Parsifal: Character Map
Parsifal: Roles
| Parsifal | tenor | |
| Kundry | soprano | |
| Gurnemanz | a veteran Knight of the Grail | bass |
| Amfortas | ruler of the Grail kingdom | baritone |
| Klingsor | a magician | baritone |
| Titurel | Amfortas’ father | bass |
| Two Grail Knights | ||
| Four Esquires | ||
| Six Flowermaidens |
- Native title: Parsifal
- Composers: Richard Wagner
- Librettist: Richard Wagner
- Based on: Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach
- Language: German
- Premiere: July 26, 1882, Bayreuth Festspielhaus
- Running time: 4 hours 25 minutes (Act 1: 110 minutes, Act 2: 75 minutes, Act 3: 80 minutes)
Parsifal: Short Synopsis
Events before the main story
Titurel received a relic from an angel. It was the Holy Grail and the Holy Lance. To protect it, knights gathered to form the Order of Knights. Klingsor could not join the Order. Klingsor built a magical castle and interfered with those who joined the Knights.
Amfortas, son of Titurel, goes to the enchanted castle with the holy spear to defeat Klingsor. Kundry seduces him. He gives up the holy spear; Klingsor takes the spear and stabs Amfortas in the side. The wound never closes and continues to hurt. Amfortas prays as he endures the pain. He hears a prophecy.” Wait for the pure fool who knows with mercy. He is the one I have chosen.”
Parsifal
Gurnemanz is worried about the unhealed wound of Amfortas and hopes for the emergence of a pure fool. A foolish young man appears in the forest of the Order, shooting a swan with a bow and arrow. He does not even know his name. Gurnemanz considered him a pure fool. But the young man was useless, as he could do nothing but be frightened. Gurnemanz thought the young man was just a fool and sent him away.
Klingsor tries to wrest purity from the foolish young man and has him seduced by Kundry. Kundry is cursed because she once mocked Christ and is controlled by Klingsor. Kundry calls the young man Parsifal and kisses him. Parsifal ceases to be a fool. Klingsor throws a spear at him and tries to kill him. The spear stops above Parsifal’s head. He gets the spear.
Gurnemanz, Kundry, and Parsifal are reunited. They head for the castle of the Holy Grail. They find Amfortas, who is in pain from his wounds and wishes to die. Parsifal heals his wounds with the holy spear. Parsifal becomes the new king who protects the Holy Grail and the Holy Spear.