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inging of bells, men's voices from afar. - Gurnemans: The hour is come: midday, as
before. Follow me." Parzival, armed by them both,
solemnly takes up the spear and, with Kundry, follows Gurnemans.
- As the singing swells and the sound of the bells grows
louder, the scene gradually changes as in Act 1. In the corridors - processions of
knights dressed in mourning. Nearer at hand - lamentations for the dead. - A
funeral procession. - Then, back in the Great Hall. Dirges sung by bass, tenor and
soprano voices: in place of the table before the baldachin, the catafalque. Enter
procession of knights: from the other side, Anfortas on his sick bed, behind Titurel's coffin: in front, the shrine containing the
Grail. Dim twilight. With all in their places, the lid of
the coffin is opened - a violent burst of lamentation: Anfortas raises himself from his sickbed under the
baldachin. Such is his despair that he condemns the knights for wishing to force
him to work the magic of the Grail, here, in the sight of
the father he has killed! His wound, since the ending of reanimation by the
Grail, has moved fatally close to his heart: another day,
perhaps, and death will be certain. Why this fearful cruelty of forcing him to
live? - Again he refuses. Attempts to compel him. Muttering and threats from the
knights. Anfortas: "Madmen, with
what will you threaten me, when death is my deliverer?" -
Poul Elming as Parsifal in
the Royal Danish Opera production, directed by Harry Kupfer. ©Royal Danish Opera.
hen Parzival steps forward. "Live, Anfortas, live in repentance and atonement. Your wound I
close thus:" He touches Anfortas' thigh with the
spear. Parzival goes on to
describe to him his suffering, his error, his inner agony: from all shall he now be
delivered: the magic spell to which you succumbed is broken: strong is the magic of
him who desires, but stronger it that of him who denies. "Thanks be to your
suffering: it has made me a fellow-sufferer; I can perform the Office, and shall,
so that you may be delivered!" -
nfortas, suddenly healed, has taken and
elevated the Grail from its shrine: the Grail now gleams in full brightness; a halo is spread all around;
Titurel rises from his coffin and gives his
blessing. Anfortas leads Parzival to his place beneath the baldachin: - Kundry embraces Parzival's feet and silently, sinks lifeless before him.
A white dove descends from the dome and
circles above Parzival. - Anfortas on his knees before him in homage. -
Richard Wagner, 30 August [1865]
