''Parsifal'' is a 1904 American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company and directed by

Edwin S. Porter Edwin Stanton Porter (April 21, 1870 – April 30, 1941) was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over 2 ...

. It is based on the 1882 opera '' Parsifal'' by

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 stars Adelaide Fitz-Allen as

Kundry ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...

and

Robert Whittier The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

as Parsifal.Niver, Kemp (1967). ''Motion Pictures From The Library of Congress Paper Print Collection 1894-1912.'' University of California Press,

Production and release

In 1903, Wagner's widow unsuccessfully attempted to stop a performance of ''Parsifal'' by 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, causing great scandal. In 1904, Harley Merry acquired the motion picture rights and brought on Porter and Edison. Edison had been experimenting with ways to combine silent films with recorded music. Porter's version of ''Parsifal'' employed Edison's

Kinetophone The Kinetoscope is an precursors of film, early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic ...

, "a primitive, synchronized sound-mix device, but this machine does not represent the era of silent film, since it had a short life with no great success."Olsen, Solveig (2007). ''

Opera Quarterly ''The Opera Quarterly'' is a peer reviewed academic journal of opera, founded in 1983. It is published by Oxford University Press. The executive editor is Arman Schwartz of King's College London King's College London (informally Kin ...

'', Volume 22, Issue 2, pp. 369-375, doi: 10.1093/oq/kbl004 Despite a strong advertising campaign, sales were modest.Musser, Charles (1991). ''Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company.'' University of California Press,

References

External links

* 1904 films American silent short films American black-and-white films Films based on works by Richard Wagner Films directed by Edwin S. Porter Arthurian films Films based on operas Parsifal Films based on works by Chrétien de Troyes Works based on Perceval, the Story of the Grail 1900s American films Silent adventure films {{short-silent-film-stub