We’re back at the Bayreuth Festival for the second of three Wagnerian operas on this week’s Sunday Opera (11/23 3:00 p.m.).This time it’s Wagner’s last opera, one that took him 25 years to complete, “Parsifal” which premiered at the second Bayreuth Festival in 1882 and will fill this week’s program.
Parsifal (Andreas Schager) is a pure or innocent “fool." Because his father had been brutally slain in battle, Parsifal’s mother raised him in the wilderness, keeping him ignorant of the world of knights, chivalry, and even his name.
However, Parsifal is prophesied to heal the wounded Grail King Amfortas (Michael Volle) and restore the Holy Spear to the Knights of the Holy Grail.
The story follows Parsifal's journey of spiritual awakening as he is tempted by the sorcerer Klingsor (Jordan Shanahan) by Klingsor’s enchanted minion, Kundry (Ekaterina Gubanova), eventually succeeding in his quest on Good Friday.
He returns to the castle of Montsalvat, uses the spear to heal Amfortas, and becomes the new king, leading to the death of Kundry and the final revelation of the Grail.
Pablo Heras-Casado leads the Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra.
