Tickets for the performance directed by Pedro Halffter are sold out
The Auditorio de Tenerife’s 2024–25 season of Ópera de Tenerife is to conclude this Saturday, June 28, with a performance of Parsifal, síntesis sinfónico-coral en tres actos (Parsifal, symphonic-choral synthesis in three acts) conducted by Pedro Halffter. The work is based on Richard Wagner’s ‘Parsifal’, which, in turn, is loosely based on the life of the knight Perceval from the King Arthur legend and his search for the Holy Grail. The concert is to begin at 7.30 p.m., and Pedro Halffter will conduct the Sinfónica de Tenerife and the main choir, Ópera de Tenerife-Intermezzo.
Parsifal was Wagner’s last opera, completed in 1882 and based on a medieval work that, in turn, drew inspiration from the namesake figure in the King Arthur legend. The story focusses on Montsalvat, the castle where the Knights of the Grail keep the Holy Grail. Amfortas, King of the Knights of the Grail, is seduced by Kundry and, in a moment of weakness, is wounded by the knight Klingsor.
Once the wound has been inflicted, it will not heal. The king’s only hope is a ‘pure fool’, according to the prophecy. Parsifal is to vanquish Kundry and Klingsor and regain the Holy Lance. After some time, Parsifal returns to the castle on Good Friday and finds Amfortas and the knights there. He touches Amfortas’ wound with the Holy Lance, curing the king. The Grail is unveiled and begins to glow brightly, a white dove descends from above and Kundry is released from her curse before dying.
Halffter’s version for orchestra and chorus focusses on the most emotive and transcendental moments of the original, allowing the orchestra to enhance the majesty of Wagner’s leitmotivs while the chorus acts as a heavenly voice that underscores the mystical narrative of Parsifal’s journey. The instrumental passages draw the audience into a universe in which the music becomes a bridge between the earthly and the divine.
While Halffter’s arrangement is respectful of the work’s original essence, it adds innovations that give spectators a concentrated and visceral experience. The orchestra’s carefully measured proportions of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion instruments recreate the work’s introspective and meditative atmosphere, and the chorus intensifies the climatic moments, filling the air with the underlying sensation of redemption and hope of the story of Parsifal.