Parsifal

Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's medieval epic Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival (Percival) and his quest for the Holy Grail. Wagner first conceived the work in April 1857 but it was not completed until twenty-five years later. The first production was in Bayreuth in 1882.

Early performances of Parsifal

On 12 November 1880 Wagner conducted a private performance of the Prelude for his patron Ludwig II of Bavaria at the Court Theatre in Munich. The premiere of the entire work was given in the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth on 26 July 1882 under the baton of the German-born Jewish conductor Hermann Levi. In July and August of this year sixteen performances of the work were given in Bayreuth under Levi and Franz Fischer. At the last of these, Wagner took the baton from Levi and conducted the closing bars.

Related Topics:
12 November - 1880 - Ludwig II of Bavaria - Munich - Festspielhaus - Bayreuth - 26 July - 1882 - Hermann Levi - Franz Fischer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the first twenty years of its existence, the only staged performances of Parsifal (apart from eight private performances for Ludwig II at Munich in 1884 and 1885) took place in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the venue for which Wagner conceived the work. The Bayreuth authorities allowed concert performances to take place in various countries during this time (e.g. London in 1884, New York in 1886, and Amsterdam in 1894) but they maintained an embargo on stage performances outside Bayreuth. On 24 December 1903, after receiving a court ruling that performances in the USA could not be prevented by Bayreuth, the New York Metropolitan Opera staged the complete opera, much to the chagrin of Wagner's family. Unauthorized stage performances were also undertaken in Amsterdam in 1905, 1906 and 1908. In 1913, Wagner's centenary year, Bayreuth's stranglehold on the work was finally broken and since then the work has been freely staged throughout the world.

Related Topics:
Ludwig II - 1884 - 1885 - Bayreuth Festspielhaus - London - New York - Amsterdam - 1894 - Bayreuth - 24 December - 1903 - USA - Metropolitan Opera - 1905 - 1906 - 1908 - 1913

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~