The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-12-25
splendor Of the staga sets and tho rich
ness Of costun,ing was q notable advance
upon anything ever seen at Baireutf
THE STORY OF "PARS1FAL."
Richard A1drich Reviews Wag-
t1er's Music Drama.

story Of Parziynl. and parceval, and tho
knights Of the Grail. as handed down %
chrea9Hlen G DC Troyes. WAGNER has dlset.
tangled a few characters. a few Incidents,
OF ''Parslfal. He has, followed the me;
function Of the Grail, Of the calling and
Character Of It's watdens But there have
been infinite changes. suppressions. sim.
publications., broadeni,gs aocen tlat + 1se %
has been a great transformation In the
spirit, and Significance Of It all, The 70.
mantle nedIaeyal r,arra TIVE has been eel,
turn into arsa Sh sesp e! Ike eha
acters cmbody types Of humanity, ana
their actions are significant OF deeper
things than what goes on IN the nara
tlves OF; the medaevnl story tellers, beau-
tiIul as these are.
l'arsfal In Wagners drama. is the
rosthumous son ! OF Gamuret, a. knight
ala In In battle, and Herzeleide, who brings
him ~ as smpeston' y the b1,, wg spd and
EnowIedge OF his knighthood and n fate
like his fathers But one day no secs q
cavalcadc of 1nen-at-arms on horseback,
follows them ana at.er many "a, yths sa
This according to Wagner, Is situated IL
'the northern mountains of Gothic SPAIN.
1t was built BY Tlturel to guard the holy
NebSGl ana Ill0s 6LClGu oPe0L
him by divine messengers. Waxing old,
he intrusted their keeping TO his son Am.
fortas. on the sou thern slope Of the same
mountains facing Arnoan spain sI Is .he
for membership In the band Of msullie,d
Grail warders. Kllngsor is rejeeted for hls
impurlty OF life, whereupon he devotes
seeking to corrupt the knights by the
seductions Of his magic garden, peopled
b. allurng maidens, and to CAV, possess
sion OF tho Grail, Amfortas, once on an
cumbs to the allurements Of "a maid Of
fearful beauty In that garden. and. as
he lies in her arms, is bereft of the sacred
lance by klingsor, who with, 1t intlicts
This maid is none other than kundry
a strange being Of q two-fold life, some
times In the thrall of kllngsor.s magic,
Of dazzng beauty 1eeyng as hs
age mien. repentantly ministering to the
Grail knights, though they fear her and
dislike her, She # was, as we learn from
and was condemned to eternal laughter,
deprived Of the blessing of tears. King
sor calls her Nameless Woman, prime eva
she-devil, Rose OF He'll, Herodias once,
Gundryggia the Valkyrte once, now Kun Kun
dry.
The first act shows Us a glade In . a
shadowy forest. surrounding the Grail
| NGSLlG. Lay Is ud"llluS,t du0 LlS OAet
knight Gurnemans arouses the esquires,
who are sleeping under the trees. Amfor-
tas. the suffering king, is about to be
carried to his bath In the. lake hard by,
to bring an Arabian balsam in the hope
| of giving him relief. Upon a litter the
king Is borne in on his way to the bath,
Lewailing his un,Eeasng agony ana long y,
| enlightened" who is to give him surcease
OF suffering. He passes on, after acknowl-
Lodging Kundry's service, and In CON
With the young ssaublres Gps
canoe Of what they have seen. and estab-
llehes the posture Of circumstances, upon
which tho drama lis based.
cries Of horror from. the knights and es;
dulres. "A wild sven has been wounded
With an arrow. The brlprltis brought in;
breaks his bow an throws 1T away. ~
knew mot twas wrong says he. It is
Parslfal. Asked who Is his father. who
| his mother, he knows not. AS TO his own
name, he knows only that he once had
| Something he must know as Gurnenlanz
tells him; It Is his mothers name, Here
leide, which he, pronounces only to learn
from Kundry that she Is dead III his alb.
sence. He Is violently overcome by the
tidIngs. and springs upon her IN a rage,
Gurnemanz restraints him, and then hun.
ag Eppsa BY serve tbs wefe f h
sor. falls into insensibllity and disappears.
| To refresh the youth, and with an Ink.
ling that he may be the guile'ess fool
the castle to partake of the 81 4 nourc.,
1shment, furnished by the Oral. to all
who are pure. Their progress Is strange
one; they only appear to walk, and the
| scenery gradually moves past them. AS
Harsiral says: d
I scarcely move.
Yet see that far I've gone.
! Gurnemanz's explanation is q meta
Ny son, thou seest
/ Hore Space and Time are one.
They arrive at mighty h ah LIGHTED
ear e era s 5Mo onS taSes
with cups. The knights enter in g. solemn
procession, each taking bis. place at the
board. Amfortas Is brought In on the
boys precede him, bearing the purple.
the voice OF the aged Titure is heard
calling upon his son to DO his duty and
breaks out into passionate amentati ton
bewailing the anguish caused him by
this ceremonial and beseeching the divine
Ply TIE Gra T. dny Dl ond
gIoaw s. With With 3' purple lastre. Ali kneel
| The words of the communion service are
1ntoned, The light fades and Amfortas
| Ia UOIIsE AWAY. SuINSl@toal llQluS " ~
s!fal. who has stood through this scene
| as If petrlfied:
My standest thou here?
|$t Wist thou what thou saw'st?
Parsfal shakes his head. Then thou
art nothing but. a tool" cries the old
man, and bids him begone:
Leave all our swans for the future alone
! And seek myself, gander q goose!
In the second act we SEQ the magic
laboratory of Kllngsor's castle. The wiz.
ard Is laying his spell upon the unwilling
! ltundry, summonlng her to the task oil
seducing Parsifal. who Is apprlp lchIng the
| castle l<llngsor looks out and sees hin,
laying about him as he comes. disabling
the castle guards and mounting the gar
| den wall. Change OF scene: The whole
/ castle sinks, and rises In Its place the
magic garden. full Of tropical vegetation
luxurious wealth of flowers; at the back
the wall. upon which stands Parsfal gag,
| Ing in establishment at the scene before
/ Em. The damsels appear In haste. as II
! suddenly disturbed from Sleep They be-
wall the loss Of their lovers. the castle
guards, and call upon the rosy youth tc
come and play with them, One aftel
another they slip away and return In Sic
| guise of living flowers. Pressing around
| Parsifal they ply him with establishments
Az first amused, then half angry, no turns
| ~ - r. ~ -