Richard Wagner - PARSIFAL - "Nur eine Waffe taugt" (Peter Hofmann)

PARSIFAL
Bühnenweihfestspiel (Festival Play for the Consecration of the Stage) in 3 acts
Composer & librettist: Richard Wagner
First performance: Bayreuth Festspielhaus, 26 July 1882

SETTING: Montsalvat, Spain, in and near the castle of the Holy Grail, in the Middle Ages

PLOT: The knights of Montsalvat guard the Holy Grail, which caught Christ’s blood, and the Spear, which pierced His side on the Cross. The evil sorcerer Klingsor has stolen the Spear, and the guardian of the Grail, Amfortas, suffers from an incurable wound. The only one who can heal him and recover the Spear is the pure fool, made wise through compassion: Parsifal. Parsifal shoots a swan, and the knight Gurnemanz takes him to Montsalvat. Parsifal is overcome by awe at the sight of the Grail descending from heaven, and remains dumb. Irritated by his stupidity, Gurnemanz sends him out of the castle. Parsifal’s wanderings take him to Klingsor’s castle, where he resists the blandishments of Klingsor’s flower maidens. Kundry, who seduced Amfortas but who also tries to help the knights, tries to seduce Parsifal. She laughed at Christ on the Cross, and has been cursed. Parsifal resists her charms, and his purity overcomes Klingsor. Although he recovers the Spear, Kundry curses him to wander without finding his way back to Montsalvat. Years later, he finds his way back to the castle, and there he heals Amfortas. Kundry, released from her curse, dies, and Parsifal becomes the new king.

‘Nur eine Waffe taugt’
Parsifal returns with the Spear. He touches the point to Amfortas’s side, and heals his wound. Parsifal orders the shrine to be opened; he reveals the Grail and kneels before it in prayer. A dove descends from heaven and hovers over his head. As Kundry dies, Parsifal holds the Grail out to the worshipping knights.

Parsifal: Peter Hofmann

Conductor: James Levine
Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele
Bayreuth, July & August 1985