Parsifal (film)
Encyclopedia
Parsifal is a 1982
German
musical film
directed by Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
, based on the opera of the same name
by Richard Wagner
. It was shown out of competition at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival
.
The soundtrack is a complete performance of the opera; however the imagery used is a sometimes baffling melange including medieval costume, puppetry, Nazi relics and a giant death mask of Richard Wagner. The Grail itself is represented by Wagner's Bayreuth Theatre
and Parsifal's key transformation is portrayed with a change of actor to an androgynous form. There does not appear to be a simple explanation for Syberberg's imagery, rather that shared themes could inspire parallels to be drawn at a deeper level.
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
German
Cinema of Germany
Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
directed by Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
Hans-Jürgen Syberberg is a German film director, whose best known film is his lengthy feature, Hitler: A Film from Germany.- Early life :...
, based on the opera of the same name
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
by Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
. It was shown out of competition at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival
1982 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Giorgio Strehler *Jean-Jacques Annaud *Suso Cecchi d'Amico *Geraldine Chaplin *Gabriel García Márquez *Florian Hopf *Sidney Lumet *Mrinal Sen...
.
The soundtrack is a complete performance of the opera; however the imagery used is a sometimes baffling melange including medieval costume, puppetry, Nazi relics and a giant death mask of Richard Wagner. The Grail itself is represented by Wagner's Bayreuth Theatre
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
and Parsifal's key transformation is portrayed with a change of actor to an androgynous form. There does not appear to be a simple explanation for Syberberg's imagery, rather that shared themes could inspire parallels to be drawn at a deeper level.
Cast
- Armin JordanArmin JordanArmin Jordan , was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner.Armin Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland. "Mr...
- Amfortas / Music Conductor - Robert Lloyd - Gurnemanz
- Martin SperrMartin SperrMartin Sperr was a German dramatist and actor.-Works:* 1965 Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern* 1967 Landshuter Erzählungen* 1970 Koralle Meier* 1970 Herr Bertolt Brecht sagt...
- Titurel - Michael Kutter - Parsifal 1
- Edith CleverEdith CleverEdith Clever is a German actress.-Filmography:*1976: Sommergäste*1976: Die Marquise von O. *1978: Die linkshändige Frau *1979: Mädchenjahre...
- Kundry - Thomas Fink - 2nd Squire
- Rudolph Gabler - 1st Knight of the Grail
- Monika Gärtner - 1st Squire
- Reiner GoldbergReiner GoldbergReiner Goldberg is a German opera singer .After his vocal studies at the conservatory of music "Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden, Goldberg made his debut 1967 in the Saxon Theatre in Radebeul. A further station was the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden in 1973...
- Parsifal (voice) - Aage HauglandAage HauglandAage Haugland was a Danish operatic bass.- Life and career :He was born in Copenhagen and made his professional debut in Oslo in 1968. From 1970 to 1973 he was based in Bremen, and appeared at Den Jyske Opera in Aarhus in 1972...
- Klingsor - Karin Krick - Parsifal 2
- David Luther - Young Parsifal
- David MeyerDavid MeyerDavid Meyer is an English actor. He is the twin of Anthony Meyer who has often appeared alongside him in film.Meyer is best known for appearing as a henchman in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy as a circus performer with a talent for knife throwing alongside his twin. In the film the twins were...
- 3rd Squire - Yvonne MintonYvonne MintonYvonne Fay Minton CBE is an Australian opera singer. She is variously billed as a soprano, mezzo-soprano or contralto.Yvonne Minton was born in Sydney, New South Wales. She studied voice on a scholarship at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. She won the National Eisteddfod in Canberra,...
- Kundry (voice) - Bruno Romani-Versteeg - 3rd Knight of the Grail
- Judith Schmidt - 4th Squire
- Wolfgang SchöneWolfgang Schöne- Biography :Schöne was born in Bad Gandersheim. He began his studies of voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover with Naan Pöld in 1964 and moved with him to the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg in 1986, achieving his diploma as a concert singer and music teacher in 1969.His...
- Amfortas (voice) - Amelie Syberberg - Bearer of the Grail
- Urban von Klebelsberg - 2nd Knight of the Grail