English National Opera Guide : Wagner : Parsifal

This is a nice, German-language e-book of Richard Wagner's libretto for his last opera Parsifal. Although the opera itself is very long the libretto is actually a fairly short read.

The story revolves around the knights of the Holy Grail who have managed to lose the holy lance that was used to stab Jesus. It was taken by an evil sorcerer across the mountains from their castle. The sorcerer has surrounded himself with beautiful maidens who try to seduce any of the knights that try to retrieve the lance. Seducing them will mean they have broken their vow to remain chaste while serving as Grail knights.

When Parsifal appears he is described as a simpleton or even as a fool. He is, however, capable of reducing the seductions and is able to show more retrieve the lance and conquer the evil sorcerer. The attempted seduction of Parsifal is echoed later with Sir Galahad in Monty Python' and the Holy Grail. show less