In his over fifty-year-long career as an opera composer, Richard Wagner (1813-1883) left an extraordinary mark, provoking immense reactions even during his lifetime. He primarily provoked them through his efforts to restore opera to its true meaning, as opera of his time had entered a period of content and formal decadence and had become a form of entertainment for the wealthy. The main problem of opera in the first half of the 19th century, pointed out by Wagner, can be summarized in his sentence: “The mistake of opera lies in the fact that the means of expression (music) has become the goal, while the goal of expression (drama) has become the means.”
Wagner reforms opera by creating a musical drama that combines text, music, and stage action into a complete work of art, whose source is in the “Eternal-Human, devoid of any conventionality.” He calls such opera the drama of the future, and in it, the ancient theater resonates again in musical form, like a swansong. Greek tragedies and Greek culture, in general, were a particular preoccupation for Wagner, and He continuously emphasized their power in synthesizing artistic forms that can move a person, transforming them from a spectator into a participant in this, as he says, great drama of humanity.
In order for an opera to become a drama of the future, the motive of its plot must stem from myth, as the symbolic events within it, unlike historical facts, preserve memories of what represents the “Eternal-Human”. Almost all of his operas were based on German and Scandinavian myths and legends, as well as medieval epics. Wagner extensively explained the principles of renewed opera in his comprehensive work “Opera and Drama” (1851), in addition to numerous works.
The idea of the drama of the future, with necessary formal changes in the structure of opera, becomes more prominently present for the first time in his fourth opera, “The Flying Dutchman” (1841-1843), and in “Tannhäuser” (1843-1845), and from then on he continues to perfect it in his well-known operatic works. “Lohengrin” (1845-1848) is the first opera in which Wagner fully realizes his vision. Then followed the famous tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung, created over twenty-six years (1848-1874), which consists of the operas Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. During breaks from working on the tetralogy, Wagner wrote two other significant works: Tristan und Isolde (1857-1859) and The Mastersingers of Nuremberg (1861-1867), and after completing the tetralogy, he composed his last opera Parsifal (1877-1882).
The legend of the Holy Grail, which had already served as inspiration for his previous opera Lohengrin, inspired Wagner once again for Parsifal. The first sketch for Parsifal was created in 1857, based on the epic poem by Wolfram von Eschenbach from 1210, the most famous German medieval poet, as well as other legends about the Grail. Twenty years later, Wagner spent a whole year writing the libretto, creating a whole series of situations and characters around the core of Eschenbach’s epic. Over the next five years, from 1877 to 1882, he worked on the composition of this “sacred music drama.”
Parsifal is considered an extremely static opera. The visual impression and the internal dynamics are in harmonious counterpoint, with a deep drama that drives the characters and is driven by them. This invisible action is, as Wagner’s biographer Lichtenberger says, “the deep motivator, the living soul of the work.” All the characters are characterized by complexity, and we cannot automatically categorize them into specific black-and-white mental patterns. They react unpredictably in certain situations, when we least expect it. With these sudden twists, Wagner transforms our position as observers into that of judges, bringing us closer to the heart and reality of this human drama.
The familiar monumentality of Wagner’s preludes in Parsifal reaches a celestial dimension. In his recognizable style, the basic characteristic musical ideas (known as leitmotifs) of everything that will unfold in the opera emerge before us. It seems as if on an invisible plane, we are given outlines of visions of characters, ideas, objects, and the laws of fate that connect them all in an inevitable direction. The composer introduces us to the action by giving a motto overture: “Faith, hope, love,” and with that intention, he takes us into a forest where the hidden Castle of the Grail is located. In it, sacred objects are kept: the Grail – a symbol of inner, fulfilled life and secret knowledge, and the lance – a weapon of will that can only be useful when consciously directed, otherwise it turns into its opposite. Due to a series of circumstances, this is exactly what happened to the Grail’s king, Amfortas, who suffers terrible pain from a wound inflicted by his own lance. The knights, guardians of the Grail Castle, receive special power from the Grail, but only if they use it for good and justice; however, every revelation of the Grail, which Amfortas must lead due to his role, causes him additional, unbearable torment.
In his dark castle on the edge of the forest, the evil sorcerer Klingsor resides. Amfortas’ father, Titurel, considered him unworthy of becoming a knight of the Grail. Offended, Klingsor gained magical power and turned the area near the Grail forest into a beautiful garden which he inhabited. with seductive girls. Inheriting Titurel, Amfortas tried to break Klingsor’s power. However, Amfortas was seduced by the beautiful Kundry, and Klingsor, by wounding him, took away the sacred spear. Desperate because of his weakness, Amfortas, with deep remorse, receives a prophecy written on a holy vessel stating that only one man can help him: “he who understands through compassion, the innocent fool, hope lies in the one I have chosen”.
In this first part, Wagner gradually depicts the human realm of consciousness, symbolically represented by the forest. The mystical, vital center of this forest is the Castle of the Holy Grail, where the Grail is hidden, accessible only to those who are worthy of it.
The Castle of the Holy Grail is invisible to ordinary eyes, although it represents the only reality for humans, unlike Klingsor’s castle, which is more easily accessible and visible, but as Wagner reveals to us in the second act, it represents a great illusion and the unreal.
On the edge of conscious human action lies the realm of the unconscious and dangerous. This is depicted I let the area in which the lower, but very powerful aspect of human material consciousness builds a lush garden filled with numerous attractive traps. Wagner points out to us right from the beginning the disrupted balance in which Amfortas, the true king and guardian of the holy grail, falls as a victim of a moment of carelessness and weakness. This disrupted balance is the triggering mechanism that sets all the characters in motion and entangles them in a process that leads to the reestablishment of harmony. This process will provide the participants with opportunities through which they can decide, change, redeem.
Between the two basic poles of human inner self, the higher and the lower, moves Kundry, the mistress of Klingsor’s girls, but also a seer and a sorceress who helps Amfortas. She is the soul, the bearer of human psychological characteristics that are in constant restless turmoil, moving from one pole to another. Kundry is under Klingsor’s complete power and often resides in the forest of the Grail castle, in the company of knights, many of whom she has seduced, but at the same time deeply devoted. With humility and without expecting gratitude or reward, he tries to redeem himself for his wrongdoings.
The salvation for Kundry, as well as for Amfortas, signifies the arrival of Parsifal. The meaning of his name, as Wagner interprets in one of his letters, comes from the Arabic words parsi, pure, and fal, simple, foolish, and in the opera, his true nature is revealed through prophecy – an innocent fool, one who gains knowledge through empathy. However, in order for this innocent, simple soul to fulfill its mission, it must first recognize it and transform its pure but unconscious actions into responsible ones. Wagner is pointing us precisely towards this path of inner growth and maturity that Parsifal embarks on by stepping away from known, established frameworks and venturing into the unknown, into adventures. The established habits, as well as the desire to cling to the existing old state at all costs due to fear of potential loss, are represented in the opera by the character of his mother. Bitter life experiences, in which she lost her husband, drove her to escape reality, into a kind of isolation in which she would raise him. Parsifal, keeping him away from people. However, after an accidental encounter with knights, Parsifal leaves her and begins her wandering.
Parsifal does not have a clear vision of where to go, and as he is pure and innocent, an inexplicable inner force leads him to the hidden Castle of the Grail. While hunting forbidden animals in the Grail’s area, he is discovered by Gurnemanz, an old Grail knight, who sees in Parsifal the one chosen by prophecy. In a psychological sense, Gurnemanz represents the dual nature of reason, on one hand objective and intuitive, on the other subjective and suspicious. That is why Gurnemanz, after the solemn “Transformation Music,” first leads Parsifal to the room where the sacred supper and the unveiling of the Grail are prepared, only to then drive him away, believing that his arrival did not bring the expected salvation.
This last part of the first act appears supernatural, both musically and scenically. Through very simple movements and divine music, the mysterious Grail is revealed, the source of life and the dwelling place of the deepest human desires. Anja. Parsifal observes Amfortas’s excruciating suffering with great effort, while his knights receive life force. Suddenly, struck by intense pain, he clutches his heart; the suffering of others becomes his own. Feeling compassion for the one who suffers, Parsifal reaches his first realization, but he has not fulfilled Gurnemanz’s expectations. Exiled from the Grail castle, Parsifal will have to find the way back to the lost center, but no longer guided by chance, but by his own will.
However, in order to reach the mysterious center anew, Parsifal must defeat Klingsor. The evil sorcerer knows of his arrival, but he needs Kundry to defeat him. She has already encountered Parsifal in the Grail forest and now tries to resist Klingsor’s commands. However, Klingsor is her master and she submits. Then he gives her a mocking message: “He who rejects you will set you free: try with this young man who approaches.” Interestingly, the key to the liberation from suffering and the attainment of the true center lies in the rejection of earthly desires. The liberation of Kundry Wagner is placed into the mouth of the dark Klingsor, who reveals to us here the great secret of the human psyche, which is unhappy under the control of instinct and desires of the body that cannot be resisted. The liberation of the psyche from the shackles of the physical and transitory is possible if the purity of the human spirit rejects illusions. Parsifal rejects the seduction of Kundry, controlled by Klingsor, and experiences immense pain in his heart for the second time. He realizes his task, to save all those whom Kundry has seduced and to save her herself. Parsifal offers her help if she shows him the way to Amfortas. Kundry finally agrees, but on the condition that he gives her a moment of his love. As Parsifal does not agree to this, Kundry calls upon Klingsor for help, who throws a holy spear at him. However, the spear stops above Parsifal’s head, he takes it and shapes it into the sign of the cross. At that moment, all illusions disappear, the dark castle collapses, leaving only devastation in which Kundry remains. Parsifal leaves with the holy spear in his hands, indicating to her that Message: “You know where you can find me again.”
After many years of wandering, Parsifal finally approaches the Grail forest on a beautiful spring morning; however, much has changed there. Already quite aged, Gurnemanz lives as a hermit on the edge of the forest, and Kundry, now calm, is ready only to serve. When they saw Parsifal in the distance, they didn’t recognize him at first, and Gurnemanz orders the stranger to put down his weapons very suspiciously. Parsifal obeys, and Gurnemanz is deeply moved when he recognizes Amfortas’ holy spear and the young man he once expelled. Parsifal tells them about his joy in finally finding his way after many trials and a long search. Gurnemanz reveals to him the heavy misfortunes that befell the castle and the knights after he left because Amfortas no longer wanted to perform the ritual of unveiling the Holy Grail. Thus, the knights grew weaker day by day, and he himself fled the castle and became a hermit. Persuaded that he is the one responsible for this, Parsifal collapses almost unconscious, and Kundry and Gu They are taking him to the holy spring to cleanse himself and gather strength to fulfill his mission until the end. Exhausted, Parsifal asks to be taken to Amfortas and learns that his knights are preparing Titurel’s funeral for the time when Amfortas will reveal the Holy Grail for the last time. Cleansed by the sacred liquid and scents, Parsifal, now the new King of the Grail, first baptizes Kundry, addressing her with love: “This is the first duty I perform… believe in your liberator”. With this element, Wagner points to the first important result of long maturation and spiritual efforts. Because it is not enough to just destroy Klingsor and his dark deceptions, it is not enough to just liberate the psyche from serving Klingsor. It is necessary to restore trust in the psyche’s true master, so that it can express its true values.
After fulfilling this part of his task, Parsifal’s quest finally comes to a close. The final ritual begins in the same hall where he once experienced pain through compassion. The knights set up They lay Titurel’s body on the bier, bring in the sick Amfortas, and take their places in the circle. Amfortas, completely exhausted from suffering, resists revealing the Grail. Then Parsifal steps forward and heals Amfortas’s wound with the sacred spear, ordering the unveiling of the Grail. As he raises the miraculous vessel in prayer, the darkness in the hall intensifies and light begins to spread from above. The Grail shines and a dove flutter over Parsifal. At the same time, Kundry dies with her eyes fixed on him, and Amfortas and Gurnemanz kneel, paying him homage. One cycle has ended, and the new king has taken his throne.
However, his victory concerns everyone and brings about significant changes. Titurel, as a symbol of old and fulfilled values, dies because he has fulfilled his role; the Grail castle he built no longer needs his protection. Why does Kundry die? Wagner obviously wanted to emphasize the eternal truth – that for something truly new to arise, sacrifice and the destruction of everything useless, everything that resides in the existing The Grail can no longer fulfill its true function in its current form. However, as it watches Parsifal on his deathbed, it reflects his image like a mirror, which is the true role of the psyche in traditions. This reflected spirit becomes a new being symbolically represented by a dove – a soul that is liberated and purified and able to fly. Gurnemanz is finally convinced of the reality of the Grail as prophesied. His divided mind becomes confident and determined. Amfortas is the central axis that connects the old and the new, the imperfect and the perfect, the beginning and the ultimate goal. Although not pure enough from within, he has still preserved what is sacred, enduring extreme suffering and hoping for the fulfillment of the prophecy. Therefore, in the end, he finds liberation by respectfully accepting the new guardian of the Grail. Parsifal is his spiritual son, a perfected and purified stage of the same being and the same role. Through compassion, the innocent fool has become the new driving force behind the eternal renewing power of life and wisdom.