Richard Wagner: Parsifal

Arrive: 12:45 - 1:00.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwdYZWFrBBM&list=PLk1yUm9QsggUCs5066bHJv9778Mpjo48m

"Good Friday" music

Wagner's final opera is based on an ancient spiritual quest story that has appeared in many forms. It's sufficiently complex that I highly recommend reading the synopsis (http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/history/stories/synopsis.aspx?customid=701) and any other materials.

Cast

• Parsifal...... ....Siegfried Jerusalem

• Guernemanz...Kurt Moll

• Kundry...........Waltraud Meier

• Amfortas.........Bernd Weikl

• Klingsor...........Franz Mazura

"The Holy Grail" is the cup used at the Last Supper before the Crucifixion and is said to have been used to catch the blood from the wound in Christ's side made by a Roman soldier. The Grail has subsequently acquired mystical powers and had been preserved in the castle of Montsalvat, served by knights who have taken the vow of chastity. Parsifal, a "holy fool," stumbles across the knights, and after exposure to them, suffers trials and challenges, driven by compassion for Amfortas and a desire to serve the knights. He returns on Good Friday ready to be their spiritual leader.

Kundry cursed The Redeemer and has been cursed in turn, doomed to the dual role of serving the evil magician Klingsor while performing services for the knights of the Grail in hopes of salvation. Klingsor commands her and her "flower maidens" to seduce Parsifal.

Amfortas, who succeeded his father as head of the knights, lost his chastity and the Holy Spear (that pierced the Redeemer) under the influence of Klingsor. He suffers from a painful wound inflicted by the Spear that will not heal.

James Levine, Metropolitan Orchestra and Chorus. Three acts. 264 minutes. 1992. Traditional sets and costumes.

We will watch the opera Bayreuth style: the first two acts with an intermission between acts. After the second act we will pause for a light meal, and then refreshed, view the conclusion (Act III). The usual array of beverages will be available throughout the event.

Note: the recurring leitmotif of the Grail was not composed by Wagner but borrowed by him. It's the "Dresden Amen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMe2oqgRDuE)," a short bit of music used by church choirs, especially in Dresden. Mendelssohn incorporated it into his "Resurrection" symphony as well.