# Parsifal



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

What are your thoughts on this masterpiece. i keep thinking about it and can't quite pin it down, though i love it. 
religious? mystical? a summation, swansong? or just another Wagnerian treat?
it's different than his other operas, i think. Wagner ,i think, thought it was different, no?

do you like it?

probably an enigma like his other operas and maybe a good thing.

thoughts?


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Perhaps least accessible of his works, certainly distinct. Some like it, some don't. I do - there are many wonderful moments in't. Digging it on CD with brief idea of libretto in mind would be bad idea. I had the Jerusalem/Weikl/Randova DVD at first place and I think it's pretty nice.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

I love _Parsifal_.

Like Nietzsche, I think there is something a bit sickly and neurotic about all these characters constantly swooning for salvation. Unlike him, though, I find it all very seductive--in part *because* of that neurotic intensity.

All of which may reveal more about me than it does about the opera.


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## jflatter (Mar 31, 2010)

I also love Parsifal having seen it live and having various DVD's and CD's on the piece. In all honesty I can take or leave the libretto, some class it as blasphemous but I am a non believer. 

You could however simply regard as a great symphony opera or a very original and very long tone poem. I would recommend the DVD from Baden Baden directed by Nicolas Lehnhoff as it is well thought out and gets rid of the symbolism shown by more traditional productions.


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## AmericanGesamtkunstwerk (May 9, 2011)

I feel like with this libretto Wagner was less interested in presenting himself as a poet and dramatist and more interested in projecting the source material to the stage. The most direct of direct adaptations. However, there are some passages and dimensions that completely contradict this, such as the Act II confrontation between Kundry and Parsifal. And the score is completely avant garde, most of the way through. completely enigmatic to say the least.



> Like Nietzsche, I think there is something a bit sickly and neurotic about all these characters constantly swooning for salvation. Unlike him, though, I find it all very seductive--in part *because* of that neurotic intensity.


I think this of all the Wagners shows the most blatant disregard for what was considered proper stage-action at the time.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

AmericanGesamtkunstwerk said:


> I think this of all the Wagners shows the most blatant disregard for what was considered proper stage-action at the time.


Yes--considering that he called it a "sacred festival play," refused to let it be staged anywhere other than Bayreuth, and essentially set a third of the action as (rather warped) church services.

Probably should *not* be most people's first Wagner experience.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Parsifal is a truly sublime and profoundly moving work . I wouldn't recommend it for opera newbies , though . It's certainly slow going . But once you get to know it , it's 
a sublime experience . When you do get to it, either on CD or DVD, be sure to follow the English translation in the booklet next to the original German libretto. 
Not all Parsifal recordings, particularly the pirated live performances on the smaller record labels have this. But the recordings by Solti on Decca, Karajan and Levine on DG , and Barenboim on Teldec do. 
On DVD , make sure to pay attention to the English subtitles . 
If you're starting with Wagner, it's best to try The early Flying Dutchman first, since it's mercifully short by Wagnerian standards, only about two hours and a half.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

_Parsifal_ is my current favourite Wagner opera. Well, it has been for a while. It has a certain introspective quality about it that makes it a little different to his other works.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Parsifal is utterly beautiful and profound from beginning to end, but when I try to analyze it to find out why it is so wonderful, I can't. 

Since its overall themes are suffering, atonement, and rejection of the world, it's probably not suited for those people who want a passionate love story or a red-blooded revenge plot in their operas. But its strange symbiosis of Christianity, Buddhism, and the Arthurian legends works wonderfully.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

I think he was able to use the leitmotif system in a much finer way in Parzifal, the work is not about giants and dwarfs ad dragons and flying horses, so the subject matter is less...'Arnold' - if you catch my drift. Instead we have The Grail, the Knights of the Grail and their King Amfortas, and the Amfortas' Wound, Parzifal himself, and of course the highly complex female character of Kundry. This is the making of a much more interesting story from the get-go for me.

I'm not a great fan of Wagner, though no one can say he was not a musical genius. My favorite part of the ring is the entire first act of Die Walkure, and the great 'Wotan's Farewell' at the end of the last act. From Parzifal, the Good Friday music is very, very beautiful, I think.



Itullian said:


> What are your thoughts on this masterpiece. i keep thinking about it and can't quite pin it down, though i love it.
> religious? mystical? a summation, swansong? or just another Wagnerian treat?
> it's different than his other operas, i think. Wagner ,i think, thought it was different, no?
> 
> ...


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I love it. It was my second full operatic experience on LP. While still in high-school I set about to learn all I could about music, art, and literature as I was certain that I would major in one of these fields in college. I read huge bios on Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, etc... and I took out recording after recording from the library. Not knowing any better I jumped right away into Wagner for my first opera... _Tristan und Isolde_... Herbert von Karajan's icily erotic recording. I was immediately seduced, and so upon the next trip to the library I picked up Karajan's _Parsifal_. The two operas have remained central to my Wagner experience... even more than the Ring... a complete version of which I did not own until late last year (now I have 3... and I'm looking at 2 more).


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

It's best not to talk about _Parsifal_, or even acknowledge its existence in polite conversation. Like the Tabernacle's Holy of Holies, it is a private endeavour to be experienced only once per year for religious atonement and then kept locked away all other days.


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## AmericanGesamtkunstwerk (May 9, 2011)

Couchie said:


> It's best not to talk about _Parsifal_, or even acknowledge its existence in polite conversation. Like the Tabernacle's Holy of Holies, it is a private endeavour to be experienced only once per year for religious atonement and then kept locked away all other days.


aye... I can appreciate that. I refuse to watch Bela Tarr's Satantango on dvd. Parsifal really is a work to be held at "grail status", pun intended. I'm young now, but perhaps when I'm older I'll sell all my Parsifal dvds and delete the audio from my library, so I only see it when I go to a real production (which I actually haven't done yet)


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Couchie said:


> It's best not to talk about _Parsifal_, or even acknowledge its existence in polite conversation. Like the Tabernacle's Holy of Holies, it is a private endeavour to be experienced only once per year for religious atonement and then kept locked away all other days.


The first time I saw Parsifal was in Vienna, on Easter Sunday. I think they perform it on Easter Sunday every year there.

After the end of Act I, a few individuals broke into applause. Angry voices in the crowd hissed "Ruhig!" at them. Applause is to be limited to the ends of Acts II and III, where there is some hope of redemption.


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## rsmithor (Jun 30, 2011)

*What's up with Parsifal*

Parsifal was the last opera Wagner wrote... it was also the one I took the longest to get a gripe on. I gravitated at once to the second act... a complete opera all by it's self. Klingsor raising Kundry to do her biding with Parsifal, with her mocking response to her master Klingsor. The flower maidens music that evoke the Rhinemaidens… Hearing act two leaves me breathless time and time again.

A little back tracking is in order… for years act one and the third acts left me cold… 15yrs years went by and while on a side trip to NYC in May of 2006, I saw Parsifal… I was blown away… and so moved by the Met opera production. I suddenly keyed in on why I had a such a hard time with act 3… more than act one… act three was and felt to me a like an reenactment of the complete Episcopalian church service I'd attended for a life time… no wonder my gut reaction was… What?… a church service here, in Parsifal?… what do I do… kneel? Pray?… lol. Now, I embrace Wagner's use of those church like rituals for what they are… good theater... and of course, Parsifal finds redemption... Amen

My Parsifal of choice is Decca/Solti/Kollo/Frick/Fischer-Dieskau/Ludwig/Hotter CD


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

rsmithor said:


> Parsifal was the last opera Wagner wrote... it was also the one I took the longest to get a gripe on. I gravitated at once to the second act... a complete opera all by itself.


Interesting perspective...

For me, the second act is the toughest one to access. However, I focus better if I view it as a musicological exercise, too; since it has (I believe) Wagner's most modernistic-sounding music.


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## gpolyz (Nov 25, 2011)

The most amazing thing about Parsifal is its tonalities, this opaque, mystical and melodious sounds that get emmited from the orchestra. Wagner's music introduced uncharted aural colors. For those who appreciate Wagner, Parsifal is a unique opus and a stimulating companion for a quiet night wih a glass of good red wine.

Lots has been written about the Opera, it pseudo religious theme, its connection to Wagner's well known social theories e.t.c. It is all interesting and well worth knowing. But in the 21st century, trhe only relevant matter is the opulent and mystic sounds produced by a musical genious the likes of which we have not since seen,


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

All of the above i guess. It is one of those works you want to love, but maybe like Port and Blue cheese - it takes time and age. I have several versions on DVD and i am not sure i ever get past the first act. It needs patience, dedication and a few evenings free.

I want to love it, i know i will love it.....but i might have to wait a few more years to watch the whole thing, understand it and appreciate it.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

It's beautiful but not for starters. I saw it in a semi-staged version (basically a half-concert, very simple and clean with only a few symbols), and it was perfect that way. The music says more than any "creative" direction could.


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