The première of "Parsifal," a festival play for the consecration of the stage, took place on July 26, 1882, at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
Composition History
Wagner began drafting the text for "Parsifal" in January 1877 and chose the spelling 'Parsifal' to create a linguistic misunderstanding.
Compositional Technique
Wagner uses "Leitmotive" (associative musical themes) in "Parsifal" to create structure and a meta-level of meaning, deploying them in complex and differentiated ways.
Composition History
Richard Wagner decided that "Parsifal" would be his final work and the capstone of his oeuvre long before he wrote his "Ring des Nibelungen."
Composition History
The prelude to Act 1 of "Parsifal" was first performed in a try-out at Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth on December 25, 1879, Cosima Wagner's birthday.
Recording & Production
This recording of "Parsifal" is a live concert performance from the Berlin Philharmonie on April 8, 2011, conducted by Marek Janowski.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Wagner decreed that "Parsifal" be reserved exclusively for the Bayreuth Festspielhaus to prevent its 'desecration' for general theatrical amusement.
