The Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD broadcast of Richard Wagner’s monumental masterpiece, Parsifal, brings one of the most spiritually profound and musically rich experiences in all of opera to the big screen. Set near the sanctuary of the Holy Grail, the story follows the suffering king Amfortas, who bears an incurable physical and spiritual wound inflicted by the Holy Spear after being seduced by a mysterious, cursed woman named Kundry. A prophecy declares that salvation can only come from a “pure fool, enlightened by compassion” — an innocent outsider who knows neither his own origin nor his name. When a nameless youth arrives in the sacred forest, the old knight Gurnemanz tests him, hoping this young archer is the long-awaited savior who can heal the king, reunite the holy relics, and restore power to the failing brotherhood of the Grail.

 

The dramatic stakes intensify in the second act as the sorcerer Klingsor commands the mesmerized Kundry to seduce the young man within his enchanted garden. Upon receiving her kiss, the youth suddenly undergoes a profound awakening, feeling the exact torment of Amfortas’s wound and realizing his true name is Parsifal. Resisting temptation and breaking Klingsor’s dark spell, Parsifal reclaims the Holy Spear, spending years wandering a broken world before making a triumphant return on Good Friday. Directed with cinematic grandeur and featuring a lush, transformative musical score, this Met Opera presentation culminates in a spectacular third act where Parsifal fulfills his destiny, baptizes Kundry, heals the agonizing king, and steps forward as the redeemer and new leader of the rejuvenated community.

Run Time: 5 hrs 40 mins

Showings