performances at the
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet.
Since 2004, the De ...
between 1939 and 1942. However ''Parsifal'' was not performed at the Bayreuth Festival during World War II.
Music
Leitmotifs
A ''
leitmotif
A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
'' is a recurring musical theme within a particular piece of music, associated with a particular character, object, event or emotion. Wagner is the composer most often associated with leitmotifs, and ''Parsifal'' makes liberal use of them. Wagner did not specifically identify or name leitmotifs in the score of ''Parsifal'' (any more than he did in any other of his scores), although his wife Cosima mentions statements he made about some of them in her diary. However, Wagner's followers (notably
Hans von Wolzogen
Baron Hans Paul von Wolzogen (13 November 1848 in Potsdam – 2 June 1938 in Bayreuth), was a German man of letters, editor and publisher. He is best known for his connection with Richard Wagner.
Childhood
Wolzogen's father, Alfred von Wolzoge ...
whose guide to ''Parsifal'' was published in 1882) named, wrote about and made references to these motifs, and they were highlighted in piano arrangements of the score. Wagner's own reaction to such naming of motifs in the score was one of disgust: "In the end people believe that such nonsense happens by my suggestion."
The opening prelude introduces two important leitmotifs, generally referred to as the ''Communion'' theme and the theme of the ''Grail''. These two, and Parsifal's own motif, are repeated during the course of the opera. Other characters, especially Klingsor, Amfortas, and "The Voice", which sings the so-called ''Tormotif'' ("Fool's motive"), have their own particular leitmotifs. Wagner uses the
Dresden amen to represent the Grail, this motif being a sequence of notes he would have known since his childhood in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
.
Chromaticism
Many music theorists have used ''Parsifal'' to explore difficulties in
analyzing
Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (384 ...
the
chromaticism
Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic scale, diatonic pitch (music), pitches and chord (music), chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses o ...
of late 19th century music. Theorists such as
David Lewin
David Benjamin Lewin (July 2, 1933 – May 5, 2003) was an American music theorist, music critic and composer. Called "the most original and far-ranging theorist of his generation", he did his most influential theoretical work on the development of ...
and
Richard Cohn Richard Cohn (born 1955) is a music theorist and Battell Professor of Music Theory at Yale. He was previously chair of the department of music at the University of Chicago.
Early in his career, he specialized in the music of Béla Bartók, but mo ...
have explored the importance of certain pitches and harmonic progressions both in structuring and symbolizing the work. The unusual harmonic progressions in the leitmotifs which structure the piece, as well as the heavy chromaticism of Act 2, make it a difficult work to parse musically.
Notable excerpts
As is common in mature Wagner operas, ''Parsifal'' was composed such that each act was a continuous flow of music; hence there are no free-standing
arias
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanimen ...
in the work. However, a number of orchestral excerpts from the opera were arranged by Wagner himself, and remain in the concert repertory. The prelude to Act 1 is frequently performed either alone or in conjunction with an arrangement of the "Good Friday" music which accompanies the second half of Act 3, Scene 1. Kundry's long solo in Act 2 ("") is occasionally performed in concert, as is Amfortas' lament from Act 1 ("").
Instrumentation
The score for ''Parsifal'' calls for three
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s, three
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
s, one
English horn
The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...
, three
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
s in B-flat and A, one
bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
in B-flat and A, three
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
s, one
contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Differences from the bassoon
The reed is consi ...
; four
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
in F, three
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s in F, three
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
s, one
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
, 6 onstage trumpets in F, 6 onstage trombones; a percussion section that includes four
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
(requiring two players),
tenor drum A tenor drum is a membranophone without a snare. There are several types of tenor drums.
Early music
Early music tenor drums, or long drums, are cylindrical membranophone without snare used in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. They consi ...
s, 4 onstage
church bell
A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and t ...
s, one onstage
thunder machine
The Thunder Machine is a fictional, four wheeled, armored, weaponized vehicle used by the Dreadnoks, a biker gang/mercenary group in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic books and cartoon series. The Dreadnoks work for Cobra, the primary ene ...
; two
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
s and
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
. ''Parsifal'' is one of only two works by Wagner in which he used the
contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Differences from the bassoon
The reed is consi ...
. (The other is the ''Symphony in C''.)
The bells that draw the knights to the Grail ceremony at Monsalvat in acts 1 and 3 have often proved problematic to stage. For the earlier performances of ''Parsifal'' in Bayreuth, Wagner had the
Parsifal bell
A Parsifal bell (german: Glockenklavier, link=no, ) is a stringed musical instrument designed as a substitute for the church bells that are called for in the score of Richard Wagner's opera ''Parsifal''.
The instrument was designed by Felix ...
, a piano frame with four strings, constructed as a substitute for church bells. For the first performances, the bells were combined with
tam-tam
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
and gongs. However, the bell was used with the tuba, four tam-tams tuned to the pitch of the four chime notes and another tam-tam on which a roll is executed by using a drumstick. In modern-day performances, the Parsifal bell has been replaced with
tubular bells
Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...
or
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s to produce the desired notes. The thunder machine is used in the moment of the destruction of Klingsor's castle.
Recordings
''Parsifal'' was expressly composed for the stage at
Bayreuth
Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...
and many of the most famous recordings of the opera come from live performances on that stage. In the pre-
LP era,
Karl Muck
Karl Muck (October 22, 1859 – March 3, 1940) was a German-born conductor of Classical music. He based his activities principally in Europe and mostly in opera. His American career comprised two stints at the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). M ...
conducted excerpts from the opera at Bayreuth. These are still considered some of the best performances of the opera on disc. They also contain the only sound evidence of the bells constructed for the work's premiere, which were melted down for scrap during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss.
Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Germ ...
was the conductor most closely associated with ''Parsifal'' at Bayreuth in the post-war years, and the performances under his baton in 1951 marked the re-opening of the
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...
after World War II. These historic performances were recorded and are available on the Teldec label in mono sound. Knappertsbusch recorded the opera again for Philips in 1962 in stereo, and this release is often considered to be the classic ''Parsifal'' recording. There are also many "unofficial" live recordings from Bayreuth, capturing virtually every ''Parsifal'' cast ever conducted by Knappertsbusch. Pierre Boulez (1971) and James Levine (1985) have also made recordings of the opera at Bayreuth that were released on Deutsche Grammophon and Philips. The Boulez recording is one of the fastest on record, and the Levine one of the slowest.
Amongst other recordings, those conducted by
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...
,
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...
(with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra),
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...
, and
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
(the latter two both conducting the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
) have been widely praised. The Karajan recording was voted "Record of the Year" in the 1981
Gramophone Award
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refer ...
s. Also highly regarded is a recording of ''Parsifal'' under the baton of
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer.
Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 1 ...
originally made for Deutsche Grammophon, now reissued on Arts & Archives.
On the 14 December 2013 broadcast of
BBC Radio 3's CD Review – Building a Library, music critic David Nice surveyed recordings of ''Parsifal'' and recommended the recording by the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rafael Kubelik (conductor), as the best available choice.
Filmed versions
In addition to a number of
staged performances available on DVD, ''Parsifal'' was adapted for the screen by
Daniel Mangrané in 1951 and
Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (born 8 December 1935) is a German film director, whose best known film is his lengthy feature ''Hitler: A Film from Germany''.
Early life
Born in Nossendorf, Province of Pomerania (1815–1945), Pomerania, the son of a ...
in 1982. There is also a 1998 documentary directed by
Tony Palmer
Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)[IMDb: Tony Palmer](_blank)
Retrieved 24 September 2011 is a British film direc ...
titled: ''Parsifal – The Search for the Grail''. It was recorded in various European theaters, including the
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
, the
Ravello Festival
The Ravello Festival is also popularly known as the "Wagner Festival" and is an annual summer festival of music and the arts held in the town of Ravello on the Amalfi coast in the Campania region of Italy. The festival has been held yearly since ...
in
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
, and the
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...
. It contains extracts from Palmer's stage production of ''Parsifal'' starring
Plácido Domingo
José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...
,
Violeta Urmana
Violeta Urmanavičiūtė-Urmana (born 19 August 1961) is a Lithuanian opera singer who has sung leading mezzo-soprano and soprano roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America.
Life and career
Urmana was born in Kazlų Rūda, a small t ...
,
Matti Salminen
Matti Kalervo Salminen (born 7 July 1945) is a Finnish operatic bass, now retired, who has sung at the most important opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan and Bayreuth Festival. He is distinguished by an imposing figure and ...
, , and
Anna Netrebko
Anna Yuryevna Netrebko (russian: Анна Юрьевна Нетребко; born 18 September 1971) is an Austrian operatic soprano with an active international career and performed prominently at the Salzburg Festival, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna ...
. In also includes interviews with Domingo,
Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner (30 August 191921 March 2010) was a German opera director. He is best known as the director (Festspielleiter) of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's ...
, writers Robert Gutman and
Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and m ...
. The film exists in two versions: (1) a complete version running 116 minutes and officially approved by Domingo, and (2) an 88-minute version, with cuts of passages regarded by the German distributor as being too "political", "uncomfortable", and "irrelevant".
See also
*
Gesamtkunstwerk
A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, literally 'total artwork', translated as 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of al ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* (UK title: ''Wagner and Philosophy'', Penguin Books, )
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Complete vocal score of ''Parsifal'' excerpts of the score, rwagner.net
English librettoby Alunno Marco, mediamusic-journal.com, 26 March 2013
Derrick Everett's extensive website on all aspects of ''Parsifal''
a
theosophical
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...
view of ''Parsifal'', from ''
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
'', 1992/1993
Programme notes for ''Parsifal'' by Luke Berryman
Wagner Operas A comprehensive website featuring photographs of productions, recordings, librettos, and sound files.
's ''
Parzival
''Parzival'' is a medieval romance (heroic literature), romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Percival, Parziva ...
]
''Parsifal'' on Stage: a PDF by Katherine R. SyerRichard Wagner – ''Parsifal'' gallery of historic postcards with visual motives from Richard Wagner's operas
by Geoffrey Riggs
published by Schott Music
{{Authority control
Parsifal,
1882 operas
Arthurian operas
German-language operas
Holy Grail in fiction
Libretti by Richard Wagner
Music dramas
Operas adapted into films
Operas by Richard Wagner
Operas
Parzival
Works based on Perceval, the Story of the Grail
Race-related controversies in opera