Overture Magazine: 2017-2018 Season September-October 2017 | Page 25

WAGNER’S QUEST SELECTIONS FROM PARSIFAL Richard Wagner Born in Leipzig, Germany, May 22, 1813; died in Venice, Italy, February 13, 1883 Of Richard Wagner’s ten operas — or music dramas as he preferred to call them — that endure today in the classical repertoire, his last, Parsifal, had by far the longest gestation — 37 years. Wagner was only 32 in the summer of 1845 when he first read Wolfram von Eschenbach’s early-13 th -century epic poem Parzival while taking a water cure at the famous spa of Marienbad. At this point in his career, he was still a financially struggling composer who had just completed Tannhäuser. He was captivated by von Eschenbach’s legendary story of a quest for the mysterious Holy Grail — a sacred object (Wagner made it into a crystal chalice) that sustained the physical and spiritual lives of a community of religious knights at Monsalvat, hidden away in the mountains of northern Spain. Wagner knew he would write an opera on this subject, and in fact, his next opera, Lohengrin, touched on the story: its eponymous hero was Parsifal’s son. But he realized the time was not yet ripe to tackle it. In 1857, while he was writing Tristan und Isolde, he returned to the story and made a first sketch for the libretto. Again he set it aside for almost a decade and didn’t enlarge it into a full draft until 1865. Once more, other concerns took over, and a full libretto did not appear until 1877 after Wagner had completed and premiered his four-opera Ring cycle at his newly built opera house at Bayreuth. Another four years was needed to write the music. Completed in January 1882, Parsifal was premiered on July 26 of that year at the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth. Wagner called Parsifal a Bühnenweihfestspiel— a “stage-consecration play”— and audiences flocked to it as a combined religious and musical experience. Seeing Parsifal became a cult pilgrimage, for Wagner stipulated it could only be performed at Bayreuth, and his widow, Cosima, maintained this until 1913. The Story Wagner combined several medieval leg- ends in his Parsifal libretto. The Knights of the Grail are a religious/chivalric community founded by Titurel to bring virtue to the world and to guard the Holy Grail and the sacred spear — believed to be the one that pierced Christ’s side at his crucifixion. Titurel’s son, Amfortas, how- ever, has lost the spear to the evil sorcerer Klingsor, who used the weapon to give him an agonizing wound that will never heal. With this disaster, the community is in decline as the curtain opens. The story centers around the appearance of the youth Parsifal, whom the knight Gurnemanz believes may be the “pure fool” (reine Tor) who has been prophesied to bring redemption to the brotherhood. F oLLow a L eader …B eCome a L eader Gerstell Academy H L eadership , h onor , C ourage H Are you looking for a school that will inspire and motivate your child to reach his or her full potential in leadership, college preparatory academics, and physical training? Gerstell Academy provides a values based education for students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 that challenges each student to develop his/her full potential. Students enjoy art, music, physical education, technology, and competitive athletics — cross country, soccer, basketball, wrestling, lacrosse, and baseball. Ride the Bus! Visit us on the web at www.gerstell.org. Call us at 410.861.4400 Ask us about scholarship opportunities! Call today to R.S.V.P. for an Open House or to schedule a Shadow Day. Gerstell Academy, 2500 Old Westminster Pike, Finksburg, MD 21048 S E P – O C T 2017 / OV E R T U R E 23