Amfortas, ruler of the Kingdom of the Grail, has suffered an incurable spear wound, inflicted by Klingsor after he was rejected as a knight of the Grail. Only Parsifal, a youth with a pure heart, can save the king. He must retrieve the Holy Spear and return it to a knight of the Grail.
Parsifal holds a special place among the works of the German genius Richard Wagner. In terms of genre, the composer himself called it a Bühnenweihfestspiel, or a stage-consecrating festival play. It premiered on July 26, 1882, at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. According to Wagner’s wishes, the work was to be performed exclusively in Bayreuth for thirty years after his death.
The only Parsifal premiere at the Latvian National Opera took place on March 14, 1934, conducted by Teodors Reiters and directed by Michael Chekhov. A new production, led by the renowned Wagnerian conductor Marek Janowski will premiere on October 10, 2025. This production is directed by Katharina Wagner, Artistic Director of the Bayreuth Festival and Richard Wagner’s great-granddaughter.
Performance language: German
Translation in surtitles: Latvian, English
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