OvertureACT ONEThe VenusbergSCENE ONEThe stage represents the interior of the Venusberg.Sirens, Venus, Tannhuser, Nymphs, Bacchantes, Amorous couplesSIRENSCome to this shore!Come to the landwhere in glowing Love'sfond embraceblessed balmshall soothe your longings!

SCENE TWOVenus, TannhuserVENUSBeloved, say, where dwell your thoughts?TANNHUSERToo long! Too long!O that I might wake now!VENUSSay, what troubles you?TANNHUSERIn a dream it was as if I heardwhat long has been unfamiliar to my ear,as if I heard the joyous peal of bells!Ah say, how long is it since I heard it?VENUSWhere strays your mind? What possesses you?TANNHUSERI cannot measurethe time that I have tarried here.Days, months, exist no more for me,for no more do I see the sunlight,no more the friendly stars of heaven;I see no more the fields which, freshly green,herald a new summer; no moreI hear the nightingale, harbinger of spring.Shall I never hear or see them again?VENUSAh, what do I hear? What foolish complaints!Are you so soon weary of the sweet wonderswhich my love has lavished on you?Or can it be you so regret being a god?Have you so soon forgotten how once you suffered,while now you live here lapped in delights?My singer, rise! Take up your harp!Extol love, which you lauded with such rapturethat you won for yourself the goddess of love!Extol love, for its highest prize is yours!TANNHUSERLet your praises resound! Glorified bethe wonders your might has wrought for my bliss!Let my song in loud and joyful tonesextol the sweet delights flowing from your bounty!My heart yearned, my soul thirstedfor joy, ah! for divine pleasure:what once you showed only to godsyour favour has bestowed upon a mortal.But alas! I have remained mortal,and your love overwhelms me.Though a god can savour joy for ever,I am subject to change;I have at heart not pleasure alone,and in my joy long for suffering.From your kingdom I must flee;O queen, o goddess, set me free!VENUSMust I listen to this? What a song!What mournful mood clouds your lay?Where has that rapture flownwhich inspired you only to songs of delight?What is it? In what has my love been lacking?Beloved, with what do you reproach me?TANNHUSERGratitude for your favour and praise for your love!Forever blessed is he who has dwelt here!Forever envied is he who, hot with desire,has in your arms shared the divine glow!The wonders of your realm cast a spell,here I breathe the magic of unalloyed bliss;no land in the wide world offers the like;all it holds seems in comparison of little worth.Yet from these rosy scents I longfor the woodland breezes,for the clear blue of out sky,for the fresh green of out meadows,for the sweet song of out birds,for the dear sound of out bells.From your kingdom I must flee;O queen, o goddess, set me free!VENUSFaithless one! Alas, what is this I hear?You dare to spurn my love?You praise it but seek from it to fly?Has my allure grown wearisome?TANNHUSERAh fair goddess! Do not be angry with me!It is your unbounded allure from which I fly!VENUSShame on you! Traitor, dissembler, ingrate!O will not let you go! You shall not leave me!Ah!TANNHUSERNever was my love greater, never more truethan now, when I must leave you for ever!VENUSBeloved, come! See yonder grotto,permeated with the soft perfume of roses,the abode of sweetest joyswhich might enchant even a god!Resting on the softest pillow,all pain shall quit your limbs,cool airs shall play about your burning brow,a rapturous glow shall course through your veins.From afar sweet sounds softly whisperfor my arms to enfold you in a fond embrace:from my lips you shall sip the nectar of the gods,from my eyes will glow love's gratitude!A feast of joy shall spring from our union;let us gladly celebrate the rite of love!No timid offering shall you dedicate to it,no! revel in union with love's own goddess!SIRENSCome to this shore!Come to this land!VENUSMy cavalier! My beloved! Will you fly me?TANNHUSERTo you, to you alone shall my song ever be raised!Your praise alone will I sing aloud!Your soft charms are the fount of all beauty,and every fair wonder springs from you.The fire you kindled in my heartshall in flame brightly burn to you alone!Yes, against the whole world henceforthwill I be your bold and tireless champion.But I must hence to the earthly world,with you I can only be a slave:for freedom I am consumed with longing,for freedom I thirst;to strife and struggle will I go,even though it be to downfall and death!So from your kingdom I must flee;O queen, o goddess, set me free!VENUSThen go, madman, go!Traitor, see, I am not holding you!I set you free! Away!What you desire shall be your doom!Fly to the cold world of men,from whose feeble, cheerless fancieswe gods of joy fledinto the warming depths of the earth's womb.Go then, poor fool! Seek therethe happiness you never shall find!Soon the arrogance in your heart will weaken,and I shall see you return humbled,remorseful, crestfallen, to seek me out,pleading for the magic of my might!TANNHUSERAh, goddess of beauty, farewell!Never will I return to you!VENUSHa! Never will you return to me!lf you do not return, then the entirerace of men shall be accursed!For my marvels shall it then seek in vain!The world shall be desolate, and its champion a menial!Return, o return to me!TANNHUSERNevermore will the pleasures of love delight me!VENUSReturn, if your heart bids you.TANNHUSERYour beloved flies for ever.VENUSIf all the world repulses you?TANNHUSERRepentance will free me from your spell.VENUSForgiveness never will be granted you!Return, if you wish for happiness!TANNHUSERMy happiness? My happiness lies in Mary!

SCENE THREEThe valley before the Wartburg: the Hrselberg in the far distance.A Shepherd, Pilgrims, TannhuserSHEPHERDDame Holda came forth from the hillto roam through fields arid meadows:surpassing sweet sounds reached my ear,my eyes craved to see her.There I dreamed many a fair dream,and scarcely had I opened my eyesthan the sun was shining warm,and May had come.Now I merrily play my pipe,for May is here, lovely May!PILGRIMSTo thee I turn my steps, Lord Jesus Christ,for the pilgrim's hope art thou!Praise to thee, O Virgin sweet and pure,and deign to smile upon this pilgrimage!Ah, the burden of sin weighs heavy upon meand I can no longer bear it:therefore I seek neither rest nor reposeand choose for myself pain and toil.At the high celebration of God's graceI will expiate my guilt;blessed is he who is steadfast in his faith:through repentance shall he be redeemed.SHEPHERDGod speed! God speed to Rome!Pray for my poor soul!TANNHUSERAlmighty God be praised!Great are the marvels of thy mercy.PILGRIMSTo thee I turn my steps, Lord Jesus Christ,for the pilgrim's hope art thou!Praise to thee, O Virgin sweet and pure,and deign to smile upon this pilgrimage!TANNHUSERAh, the burden of sin weighs heavy upon meand I can no longer bear it:therefore I seek neither rest nor reposeand choose for myself pain and toil.PILGRIMSAt the high celebration of God's graceI will expiate my guilt;blessed is he who is steadfast in his faith!

SCENE FOURLandgrave, Minstrels, TannhuserLANDGRAVEWho is that yonder, deep in prayer?WALTERSurely a penitent.BITFROLFA knight, by bis garb.WOLFRAMlt is he!THE OTHER MINSTRELSHeinrich! Heinrich! Do I see aright?LANDGRAVEIs it really you? Are you returning to us,whom in your haughty pride you abandoned?BITEROLFSay, what means your return to us?LANDGRAVE, WALTER, HEINRICH, REINMARTell us!BITFROLFReconciliation, or renewed strife?WALTERDo you come to us as friend or foe?MINSTRELSAs foe?WOLFRAMDo not ask! Is this the demeanour of pride?We welcome you, valiant minstrel, that hasah! so long been absent from our midst!WALTERWelcome, if you come in peace!BITEROLFGreetings, if you treat us as friends!WALTER, HEINRICH, BITEROLF, REINMARGreetings! We welcome you!LANDGRAVEThen let me too welcome vou!But say, where have you been so long?TANNHUSERI wandered in far, far distant lands,where repose or rest I never found.Do not ask! I came not here to contend with you.Let us make peace, and let me go my way!LANDGRAVENot yet! You are one of us again.WALTERYou must not go.BITEROLFWe will not let you go.WALTER, HEINRICH, WOLFRAM, REINMAR, LANDGRAVEStay with us!TANNHUSERLet me go! To linger is of no avail,and never can I rest in peace.My way urges me to hasten only onwards,and never may I look back.LANDGRAVE AND MINSTRFLSO stay! You must remain with us;we will not let you go again.Having sought us out, why hurry awayafter so brief a reunion?TANNHUSERI must away from here!LANDGRAVE, WALTER, HEINRICH, BITEROLF, REINMARStay, o stay with us!WOLFRAMStay for Elisabeth!TANNHUSERElisabeth! O might of heaven,is it you that recalls to me that sweet name?WOLFRAMAbuse me not as foewhen I speak that name to you!to LandgraveMy lord, will you permit meto tell him of his fortune?LANDGRAVETell him of the magic that he wrought,and God grant him virtue that he may use it worthily.WOLFRAMWhen you contended with us for the palm in singing,sometimes you were victorious over our songs,sometimes you suffered defeat through our art:one prize there was which you alone won.Was it magic, was it a divine power,by which you wrought such a miracle,enchanting that maid of matchless virtueby your song of joy and sorrow?But ah! when in your pride you left us,she closed her heart against our song;we saw her cheeks grow pale,and she henceforth avoided our company.O come back, valiant minstrel,and do not deprive us of your song.Let her no longer be absent from our festivals,and may her star shine on us once more!MINSTRELSBe one of us, Heinrich! Come back to us!Let discord and strife be laid aside!United let our songs ariseand henceforth let us be brothers!LANDGRAVEO come back, valiant minstrel, return to us!Let discord and strife be laid aside!TANNHUSERTo her! To her! O lead me to her!Ah, now I recognise againthe beautiful world from which I fled!The heavens shine down upon me,the fields are resplendent in rich array.Spring with a thousand charming soundshas filled my heart with joy:in sweet, urgent eagernessmy heart cries aloud,"To her! To her! Lead me to her!"LANDGRAVE AND MINSTRELSHe who was lost has returned!A miracle has brought him back.Praised be the gentle powerwhich has banished his pride!Now let the maid we prizeonce again hearken to our noblest lays!In joyful tones let a songresound from every throat!

ACT TWOThe Minstrels' Hall in the WartburgSCENE ONEElisabethELISABETHDear hall, I greet thee again!Gladly I greet thee, beloved place!In thee his songs will wakenand rouse me from my gloomy dreams.When he from here departed,how bleak thou didst seem to me!All peace forsook me,all pleasure in thee vanished.But now my heart is exaltedand thou dost seem proud and stately once again,for he who revives both thee and meno longer tarries far away.Greetings, greetings!Dear hall, I greet thee!

SCENE TWOWolfram, Tannhuser, ElisabethWOLFRAMThere she is: approach her undisturbed!TANNHUSERO princess!ELISABETHHeavens! Do not kneel! Leave me!I may not see you here!TANNHUSERYou may! O stayand let me remain at your feet!ELISABETHRise, I beg you!You must not kneel here, for this hallis your kingdom. Arise!Accept my thanks for your return!Where have you tarried so long?TANNHUSERFar from here,in very distant lands. Dark oblivionhas fallen between yesterday and today.All memory has suddenly deserted meand one thing only must I remember,that I never dared hope to greet you againnor raise my eyes to you.ELISABETHWhat was it then that led you back?TANNHUSERIt was a miracle,a mysterious, mighty miracle!ELISABETHThis miracle I praisefrom the depths of my heart!Forgive me if I know not what I say!I am in a dream, and more foolish than a child.helpless before the might of this marvel.I scarcely know myself any longer: o help mesolve the riddle in my heart!To minstrels' beguiling music I formerlylent a willing and a constant car;their singing and their paeansseemed a delightful recreation.But what a strange new lifeyour song aroused in my breast!Now I was as if wracked with pain,now as if pierced with sudden joy.Emotions I had never felt!Longings I had never known!What once had delighted me had vanishedbefore these yet unnamed raptures!And then when you left us,my peace and joy were gone;the melodies the minstrels sangseemed stale to me, and cheerless their ideas.In dreams I felt dull pain;waking, I was filled with troubled fancies;joy had fled from my heart -Heinrich! What did you do to me?TANNHUSERThe god of love be praised:he touched my harpstrings,spoke to you in my melodies,and has led me here to you!ELISABETHBlessed be this hour,blessed be the powerthat brought me the wondrous tidingsthat you were near.Encircled by the glow of bliss,on me the sun now smiles;awakened to new life,I can call joy mine!TANNHUSERBlessed be this hour,blessed be the powerthat brought me the wondrous tidingsfrom your lips.To this new-found lifemay I now wholly devote myself;trembling with joy,I name its fairest wonder mine!WOLFRAMSo am I bereftof all light of hope in this life!

SCENE THREELandgrave, ElisabethLANDGRAVEDo I find you in this hall,which you have avoided for so long?Does the festival of song that we prepareat last attract you?ELISABETHO uncle, who are a father to me!LANDGRAVEWould you then at lastunlock your heart to me?ELISABETHLook in my eyes! I cannot speak.LANDGRAVEThen for a little whilelet your sweet secret remain undisclosed,the spell remain unbrokenuntil you are able to reveal it.So be it! The wonderthat by song was awakened and arousedtoday by song shall be revealedand crowned with fulfilment.Our gracious art shall do the deed!Already the nobles of my land are approaching,whom I have bidden to this solemn tournament;more numerous than ever they come, for they have heardthat you will be the princess of the festival.

SCENE FOURCounts, Knights, Pages, Landgrave, Wolfram, Tannhuser, Minstrels, ElisabethCHORUSJoyfully we greet this noble hallwhere only art and peace shall ever dwell,where long the glad cry shall resound,"Hail to Thuringia's prince, the Landgrave Hermann!"LANDGRAVEFull often, dear minstrels, in this hallhave your fine songs resounded;with wise allegories and merry lays alikeyou have gladdened our heart.If our sword in stern bloody battlesfought for the supremacy of the German State,if we withstood the savage Guelphsand held disastrous discord in check,you won no less a prize.For charm and gracious ways,for virtue and unsullied faith,you achieved with your arta great and mighty victory.Prepare then for us today another festival,now that the valiant singer, whom we for longso sadly missed, has returned to us.What brought him back among usremains to me a mysterious secret:you shall reveal it to us through the art of song,therefore I now propose this theme to you:Can you fathom the nature of love?He who most worthily succeedsshall from Elisabeth receive the prize;let his claim be as bold and lofty as he please,I undertake that she shall grant it.Up, dear minstrels! Strike your strings!The theme is set, strive for the prize,and let all accept our thanks in advance!KNIGHTS AND NOBLE LADIESHail! Hail to Thuringia's prince!Hail to the protector of the gracious art!FOUR PAGESWolfram von Eschenbach, begin!WOLFRAMAs I look around on this noble assembly,what a glorious sight makes my heart glow!So many heroes, valiant, upright and wise,like a proud oakwood, splendid, fresh and green;and I see ladies lovely and virtuous,a fair garland of most fragrant flowers.My gaze is dazzled by this display,my song is silenced before such beauteous lustre.Then I raise my eyes to one single starup in the heavens which shines on me:my spirit is comforted by that distant radianceand my soul devoutly sinks in prayer.And lo! I behold a fountain of delightson which my spirit gazes, filled with wonder:from it there flows blissful joyby which my heart is inexpressibly refreshed.O never may I sully that fountainor cloud its limpid waters with impure thoughts!In devotion I would sacrifice myselfand gladly shed the last drop of my heart's blood.You nobles may gather from these wordshow I regard the purest essence of love.KNIGHTS AND LADIES'Tis so! 'Tis so! Praised be your song!TANNHUSERI too may count myself lucky enoughto see what you, Wolfram, saw!Who should not know that fountain?Hearken, its virtues I will cry aloud!But I cannot approach its sourcewithout feeling ardent longing:my burning thirst I must assuageby confidently pressing my lips to it:I drink down bliss in full draughts,unhindered by any hesitation;for the fountain is inexhaustible,as my longing is insatiable.Thus I constantly refresh myself at the springso that my craving may burn for ever:know then, Wolfram, how I regardthe true nature of love!WALTER VON DER VOGELWEIDEThe fountain of which Wolfram told usis known to the light of my spirit too;but you, Heinrich, who were afirewith thirst for it, truly know it not.Let me then declare it and teach youthat the fountain is true virtue.Ardently you must revere itand worship its sweet limpiditv.If you lay your lips to its watersto cool impure passions,yes, if you will but sip at the brink,its magic power will vanish for ever!If you wish for refreshment from this source,it must be through your heart, not your lips.THE LISTENERSHail WalterI Praises to your song!TANNHUSERO Walter, if thus you sing,you badly belie love!If so timid is your longing,your world will truly run dry.Look up to heaven, behold its stars,in praise of God in the supreme heights!Give humble worship to such wonders,for you shall never know them!But that which deigns to human contact,which lies near to heart and thought,that which, created for like matter,inclines to us in soft flesh,that is for enjoyment in happy desire,and in enjoyment alone do I recognise love!BITEROLFCome forth to combat with us all!Who could hear you in silence?If your pride will allow you,now listen to me, blasphemer!When great love inspires me,it steels my sword and my spirit;to preserve it in its purity for everI would proudly shed my lifeblood.Woman's virtue and high honour will I,as a knight, defend with my sword;but those delights that captured your immaturityare shoddy, not worth a blow.KNIGHTS AND LADIESHail, Biterolf!KNIGHTSHere are our swords!TANNHUSERHa, you foolish braggart, Biterolf!Do you sing of love, you fierce wolf?Assuredly you have never knownthat which I find pleasurable.What, poor wretch, have you known of pleasure?Your life was lacking in love,and what paltry joys befell youwere indeed not worth a blow!KNIGHTSWe'll hear no more! End this audacity!LANDGRAVEto BiterolfPut up your sword! Minstreis, keep the peace!WOLFRAMO heaven, let me now implore thee,grant my song divine approval!Let me see sin banishedfrom this noble, pure assembly!Let my song resoundinspired by thee, sacred love,that pierced my very soulin angelic beauty!Thou didst come from heaven,I follow from afar;so guide me to that landwhere thy star shines for ever.TANNHUSERTo you, goddess of love, shall my song be raised!Loudly let me now sing your praise!Your sweet charms are the source of all beauty,and every fair wonder springs from you.Only he who has knownyour ardent embrace knows what love is;poor wretches who have never tasted love,away! hasten to the hill of Venus!ALLOh, he is wicked! Fly from him!Hark, he was in the Venusberg!NOBLE LADIESAway! Away from his presence!WOLFRAMYou heard it!LANDGRAVE, MINSTRELS AND KNIGHTSYou heard it! His sinful lipshave confessed his fearful crime.He has shared the joys of Hell,he has dwelt within the Venusberg!Abominable! Monstrous! Damnable!Steep your swords in his blood!Let him be condemned and banishedand sent back to the bottomless pit of Hell!ELISABETHStay your hands!WALTER, BITEROLF, REINMARWhat do I hear?LANDGRAVE, KNIGHTS AND MINSTRELSWhat? What do I see? Elisabeth!The chaste maiden shielding the sinner?ELISABETHStand back! For death I care nothing!What are the wounds your swords could causeagainst the deadly blow he has dealt me?LANDGRAVE, KNIGHTS AND MINSTRELSElisabeth! Can we believe it?How can your heart so delude youas to stave off punishment from himwho so vilely has deceived you?ELISABETHWhat do I matter? But he must be saved!Would you rob him of eternal salvation?LANDGRAVE, KNIGHTS AND MINSTRELSHe has forfeited all hope,never will he earn salvation!The curse of heaven has fallen on him:let him go hence with his sins upon his head!ELISABETHStand back from him! 'Tis not for you to judge him!Shame on you! Cast aside your cruel swords,and give ear to a spotless virgin's words'.Through me learn what is God's will!This hapless man, that a fearful,mighty spell holds captive -what, may he never find salvationthrough repentance and atonement in this world?You who are so strong in purity of faith,is this how you understand the will of heaven?If you would deny hope to the sinner,then say, what harm did he do you?Behold me, a maiden whose blossominghe has cut short with one sudden blow;exultantly he has broken my heart,I who loved him with all my being.'I plead for him, I plead for his life,let him contritely turn his steps to atonement!Let him regain the strength of the beliefthat the Saviour once suffered for him too!TANNHUSERAlas! Wretch that I am!LANDGRAVE, KNIGHTS AND MINSTRELSAn angel has descended from the realms of lightto bring us God's holy message.Look up, vile traitor,and realise your sin!You gave her death, she begs for vour life;who could hear an angel's plea unmoved?Though I may not forgive the sinner,I cannot oppose Heaven's word.TANNHUSERTo lead the sinner to salvationan angel was sent down to me from heaven!But ah, profaning her by my presence,I turned on her a lascivious gaze!O thou, high above this mortal earth,who sent me my guardian angel,have mercy on me, so deep in sin, alas,that to my shame I did not recognise heaven's messenger!Have mercy, o have mercy on me!ELISABETHI plead for him, I plead for his life,let him contritely turn his steps to atonement!Let him regain the strength of the beliefthat the Saviour once suffered for him too!LANDGRAVE, KNIGHTS AND MINSTRELSWhat? What do I see? Elisabeth!The chaste maiden shielding the sinner?LANDGRAVEA fearful misdeed has been committed.Into our midst in treacherous guisethere stole sin's curse-laden son.We cast you out - you shall not dwell among us;through you our hearth is defiled,and heaven itself looks menacingly on this roofwhich sheltered you too long.But one way lies open to save youfrom eternal perdition; though I banish you,I point it out. Take it and save your soul!From my lands a throng of pilgrimshas assembled, intent on penance.The elders have already set forth,the younger are still halted in the valley.Their hearts will give them no peaceeven for more venial sins,and to still the pious promptings of repentancethey go to the shrine of grace in Rome.LANDGRAVE, MINSTRELS AND KNIGHTSWith them you shall travelto the city of gracious mercy,there prostrate yourself in the dustand atone for your sin!Humble yourself before himwho pronounces God's judgement;and never returnuntil you have gained his pardon!Our vengeance we were forced to temperbecause an angel interceded for you,but this sword will smite youif you remain in sin and shame!ELISABETHO God of grace and mercy,let him seek and find thee!Though he has fallen so low,forgive his debt of sin!For him alone will I plead,and spend my life in prayer;let him see thy radiancebefore eternal night claims him!O receive a sacrificemade with fearful joy!Take, o take my life:I count it no longer my own!TANNHUSERHow shall I find pardon,how atone for my sin?I have seen salvation vanish,heaven's mercy withdrawn from me.But I will go forth as a penitent,to beat my breastand kneel in the dust,contrition be my willing lot.O could she but forgive me,my guardian angel,who, so rudely betrayed,yet offers herself as sacrifice for me!PILGRIMSAt the high celebration of God's graceI will humbly expiate my guilt;blessed is he who is steadfast in his faith:through repentance shall he be redeemed,TANNHUSERTo Rome!ELISABETH, LANDGRAVE, KNIGHTS AND MINSTRELSTo Rome!

ACT THREEIntroductionThe Valley in Front of the Wartburg,the HrselbergSCENE ONEWolfram, Pilgrims, ElisabethWOLFRAMI well knew that I would find her here in praver,as I have so often seen her when Ive wanderedalone from the wooded heights into the valley,With the deathblow he dealt her in her heart,racked with burning sorrow,day and night she prays for his salvation:O blessed love, how great thy power!She awaits the pilgrims' return from Rome.The leaves are already falling, soon they will be home.Will he return with them, pardoned?That is her question, that is her prayer;ye holy ones, let it be fulfilled!But if her wound remains unhealed,O grant her some solace!PILGRIMSWith joy, my home, I now behold thee,and gladly greet thy smiling meadows;now I lay down my pilgrim's staff,for, submissive to God, I have made my pilgrimage.By atonement and repentance I have made my peacewith the Lord, to whom my heart bows down,who has crowned my remorse with blessing,the Lord to whom I raise my song.The grace of salvation is granted to the penitent,who shall enter into the peace of heaven!Hell and death cannot affright him,therefore will I praise God all the days of my life.Halleluja for evermore!ELISABETHThat is their song -'tis they, they have returned!Ye holy ones, show me now my task,that I may worthily fulfil it!WOLFRAMIt is the pilgrims - it is the pious hymntelling of grace and mercy received.O heaven, now strengthen her heartfor this crucial moment of her life!ELISABETHHe has not returned!PILGRIMSWith joy, my home, I now behold thee,and gladly greet thy smiling meadows;now I lay down my pilgrim's staff ELISABETHAlmightv Virgin, hear my plea!Queen of glory, to thee I call!Let me turn to dust before thee,O take me from this earth!Let me enter, pure and spotless,into thy blessed kingdom!If ever, engrossed in vain fancies,my heart turned away from thee,if ever a sinful desireor earthly longing rose within me,I strove with untold anguishto stifle it in my heart!Then, though of every fault I am not shriven,turn thy gracious face to me,that I may, a worthy maid,approach thee with humble devotionto implore the rich bountyof thy mercy for his offence!WOLFRAMElisabeth, may I not escort you home?

SCENE TWOWolframWOLFRAMLike a portent of death, twilight shrouds the earthand envelops the valley in its sable robe;the soul, that yearns for those heights,dreads to take its dark and awful flight.There you shine, o fairest of the stars,and shed your gentle light from afar;your friendly beam penetrates the twilight gloomand points the way out from the valley.O my fair evening star,I always gladly greeted thee:from a heart that never betrayed its faithgreet her when she passes,when she soars above this mortal valeto become a blessed angel in heaven!

SCENE THREETannhuser, Wolfram, Venus, Landgrave, Minstrels, Knights, PilgrimsTANNHUSERI heard a harp - how sad a sound!It could not be from her.WOLFRAMWho are you, pilgrim,who wander so alone?TANNHUSERWho am I?But I know you full well;you are Wolfram, the skilled minstrel.WOLFRAMHeinrich! You!What brings you back here? Speak!Do you dare, still unabsolved,to set foot in this region?TANNHUSERHave no fear, worthy minstrel!I seek not you nor any of your company.I seek for one who can show me the way,that way which once I found with such ease.WOLFRAMWhich way is that?TANNHUSERThe way to the Venusberg!WOLFRAMMonster! Do not profane my ear!Is that your goal?TANNHUSERDo you know the way?WOLFRAMMadman! To hear you fills me with horror!Where have you been? Did you not go to Rome?TANNHUSERDo not speak of Rome!WOLFRAMWere you not at the holy service?TANNHUSERSpeak not of that!WOLFRAMWere you not there?Speak, I implore you!TANNHUSERI was indeed in Rome.WOLFRAMThen speak! Tell me all, unhappy man!I am seized with deep compassion for you.TANNHUSERWhat say you, Wolfram? Are you not, then, my foe?WOLFRAMI was never that, while I thought you honourable!But speak! You made your pilgrimage to Rome?TANNHUSERWell then, listen!Wolfram, you shall learn what happened.Wolfram is about to sit by his sideAway from me! Wherever I restis accursed.Now listen, Wolfram, listen well!With a fervour in my heart such as no penitenthad ever felt, I sought the way to Rome.An angel had banishedmy overweening sin of pride:for her sake 1 wished humbly to atone,to beg for the grace once denied me,to lighten for her those tearswhich she once shed for me, a sinner.When at my side the heaviest laden pilgrimtook the road, his burden seemed for me too light:when his foot trod the soft ground of the meadow,my naked sole sought thorns and stones;when he refreshed his lips at some fountain,I drank in the sun's scorching heat;when he offered up his pious prayers to heaven,I shed my blood in praise of God;when in the hospice he eased his weariness,I laid my limbs in snow and ice.With eyes closed, not to see its beauties,I blindly passed through Italy's fair fields.All this I did, wishing to atone in remorse,so as to lighten my angel's tears!Thus I reached Rome and the holy placesand lay in prayer at the threshold of the shrine.Daylight broke, bells pealed,heavenly strains rang out from on high;an ardent cry of joy burst forththat grace and healing were promised to the throng.Then I saw him through whom God speaks;before him all abased themselves in the dust;to thousands he gave his blessing,thousands, pardoned, he bade joyfully arise.Then I too drew near; my head bowed to the groundand beating my breast in sorrow, I confessed my sins,the evil desires that had filled my mind,the longing that no penance yet had stilled;and for deliverance from these burning fettersI cried, pierced with bitter anguish.And he to whom I prayed replied:"If you have felt such sinful desiresand warmed yourself at Hell's fires,if you have dwelt within the Venusberg,you are forever accursed!As this staff in my handwill nevermore put forth a living leaf,so from the burning brand of Hellsalvation never will bloom for you!Then I sank down, crushed and in despair,my senses left me. When I awoke,night had fallen on the empty square,but from afar sounded joyful hymns of praise.The sweet songs sickened me:from the lying sounds of promisewhich pierced my soul with icy chill,horror drove me forth in wild flight.It drove me here, where once I so enjoyedbliss and pleasure on her warm breast!To you, fair Venus, I return,to the sweet darkness of your spell;I will come down to your court,where your charms now shall ever smile on me!WOLFRAMStop, stop, unhappy man!TANNHUSERAh, let me not seek in vain;how easily I once did find you!You hear that by men I am accursed;now, sweet goddess, lead me to you!WOLFRAMMadman, whom are you calling?TANNHUSERHa! Do you not feel gentle breezes?WOLFRAMStay with me, or you are lost!TANNHUSERAnd do you not breathe sweet fragrance?Do you not hear rapturous voices?WOLFRAMMy heart trembles with wild dread.TANNHUSERThat is the dancing host of nymphs!Come on! Come on to bliss and joy!WOLFRAMAlas! Black magic is abroad!Hell's wild course draws near.TANNHUSERRapture surges through my sensesas this roseate glow I see;this is the magic realm of love.Let us away to the Venusberg!VENUSWelcome, fickle man!Did earth reject and banish you?And do you nowhere find compassion,and seek for love in my arms?TANNHUSERO Venus, generous of mercy!To you, to you I am driven!WOLFRAMEnchantments of Hell, away, away!Do not ensnare the hearts of the righteous!VENUSIf you again approach my realm,your pride shall be forgiven;the fount of pleasure will flow for you foreverand never shall you fly from me!TANNHUSERAll hope of salvation is lost to me;now let me choose the delights of Hell!WOLFRAMAlmighty Lord, help thy servant!Heinrich, one word will set you free:your salvation!VENUSO come!TANNHUSERto WolframAway from me!VENUSO come! Be mine now for ever!WOLFRAMYou can still gain pardon for your sins!TANNHUSERNever, Wolfram, never! I must away!WOLFRAMAn angel prayed for you on earth,soon she will send her blessing down to you.VENUSCome to me!WOLFRAMElisabeth!TANNHUSERElisabeth!MINSTRELS AND MALE CHORUSHail to the soul that now has flownfrom the body of this virtuous sufferer!WOLFRAMYour angel pleads for you at God's throne,and her prayer is heard! Heinrich, you are saved!VENUSAlas! Lost to me!From the Wartburg a funeral procession bears an open coffinMINSTRELS AND MALE CHORUSHers be the angels' blessed reward,the rich crown of heavenly joys.WOLFRAMDo you hear the chant?TANNHUSERI hear it!MINSTRELS AND MALE CHORUSBlessed be the pure one, who now standsamong the heaveniv host before the Eternal!Blessed be the sinner for whom she wept,for whom she implored heaven's mercy!Wolfram leads Tannhuser to the coffin, on which he sinksTANNHUSERHoly Elisabeth, pray for me!He dies.PILGRIMScarrying in their midst a priest's staff covered in fresh, green leavesHail! Hail! Hail to this miracle of grace!Salvation to the world is given.In this holy hour of night the Lordhath manifested himself through a miracle.The barren staff in the priest's handhe has decked with fresh green:so to the sinner in Hell's flamesshall redemption bloom anew!Proclaim it through every landthat through this miracle he found grace!God reigns high above the whole world,and his compassion is never sought in vain!Halleluja! HallelujaHalleluja!LANDGRAVE, MINSTRELs, KNIGHTS AND PILGRIMSThe grace of God is granted to the penitent;now he enters into the bliss of heaven!PARSIFALBhnenweihfestspiel ("stage dedication play") in three actsLibrettoRichard WagnerPremiere26 July 1882, Bayreuth (Festspielhaus)CastAMFORTAS (Baritone)TITUREL (Bass)GURNEMANZ (Bass)PARSIFAL (Tenor)KLINGSOR (Baritone)KUNDRY (Soprano)FIRST and SECOND KNIGHTS of the Grail (Tenor/Bass)FIRST and SECOND SQUIRES (Soprano)THIRD and FOURTH SQUIRES (Tenor)A VOICE (Contralto)Klingsor's FLOWER MAIDENS (Soprano/Alto)CHORUSbrotherhood of the knights of the Grail - young men - boysPlaceThe region and castle, "Monsalvat", of the Guardians of the Grail: scenery like that of the northern mountains of Gothic Spain.Later, Klingsor's enchanted castle on the southern slopes of the same mountains, facing Moorish Spain.TimeThe Middle Ages

ACT ONESCENE ONEDomain of the Grail.A forest, shady and forbidding, yet not gloomy. A clearing in the centre. Up left climbs the path to the Grail Castle. The ground slopes away at the back to a deepset forest lake. Daybreak. Gurnemanz, elderly but active, and two esquires of tender age lie sleeping beneath a tree. The solemn reveille of the trumpets rings out left, as from the Grail Castle.GURNEMANZHey there! Forest guardians you,and slumberous guardians at that At least wake up with the morning.You hear the call? Then thank GodThat you have been called to hear it!He kneels with the Esquires, and together they offer up their morning prayer in silence.Now off, my boys! Look to the bath.'Tis time to await the King there.I see the heralds drawing near,Before the litter which bears him.Two Knights appear.Greetings! How is Amfortas today?He has ordered his bath full early.The healing herb that Gawain by guileAnd daring won for him no doubtHas soothed him?SECOND KNIGHTYou who know everything think that?The pains quickly returned to sear the more:Sleepless with the malady,He eagerly gave orders for his bath.GURNEMANZFools are we, to hope for comfort there,Where only cure can ease! For every herb,For every potion, search and huntThrough all the world:One thing alone can help him,One man alone!SECOND KNIGHTThen name him!GURNEMANZTend to the bath!SECOND ESQUIRELook there! Tis she, the wild rider!FIRST ESQUIREHey! The mane of her devil's mare streams out!SECOND KNIGHTAha! Is that Kundry?FIRST KNIGHTShe's sure to bring important tidings.SECOND ESQUIREThe mare stumbles.FIRST ESQUIREDid she fly through the air?SECOND ESQUIRENow she crouches on the ground.FIRST ESQUIREHer mane sweeps the moss.SECOND KNIGHTThe wild woman flings herself off.Kundry rushes in, almost falling. Her garments are wild. Her black hair flies loose.KUNDRYHastening up to Gurnemanz and pressing upon him a small crystal vessel:Here! Take it! Balsam ...GURNEMANZYou brought this from where?KUNDRYFrom further than you can imagine:If the balsam does not help, ArabiaHolds nothing else to cure him. Ask no more!I am weary.A train of Esquires and Knights, bearing and accompanying the litter on which Amfortas lies, enters left.GURNEMANZHe comes, they bear him aloft.Alas! How can I bear to see him,In the pride and flower of his manhoodLord of his conquering race,Now a slave to his malady!Have care! Listen, the King groans.The Esquires halt and lower the litter.AMFORTASSo good! I thank you!A little rest.After a stormy night of pain,Now the morning splendour of the forest!In the sacred lakeThere its wave will surely freshen:Grief is overcome,The night of pain grows light. Gawain!SECOND KNIGHTLord! Gawain did not wait;As the power of his healing herb,Though laboriously won,Did deceive your hopes,He has sped awayTo quest anew.AMFORTASWithout leave! He shall atoneFor keeping thus the Grail's command!Woe betide this bold and daring fellow,Should he fall into Klingsor's snares!Let no man break my peace!I await him who is assigned to me:"By his pity knowing,"Was that not it?GURNEMANZYou told it to us so.AMFORTAS"The pure fool."Methinks I know him now:I would call him Death!GURNEMANZHanding Kundry's phial to AmfortasBut first try once more with this!AMFORTASWhence came this strange vessel?GURNEMANZFor you it was brought from Arabia.AMFORTASAnd who procured it?GURNEMANZThere she lies the wild woman.Get up, Kundry! Come!AMFORTASYou Kundry?Must I thank you once again,You shy and restless maid?Very well, I'll try this balsam,As thanks for your loyalty.KUNDRYNot thanks! Ha ha! What will it help!Not thanks! Away! Away to the bath!Amfortas gives the signal to move off; the retinue disappears.THIRD ESQUIREHey, you there!Why d'you lie there like a wild beast?KUNDRYAre not beasts sacred here?THIRD ESQUIREYes! But as yet we know notWhether you are sacred.FOURTH ESQUIREWith her magic potion I'm sureShe'll ruin the Master completely.GURNEMANZHm! What harm has she ever done you?When all stand uncertainHow to send tidings to Brothers fightingIn far off lands and hardly knowing where,Who, before you are resolved,Storms away, flies there and back,Tending the message with care and devotion?You do not keep her, she ne'er comes near,She's nothing in common with you:Yet when in danger there's need of help,Her zeal bears her like an arrow through the air,Nor does she ever ask for thanks.I say if this is harm,'Twould do you some good.THIRD ESQUIREBut she hates us; seeHow spitefully she looks at us!FOURTH ESQUIREA heathen she is, a sorceress.GURNEMANZYes, under a curse she may be.Today she lives here, perhaps anew,To atone for guilt in her earlier life,Still unforgiven.If now she atones with deedsWhich aid our Knighthood,Then she does well and truly,Serves us and helps herself.THIRD ESQUIREThen perhaps it is her guiltWhich has brought us so much distress?GURNEMANZYes, whene'er she long did stay away,Then misfortune broke upon us.And I've known her long:But Titurel. has known her longer.While building the castle there,He found her sleeping in the undergrowth,Benumbed, lifeless as if dead.And thus I myself did lately find her,When the disaster scarce had struck,Whereby the evil one across the mountainsBrought us to disgrace.to Kundry:Ho! You! Listen: tell meWhere you were roamingWhen our master lost the spear?Why did you not help us then?KUNDRYI never help.FOURTH ESQUIREShe says so herself.THIRD ESQUIREIf she's so true, in battle so bold,Then send her for the missing Spear!GURNEMANZThat's another matter to all it is forbidden.Oh wonder of wonders, holy Spear!I saw thee wielded by unholiest hand!Armed with that, Amfortas -Most bold, who could prevent yourMastering the sorcerer?Close by the castle, the warrior was drawn from us:A wondrous lovely maid bewitched him.In her arms he lay entranced;The Spear dipped toward him - -A deathly cry!I rushed upon the scene,And, laughing, Klingsor disappeared,The holy Spear he had wrested.Covering the King's flight I gave battle,But a wound was burning in his side,This wound it is that will never close.THIRD ESQUIREto Gurnemanz:Then you knew Klingsor?GURNEMANZto the returning Esquires:How is the King?FIRST EsQUIREThe bath has freshened him.SECOND EsQUIREThe pain yielded to the balm.GURNEMANZaside:This wound it is that will never close!THIRD ESQUIREBut tell us all about it, sir;You knew Klingsor how was that?GURNEMANZTiturel, the bold warrior, he knew him well.To him, when savage foe with might and guileMenaced the realm of holy faith,To him there came in the fastness of nightThe blessed messengers of the Saviour:The sacredcup from which He drankAt the last meal of Love, this holy noble goblet,Into which on the Cross His Blood divine did flow,And the Spear that shed it,This highest gem of the witnesstreasures,They gave into our sovereign's care.A shrine he built for the sacred relic.And you who are assembled in its service,Brought here by ways unfound by sinners,You know that only to the pureIs it granted to joinThe Brothers, strengthened for Salvation'sHighest works by the Grail's wondrous power.Thus to him, of whom you ask, to Klingsor,it was denied, however much he toiled.There in the valley he had settled;Beyond lies rank heathenland:I never knew how he there had sinned,But now he wished to atone, even become holy.Unable to still the sin within,The hand of violence he laid upon himselfThen turned toward the Grail The Guardian drove him off with scorn.At this, Klingsor's fury taught himHow his act of ignoble sacrificeMight lead to evil sorcery:This he soon found.The wilderness he made into a garden of bliss,Wherein there grow women of devilish grace;There he awaits the Knight of the Grail,With evil intent and horrors of hell:Whom he entices is won:Many already he has ruined for us.When Titurel, stricken in years,Gave his realm to his son,Amfortas, illcontent,Dared to end the witching plague.What happened then, you know:The Spear is now in Klingsor's hand;With that, even saints he can wound,Already he thinks the Grail is torn from us!FOURTH ESQUIREThen first of all: the Spear shall return!THIRD ESQUIREHa! 'Twere fame and glory to him who brought it back!GURNEMANZBefore the deserted shrineIn fervent prayer Amfortas lay,Beseeching a sign of deliverance;A blessed radiance flowed then from the Grail;A holy visionNow clearly speaks to himBy signs of words brightly beheld:"By his pity knowing, the pure fool,Wait for him whom I have chosen."THE FOUR ESQUIRESBy his pity knowing,The pure fool From the lake is heard shouting. Gurnemanz and the four Esquires start up and turn in alarm.KNIGHTS AND EsQUIRESShame! Shame! Hoho! Away!Who caused this outrage?A wild swan flutters struggling from the lake, followed on stage by Esquires and Knights.GURNEMANZWhat's wrong?FOURTH ESQUIREThere!THIRD ESQUIREHere!SECOND ESQUIREA swan!FOURTH ESQUIREA wild swan!THIRD ESQUIREAnd wounded!ALL KNIGHTS AND ESQUIRESHa shame! Shame!GURNEMANZWho shot the swan?After a painful flight, the swan sinks exhausted to theground; the Second Knight draws an arrow from its breast.FIRST KNIGHTThe King hailed it as a happy omen,As it circled o'er the lake Then an arrow sped ...Knights and Esquires lead Parsifal in.KNIGHTSHe it was! His the shot! -And this the bow!SECOND KNIGHTHere's the arrow, just like his.GURNEMANZAre you he that felled this swan?PARSIFALOf course! I hit everything in flight!GURNEMANZYou did that?And had you no fear at the deed?KNIGHTS AND ESQUIRESPunish the miscreant!GURNEMANZAn unheardof act!Could you murder, here, in the holy forest,Whose quiet peace embraced you?Did not the beasts of the thicket approach you tamely?With greetings both friendly and true?What sang the birds from the branches to you?How did the good swan harm you?Seeking his mate, he flew aloft,To circle with her above the lake,Which thus he made a consecrated bath.Did you not wonder at it?Were you tempted only to a wild and childish shot?It was our friend: what is it to you?Come! Look! Here you struck it,The blood still thickens,Dully hang its wings,Its snowy plumage darkly stained,Dimmed its eye do you see the look?Parsifal has listened to Gurnemanz with growing emotion:now he snaps his bow and hurls the arrow from him.Are you conscious of your sinful deed?Speak, boy! D'you realise your great guilt?How could you do it?PARSIFALI did not know.GURNEMANZWhere are you from?PARSIFALI know not.GURNEMANZWho is your father?PARSIFALI know not.GURNEMANZWho sent you this way?PARSIFALI know not.GURNEMANZYour name then?PARSIFALI had many,But I no longer know them.GURNEMANZYou know nothing at all?So dull a person I've never found, save Kundry!to the EsquiresNow go! Neglect not the King's bath!Your help!The Esquires reverently lift the dead swan onto a litter offresh twigs and leave with it towards the lake. Finally onlyGurnemanz and Parsifal remain, with Kundry to one side.GURNEMANZturning again to Parsifal:Now speak: you know nothing of what I ask;Now tell me what you do know For surely you must know something.PARSIFALI have a mother; Herzeleide is her name.In the wood and in wild grassland was our home.GURNEMANZWho gave you the bow?PARSIFALI made it myself to chaseThe wild eagle from the forest.GURNEMANZYet you appear noble and highly born,Why did not your motherHave you taught better weapons?As Parsifal pauses, Kundry calls out in a rough voice.KUNDRYFatherless his mother bore him;When Gamuret was slain in battle!To save her sonFrom that same untimely hero's death,In the wilderness, and ignorant of arms,She reared him as a fool As fool she was!PARSIFALYes!And once by the forest edgeRode splendid menOn beasts of beauty:I wished to be like them:They laughed and sped away.I ran after,But could not overtake them.Through desert I came,O'er hill, down dale;Oft was it night, then again day:My bow had to protect me'Gainst wild beast and giants ...KUNDRYYes! Thieves and giants met his strength;The stripling they learned to fear.PARSIFALWho fears me? Tell me!KUNDRYThe wicked!PARSIFALThose that menaced me, were they wicked?Who is good?GURNEMANZYour mother, from whom you've run away,Who now grieves and mourns for you.KUNDRYHer grief is ended: his mother is dead!PARSIFALDead? My mother? Who says this!KUNDRYI was riding past and saw her die:She bade me greet you fool.Parsifal springs at Kundry in a rage, seizing her by the throat. Gurnemanz restrains him.GURNEMANZAre you mad, boy! More violence?What harm has she done you? She spoke true;For Kundry never lies, whate'er she's seen.PARSIFALseized with violent trembling:I feel faint!Seeing Parsifal's condition, Kundry at once hastens to a spring in the wood and brings a horn of water which she sprinkles over him and then gives him to drink.GURNEMANZWell done! That accords with the mercy of the Grail.Who pays ill with good o'ercomes it.KUNDRYI never do good.Sadly she turns away, and whilst like a father, Gurnemanz tends Parsifal, she creeps unobserved by either towards a thicket in the wood.All I want is rest,Only rest Im oh so weary.Sleep! Oh that none would wake me! No!starting in fear:Not sleep!Terror grips me!She begins to tremble violently, then her arms fall listlessly.Powerless to resist!The time has come.Sleep - sleep I must!Kundry sinks down behind the bushes and from now on remains unobserved. Meanwhile there is a movement from the direction of the lake and at last can be seen the retinue of Knights and Esquires returning home with the litter.GURNEMANZThe King returns from bathing;The sun stands high:Now let me lead youTo the holy Meal,For if you are pure,The Grail will giveYou food and drink.Gurnemanz has gently laid Parsifal's arm about his neck, and, with his own arm about the boy's body, he leads him slowly: here the scene begins imperceptibly to change.PARSIFALWho is the Grail?GURNEMANZThere's no saying; butIf you are the chosen one,The knowledge shall not escape you. And lo!Methinks I knew you aright:No way leads through the land to it,And no one could find it,Save the Grail lead him here.PARSIFALI hardly move,Yet far I seem to have come.GURNEMANZYou see, my son, timeChanges here to space.The woods disappear, and in a rocky wall, there opens a gateway through which they pass. Trumpets. A peal of bells, swelling and dying. Gumemanz and Parsifal enter the mighty Hall of Grail Castle.GURNEMANZNow take good heed and let me see,If you be a fool and pure,What knowledge may be granted you.

SCENE TWOA hall of columns, with a cupola spanning the refectory. At both sides of the background, the doors are open, from the right enter the Knights of the Grail, who line up around the diningtables.KNIGHTS OF THE GRAILAt the last Meal of Love,Prepared day by day,A procession of Esquires quickly crosses the scene.As at the last Supper,May it mfort us todayA second procession of Esquires crosses the scene.For whom a good deed gladdens,The meal will be renewed:Let him draw nigh refreshment,Receive the highest gift.The assembled Knights arrange themselves at the dining-tables, Amfortas is borne in upon a litter by Esquires and serving Brothers. Before him four Esquires bear the veiled shrine of the Grail. An oblong stone table, upon which the boys place the veiled shrine.YOUTHSFor the sinful world,With a thousand pains,As once His Blood did flow,Now to Him the SaviourWith joyful heartMy blood be shed:The Body He gave in expiationLives on in us by His Death!BOYSThe Faith liveth,The Dove soareth,The Saviour's gracious Herald:Enjoy the wine,Flowing for you,And take of the Bread of Life!When all have taken their places, a general silence falls, and from the depths of a vaulted niche behind Amfortas' couch is heard the voice of old Titurel, as though from the grave.TITURELAmfortas, my son, are you in your place?Shall I see the Grail once more and live?Must I die, unguided by the Saviour?AMFORTASWoe! Woe is me the pain!My father, oh! Once more perform this office yourself!Live, live, and let me die!TITURELIn the tomb I live by the Saviour's Grace:Too weak am I to serve him.Wipe out your guilt in service!Reveal the Grail!AMFORTASNo! Leave it covered!Oh, may no one know the tormentWhich this sight in me arouses,Yet you delights!What is the wound,The fury of its pain'Gainst the distress, the hellish pangsOf being condemned to this office!Woeful lot that I have inherited,That I, the only sinner among them all,Should tend the Holy of Holies,Should beseech its blessing on the pure!Oh judgment! Peerless judgmentOf the alas! offendect merciful One!For Him and for His Sacred greetingMust I longing yearn;From the redeeming penance of my inmost soulMust I reach out to Him.The hour draws near: a ray of lightDescends upon the holy relic The covering falls.The liquid divine of the sacred CupGlows with brilliant power;Thrilled by the pangs of most blissful joy,I feel the spring of holiest bloodFlow into my heart:My own sinful blood Crazily surging Must then flow back in me,Gush with savage dreadInto the world of sinful lust;Anew it bursts its boundsAnd forth it streams,Here through the wound, so like to this,Inflicted by that same Lance's thrust,That opened the Redeemer's wound,Through which, with tears of blood,The One Divine wept o'er Man's disgraceIn pity's holy longing,And now from me, in holiest office,The guardian of godliest treasures,Custodian of redemption's balm,There wells my hot and sinful blood,Ever replenished from the spring of yearning,Alas, by repentance never staunched!Have mercy! Have mercy!Thou All Merciful! Have mercy!Take my heritage, heal the wound,That holy I may die, pure and whole in Thee!BOYS AND YOUTHSBy his pity knowing, the pure fool:Await him whom I have chosen!KNIGHTSThus was it promised to you; wait consoled,This day perform your office!TITURELReveal the Grail!Amfortas raises himself slowly and painfully. The boys uncover the golden shrine and take from it an antique crystal goblet and set it before Amfortas.VOICESTake this my Body,Take this my Blood,In token of our Love!As Amfortas bows reverently in silent prayer before the chalice, a deepening twilight spreads through the hall becoming utter darkness.BOYS"Take this my Blood,Take this my Body,In remembrance of me!"Here a dazzling ray of light from above falls on the crystal goblet which now glows, with a purple brilliance, casting everywhere a gentle light. Amfortas, with transfigured expression, raises the Grail aloft and proffers it on every side, whereupon he consecrates bread and wine. All are kneeling.TITURELOh heavenly bliss, how brightlyGreets this day our Lord!Amfortas sets the Grail down: It grows dimmer: the boys replace it in the shrine and cover it as before. Daylight returns.BOYSWine and Bread of that Last Supper,Once the Lord of the Grail did change,Through compassion's mighty LoveTo the Blood, which He did shed,To the Body, which He gave.The four Esquires now take from the altartable the two pitchers of wine and baskets of bread, previously blessed by Amfortas with the GrailChalice. They distribute the bread to the Knights and fill their cups with wine; the Knights sit down to table, including Gurnemanz who keeps a seat vacant by him and with a gesture invites Parsifal to take part in the meal. Parsifal, however, remains standing to one side, stiff and motionless, as though completely entranced.YOUTHSBlood and Body of the holy giftNow changes to refresh you.Through the loving spirit of blessed solace,To the Wine, poured out for you,To the Bread, given for you to eat.KNIGHTSTake of the Bread,Change it boldlyInto body's power and strength,True unto death,Steadfast in labour,To do the Saviour's works!Take of the Wine,Change it anewInto fiery blood of life,Gladly united,Brotherly true,To fight with valour blessed!KNIGHTS, YOUTHS AND BOYSBlessed in faith and love!Blessed in faith!Amfortas now bows his head and holds his hand to the wound which bleeds afresh. Amfortas and holy shrine are borne away. The Knights form a solemn procession and slowly leave the hall. The doors are closed. Parsifal still stands unmoving, as if transfixed.GURNEMANZPeevishly approaching Parsifal and shaking his arm:Why are you still here?D'you know what you have seen?Parsifal clutches at his heart and then slightly nods his head.GURNEMANZvery annoyed:You are nothing but a fool!opens a narrow sidedoor:Out with you, be on your way!But my advice is:In future leave the swans in peace,A gander needs a goose!He pushes Parsifal out and slams the door behind him.A VOICE"By his pity knowing, the poor fool."VOICESBlessed in faith!

ACT TWOKlingsor's Magic CastleInside the inner keep of a tower, open above. Steps lead up to the crenellated edge of the towerwall. Magic and necromantic paraphernalia.KLINGSORSeated in front of a metal mirror:The time has come.Already my magic castle lures the foolI see approaching from afar, childishly exultant!In a sleep of death my curse does hold her fast,Its grip can only I relax.Up then! To work!He calls into the blackness below with mysterious gestures.Arise! Arise! To me!Your Master calls you, nameless one,Shedevil of old! Rose of Hell!Herodias you were and what besides?Gundryggia there, Kundry here!Come here! Here, I say! Kundry!Your master calls: arise!Kundry rises. She appears to be asleep.You awaken? Ha! Again in good timeYou have fallen beneath my spell.Tell me, where have you been roving again?Tut tut! Among that set of knightsWhere they treat you like a beast!Don't you like it better with me?When you had captured their master for me Haha! that chaste guardian of the Grail! What drove you forth again?KUNDRYOh! Oh! Deep night ...Madness ... Oh! Rage ...Oh lament! Sleep ... Sleep ...Deep sleep ... Death!KLINGSORThen someone woke you, eh?KUNDRYYes ... my curse.Oh ... ! Yearning ... Yearning ... !KLINGSORHaha! For those saintly knights?KUNDRYThere ... there ... I served.KLINGSORYes to repair the harmYou maliciously brought on them?They'll not help; venal are they all,If I offer them the right price:The strongest falls when he sinks in your arms,And so falls to the SpearI wrested from their master himself.Now we've the most dangerous of all to conquer:The shield of foolishness protects him.KUNDRYI will not. Oh ... Oh!KLINGSORIndeed you will for you must.KUNDRYYou... cannot ... hold me.KLINGSORBut I can grip you.KUNDRYYou? ...KLINGSORYour master.KUNDRYBy what power?KLINGSORHa! Because only gainst meIs your power as naught.KUNDRYHaha! Are you chaste?KLINGSORWhy d'you ask, accursed wench?What fearful fate!Laughs the devil at me now,Because I once strived for holiness?What fearful fate!The torture of unbridled longing,The hellish goad of monstrous impulse,Which I compelled to a death of silence,Does it now laugh and mockThrough you, the devil's bride?Beware! Already there's one who paysFor his scorn and contempt, the proud one,Strong in his sanctity,Who once rejected me:His race fell to me; unredeemedShall the guardian of the Holies languish,And soon, I think,I shall guard the Grail myself.Haha! Did you like Amfortas the warrior,Whom I gave to you in bliss?KUNDRYOh! Lament! Lament! Weak even he,Weak are they all, all fallen with meBeneath the curse!Oh eternal sleep, the only salvation,How, how can I win thee?KLINGSORHa! He that defies you will set you free:Try it on the boy who approaches!KUNDRYI will not!KLINGSORAlready he climbs the stronghold.KUNDRYOh! Woe! Woe! Did I awake for this?Must I? Must?KLINGSORHa! He is fair, the boy!KUNDRYOh! Oh! Woe is me!KLINGSORHo! You Guardians! Ho! Knights!Warriors arise! The foe is near!Ha! How they storm to the ramparts,These deluded serfs,To protect their lovely witches!So! Courage! Courage! Haha!He fears them not:He has seized the sword of the warrior Ferris,And wields it now with might against the host.How badly the fools fare 'neath his ardour!One he slashed in the arm, another in the thigh!Aha! They give way!Kundry vanishes.They flee!Each has a wound to carry home!How willingly I grant you it!May thus the whole breed of knightsSlaughter themselves!Ha! How proudly he stands upon the ramparts!How the roses in his cheeks do bloom,As like a child he gapesAt the sight of the solitary garden!Hey! Kundry!He cannot see her.What? Already at work?Haha! The spell I chose well,Which ever summons you to my service!You there, childish boy,Let prophecies say what they will,Too young and stupid,You fall into my power:Strip you of your purity And then you are mine!He sinks rapidly with the whole tower: immediately, the magic garden rises into view. It is bounded at the back by the battlements of the citadel wall. On the wall stands Parsifal, gazing down in wonder into the garden. From all directions lovely maidens rush in. They are clad in veils of delicate hues, hastily wrapped about them, as if they had just been startled from sleep.FLOWERMAIDENSHere The noise came from here! -Weapons wild cries Who is theevil one? Alas! where isthe evil one? Revenge! My beloved was wounded Where shall I find my own? I awoke alone! Where have they fled? Where is my beloved? Where shall I find my own? I awoke alone! Where are our darlings? Within the palace! Woe! Oh Woe! We saw them, their woundsableeding.Let's help them! Who is our foe? They see Parsifal and point him out.There he stands! -Look, there he is! There! -Where? There! There! -I saw it With my Ferris'sword in his hand! He stormedthe citadel! I heard theMaster's horn. Yes, we heard hishorn. I saw my sweetheart'sblood. My warriorcame. They allcame. They all came,yet each his sword did strike! -Woe! Woe! He felled mybeloved. He struck myfriend. The sword still drips with blood! -My darling's foe! Why bringsuch disaster? You there! Oh woe! -Oh woe! What a disaster! -Accursed you shall be!Parsifal leaps down into the garden.Ha! You are bold! How dare you approach?Why did you strike down our lovers?PARSIFALYou lovely children,Was I not forced to strike them?They barred the wayTo you, my fair ones.FLOWERMAIDENSYou wanted to get to us? -Have you seen us before?PARSIFALNeer have I seen so pretty a group:If I call you beautiful, does that seem fitting?FLOWERMAIDENSThen you will not strike us?Won't strike us?PARSIFALThat I would not.FLOWERMAIDENSYet great injury you've done us,- great and much! -You struck down our playmates!Who will play with us now?PARSIFALI'll do that gladly!The girls burst into gay laughter. One group slips away unnoticed behind the flowerhedges to complete their floral garb.FLOWERMAIDENSIf you are our friend,Stray not far from us. -And if you do not scold us,We will make it up to you:We do not play for gold -We play for love's reward. -If you think to comfort us,Comfort you must gain from us!The girls of the first group return, looking just like flowers, and throw themselves at Parsifal.FLOWERMAIDENSLeave the boy! -He's mine! No! No! -No! Mine!THE OTHER MAIDENSOh how cunning!They dressed up in secret!Oh how cunning!

The rest of the girls leave the scene to bedeck themselves similarly.Come! Come! Fair lad!Come! Come! Let me bloom for you!Come, to refresh and delight youShall be my labour of love!Come, fair lad!The 2nd group returns.Come, come, fair lad!Let me bloom for you,To delight and refresh youShall be my labour of love!PARSIFALHow fragrant and fair!Are you then flowers?FLOWERMAIDENSThe jewels of the garden, fragrant spirits,Plucked in the spring by our master!Here we grow 'neath the summersun,Blissfully blooming for you.So be kind and gentle with us!Do not stint the flower's reward!If you cannot love and cherish us,We wither and die.Take me to your breast!Come, fair lad!Let me blossom for you!Let me cool your brow!Let me touch your cheek!Let me kiss your lips! -No! I! I am the fairest. -No! I am the fairest! -I am fairer! -No! My fragrance is sweeter -No! I! -Yes! I! -PARSIFALgently repulsing their graceful advances:You wild throng of flowers fair,If I am to play with you, then give me room!FLOWERMAIDENSWhy struggle?PARSIFALBecause you quarrel.FLOWERMAIDENSWe quarrel over you.PARSIFALThen don't!FLOWERMAIDENSLet him go see, he wants me! -Me rather! No, me! -No, he wants me! YouKeep me away? You driveme off? You drive me away? -What, are you afraid of women? -Can you not trust yourself? -You are naughty to be hesitant and cold!Would you have the flowers woo the butterfly? -So hesitant and cold! -How cold he is! How hesitant!Away! Let's leave the fool!We give him up for lost.Yet'he is our chosen one!No, ours! No, ours! -No, he belongs to me! -No, he belongs to us! -Hes mine! Yes, mine!etc.No, ours! Yes, ours!etc.PARSIFALLeave me! You'll not trap me!KUNDRYParsifal! Stay!PARSIFALabout to flee, he hears Kundry's voiceParsifal?Once my mother called me that in a dream.The girls start at the sound of Kundry's voice and immediately leave Parsifal.KUNDRYStay, Parsifal!Bliss and happiness together greet you.Childish flirts, leave him alone;Flowers soon to fade, he wasNot meant for your sport.Go home tend the wounded,Many lonely knights await you.FLOWERMAIDENSLeave you! Avoid you!Oh shame! What torment!Woe! Willingly we'd forsake all othersTo be alone with you.Farewell! Fair and proud -fool!The girls disappear laughing into the castle. Through the opened hedge, there appears a youthful woman of great beauty Kundry, in a completely different form lying on a bed of flowers, clad in a revealing, fanciful garment.PARSIFALHave I dreamt all this?Did you call me who have no name?KUNDRYI named you, foolish pure one, "Falparsi",You, pure fool: "Parsifal".Thus, as he died in Arabian land,Your father Gamuret called to his son;Greeting him, still within his mother's womb,With this name upon his deathbed.To tell you this I tarried here:What drew you here, if not the wish to know?PARSIFALNe'er have I seen or dreamed what I now behold -And it fills me with dread.Did you also bloom in this grove of flowers?KUNDRYNo, Parsifal foolish and pure!Far, far away is my home.Only that you might find me have I tarried here;From far off I came, and much have seen.I saw the child at its mother's breast,Its earliest gurgles laugh still in my ear.With sorrow in her heart, how evenHerzeleide did laugh then too,When the delight of her eyes offered joy to her pain.Softly couched in gentle mosses,Caressing, she lulled him to sleep;Fearful in care,Her motherly yearning watched o'er his slumbers;In the morning he wokeTo the warm dew of his mother's tears.All tears she was, child of sorrow,Tears for the love and the death of your father.To guard you against like perilsWas her highest duty's command.Far from arms, the strife and fury of warriors,She hoped to hide and shelter you in peace.Ever caring she was and oh so fearful:Ne'er must you learn anything.Can you not still hear the cry of her lament,When late and far you lingered?Oh what joy and laughter it gave herWhen, searching, she caught you!As her arm fiercely clasped you,Were you not frightened at her kisses?Yet her grief you perceived not,Nor the surging of her pain,When at last you did not returnAnd all trace of you was lost.She waited day and night,Until her wailing ceased:Her grief consumed the pain,She courted silent death:Sorrow broke her heart -And Herzeleide died.PARSIFALSinks, shocked and overcome with pain, at Kundry's feet.Alas! Alas! What have I done? Where was I?Mother! Sweet, gentle mother!Your son, your son has to be your murderer!Oh fool! Stupid, blundering fool!Where were you roaming, oblivious of her? -Oblivious of you you.Dearest beloved mother!KUNDRYHave you ne'er known pain,Then comfort's balm has ne'er refreshed your heart;This calamity you bemoan,This distress, now atone for it in the comfortWhich love offers you.PARSIFALMy mother, my mother,Could I forget you!Oh what else have I forgotten?What have I ever remembered?Dull folly alone dwells within me.Kundry gently touches Parsifal's ternples and slips an arm confidingly about his neck.KUNDRYConfession will end guilt with remorse,And the knowledge will turn folly into sense.Learn to know the loveThat enveloped Gamuret,When Herzeleide's searing passionSeized him!She who gave you body and life,And before whom death and folly must flinch,She offers you today, as the last greeting ofA mother's blessing, the first kiss of love!She now presses her lips to his mouth in a long kiss. At this, Parsifal suddenly starts up with a gesture of extreme fear: he clutches at his heart, as though to overcome a rending pain.PARSIFALAmfortas! The wound! The wound!It burns in my side! Oh wailing! wailing!A terrible wailingCries from the depths of my heart.Oh! Oh wretch! Most miserable!The wound I saw bleeding,And now it bleeds in me!Here here!No! No! 'Tis not the wound.May its blood pour forth in streams!Here! Here, the torch in my heart!The longing, the terrible longingThat seizes me in all my being and compels!Oh torment of love! How everything shudders,Quakes and twitches in sinful desires!My gaze is fixed upon the Holy Cup:The Holy Blood glows:Redemption's bliss, divinely mild,Thrills every soul, far and near:Only in this heart will the torment not yield.I hear the Saviour's lament,The lament, oh the lamentO'er the desecrated sanctuary:"Deliver, rescue meFrom guilt-stained hands!"Thus cried the godly lamentThundering loud to my soul.And I, the fool, the coward,I fled to wild and childish deeds!Despairingly he throws himself upon his knees.Redeemer! Saviour! Lord of Grace!How may I, sinner, erase my guilt?KUNDRYOh warrior promised! Flee from madness!Look up, be kind to your darling who comes to you!Parsifal gazes up at Kundry, whilst she stoops over him with the caresses he now describes.PARSIFALYes! This voice! So she called to him;And that look, I know it well -And this one too, laughing at him so turbulently;Yes thus her lips trembled for him,Thus did her neck bendAnd her head boldly rise;Thus fluttered her tresses,Thus she slipped an arm about his neck,Gently caressed his check;In league with every torture,Her mouth kissed away the salvation of his soul!Ha! this kiss!Destroyer! Away from me!For ever, ever from me!KUNDRYCruel! If in your heart you feelOnly the pains of others,Then now feel mine!If you are a redeemer,What prevents you, fiend,From uniting us in salvation?For eternities I've watched for you,The saviour, come oh so late!Whom once I dared to scorn.Oh if you but knew the curse,That in sleep and waking,Death and life, pain and laughter,Steeled me anew for fresh sorrows,The curse that racks my being without cease!I saw Him - Him -And laughed ...Then his glance fell on me!Now from world to world I seek him,To meet him once again.In dire distress I feel his eye is near,His gaze resting upon me.Then that accursed laugh returns:A sinner sinks into my arms!Then I laugh and laugh and cannot weep,But only shriek and shout, rage and rantIn the darkness of ever recurring madness,From which remorseful I scarce awake.For whom I yearned in mortal pining,Whom I acknowledged, the stupid, the scorned:Let me weep upon his breast,Let me but spend one hour with you,And, though by God and world rejected,Be absolved and redeemed!PARSIFALFor all eternity you would be damnedWith me, if for one hourI were to forget my missionIn your embrace!For your salvation too I am sent,If you will but turn from desire.The cleansing that shall end your suffering,Comes not from the spring from which that flows;Salvation shall never be granted youUntil that spring dries up within you.'Twas another thing, another alas!For which I saw pining in griefThe Brothers there, in terrible need,Torturing, slaying themselves.But who can know it clearly,The true source of the one salvation?Oh misery, flight of all deliverance!Oh darkness of worldly fancy:In hot pursuit of highest salvation,To pine for the spring of perdition!KUNDRYThen it was my kissThat made you see so much, so clearly?The full embrace of my loveAids you then to reach the Godhead.Redeem the world, if this be your office:If that hour made you a god,Then for it let me be eternally damnedAnd my wound never heal!PARSIFALRedemption, wanton, I offer you as well.KUNDRYLet me love you, godly one,Then would you give me redemption.PARSIFALLove and redemption shall be yours,If you but show me the way to Amfortas.KUNDRYYou shall never find him!Fallen, let him perish,The wretch, greedy for shame,Whom I laughing scorned haha!His own Spear felled him!PARSIFALWho dared wound him with the holy weapon?KUNDRYHe ... He ... who once punished my laughter:His curse, ha, it gives me strength;Against even you Ill call the Spear,If you honour that sinner with pity!Ha, madness!Pity! Pity me!One hour be mine!And one hour let me be yours ...And you shall be shown the way!She tries to embrace him. He thrusts her violently from him.PARSIFALGo, wretched woman!Kundry rises in wild wrath and calls into the background.KUNDRYHelp! Help! To me!Seize the impudent fellow! To me!Bar his path!Bar his way!And were you to escape from here,And find all the ways in the world,The way you seek,that You shall not find:For the paths and waysThat lead you from me,I curse them for you:Wander! Wander!Be like me!I give you to him for company!Klingsor has appeared on the wall. He aims a spear at Parsifal.KLINGSORStand still! I've the right weapon to hold you!His master's Spear shall fix the fool!He hurls the Spear, which hovers over Parsifal's head.PARSIFALgrasping the SpearWith this sign I banish your magic:Just as it shall heal the woundYou caused with it,In rack and ruinShall it now destroy this fraudulent luxury!He swings the spear in the sign of the Cross: the castle collapses as if through an earthquake. The garden rapidly shrivels to a desert; Kundry falls with a shriek. Parsifal, hastening away, pauses on the height of the ruined wall and turns back to Kundry.PARSIFALYou know where you can find me again!Kundry raises herself and gazes after him.

ACT THREEA pleasant spring landscape in the Grail's domain. Gently rising flowery meadows. At the forest edge in the foreground, a spring; a simple hermit's hut. It is early morning. Gurnemanz, grown very old and dressed as a hermit, but for the tunic of a Knight of the Grail, comes out of the hut and listens.GURNEMANZFrom over there the groaning came.No beast wails so pitifully,Especially on this, the holiest of mornings.Hollow groaning of Kundry's voiceMethinks I know this cry of lament.He strides up to the thorny thicket, and wrenches the bushes apart.Ha! She here again?The rough and wintry thornsHave kept her hidden how long I wonder?Up! Kundry! Up!The winter's fled and springs is here!Awake! Awake to spring!Cold and stiff! This timeI would have thought her dead;And yet it was her groaning I heard!Gurnemanz rubs Kundry's hands and temples vigorously as she lies stiffly stretched out before him. At last life seems to waken in her she awakens fully. The wildness has vanished from her expression and bearing. She rises, arranges her hair and dress and moves away like a maid in service.GURNEMANZCrazy woman! Have you no word for me?Is this my thanks for rousing youOnce more from the sleep of death?KUNDRYTo serve to serve.GURNEMANZThat will not trouble you:There are no more messages to send -Each finds herbs and roots for himself.This we learned in the forest from the beasts.Kundry sees the hut and enters.How differently she moves than of old!Has the holy day brought this about?Oh peerless day of grace.In truth, for her salvation I was able this dayTo drive the sleep of death from this poor thing.Kundry comes out of the hut; she carries a pitcher; glancing into the wood, she sees someone approaching and turns to Gurnemanz.GURNEMANZWho's that approaching the sacred spring?Kundry goes slowly into the hut with her filled pitcher and sets to work.In forbidding accoutrements of war?He is not of the Brothers?From the wood, Parsifal appears, encased in black armour, with closed visor and lowered spear. He slowly approaches and sits down on the little grassy mound by the spring.Hail, my guest!Have you lost your way? Shall I direct you?Parsifal gently shakes his head.Have you no greeting to offer me?Eh? What? If your vowsConstrain you to silence,Mine bid meTell you what is proper.Here you are on hallowed ground:So one does not come here with arms,Visor closed and with shield and spear;And on this day of all! Know you notWhich holy day this is?Parsifal shakes his head.Hm! Then where are you from?'Mong what heathen have you tarried,Not to know that todayIs the holiest of holies, Good Friday?Lay aside your weapons quickly!Grieve not the Lord who this day,Defenceless, gave his holy bloodIn expiation of the sins of the world!After further silence, Parsifal thrusts the Spear into the ground before him, lays down his sword and shield in front of it and opens his helmet, which he removes from his head and places with the weapons; then he kneels in silent prayer before the Spear.GURNEMANZsoftly to KundryYou recognize him? He it wasThat once slew a swan.Kundry gently nods her affirmation.Indeed, 'tis he the foolWhom I drove away in anger.Ha! What paths has he found?That Spear, I know it.Oh that I should wakeTo see this holiest day!Parsifal rises slowly from his prayer, recognizes Gurnemanz and gives him his hand in greeting.PARSIFALHow glad I am to find you again!GURNEMANZThen you still remember me?You still know me,Bowed with grief and care?How did you come today from where?PARSIFAL'Long paths of error and sufferingI have come;Can I at last believe myself free of them,Now that I hear again the rustling of this forest,And greet you anew, old friend? ...Or do I stray still?Everything seems changed.GURNEMANZThen tell me to whom you seek the way?PARSIFALTo him whose deep lamentI once did hear with foolish wonder,To whom I now deem myselfChosen to bring redemption.Yet alas! neer findingRedemption's path, in pathless wanderingsI was driven about by a savage curse:Countless perils, battles and conflictsForced me from the path,Just when I thought to find it.Then would I despairOf keeping safe the holy relic,Protecing, guarding which,I garnered wounds from weapon upon weapon;For this itselfI dared not wield in battle;Undefiled I've borne it at my side,And now I bring it home,Glittering pure and bright -The Grail's holy Spear!GURNEMANZO grace! Happiness sublime!O miracle! Holy illustrious miracle!to ParsifalOh Sir! If curse it wasThat drove you from the true path,Believe me, it has lifted.Here you are, in the land of the Grail,Its Knights await you.Oh they have need of the comfort,The comfort that you bring!From the day that you were hereOur grief, of which you know,Our fears grew into dire distress.Amfortas, to resist his wounds,The torment of his soul,In wrathful defiance nowLusts for death. No pleaNor misery of his Knights could moveHim to perform his holy office.In its shrine, the GrailHas long remained locked:Thus its sinrepentant guardian,Since he cannot dieWhilst he looks upon it,Hopes to force his deathAnd with his life the torment end.The holy manna is now denied us,And common fare must be our nourishment:And so our warriors' strength has waned.Now no message ever comes for us,No call to holy warsFrom far away: wan and wretched,The despondent leaderless Knights limp around.In this wooded corner, I hid myself quietlyWaiting for death,To whom my bold warriorlord has already succumbed;For Titurel, the holy warrior,No longer refreshed by the sight of the Grail,Is dead, a man, as all men!PARSIFALAnd 'twas I, I who brought about all this misery!How with guilt of sin offensiveThis foolish head is ever laden,For no repentance, no atonementRelieves me of my blindness.Chosen for deliverance,I am lost in the maze -Every path of deliverance vanishes!Parsifal threatens to swoon. Gurnemanz seats him gently on the grassy mound. Kundry fetches a bowl of water with which to sprinkle Parsifal.GURNEMANZGently turning Kundry away:Not so! The holy spring itselfShall strengthen our pilgrim's bath.I think he has a lofty workTo do this day,A holy office to perform:Therefore, he must be cleansed of stainAnd the dust of long wanderingsWashed from him!They both help Parsifal to the edge of the spring. During the following, Kundry removes his greaves and Gurnemanz his breastplate.PARSIFALAm I to be taken to Amfortas today?GURNEMANZSurely; the mighty castle awaits us:The funeral rites of my dear lordCall me there.Once more to reveal to us there the Grail,Once more to perform this dayHis long neglected office,To sinctify his illustrious fatherWho perished through his son's guilt,For which he now atones -This Amfortas has promised us.Parsifal watches Kundry who is bathing his feet with eager humility.PARSIFALto KundryYou have washed my feet,Now let my friend bathe my head!Gurnemanz scoops up some water from the spring with his hand and sprinkles Parsifal's head.GURNEMANZThe blessing of purity be upon you, pure one!So may every burden of guilt depart from you!Kundry draws a golden phial from her bosom and pours its contents over Parsifal's feet, which she then dries with her hair.PARSIFALTaking the phial from her and giving it to Gurnemanz:You have anointed my feet,Let now Titurel's comrade anoint my head,To hail me this day as King!Gurnemanz empties the phial completely over Parsifal's head.GURNEMANZThus it was promised us;And so, my blessing on your head,That I may greet you as King.You, so pure!Compassionately enduring,Piously knowing!Having sufferedAs did the Redeemed One,Lift now from his headThe final burden!Parsifal scoops up water unobserved from the spring, and, bending over Kundry, kneeling before him, moistens her head.PARSIFALMy first duty I hereby fulfil:Receive baptism and believe in the Redeemer!Kundry bows her head: she seems to be weeping copiously.How very beautiful the meadow seems today!I have come upon magic flowersWhich sickly twined about me to my head;Yet ne'er have I seen such soft and tenderStalks, blossoms, flowers,Nor has anything smelled so childlike sweetOr spoken so dearly to me.GURNEMANZThat is the magic of Good Friday, lord!PARSIFALAlas, the greatest Day of Pain!On which everything that blooms,Breathes, lives and lives anewShould, it seems, but mourn ah, and weep.GURNEMANZYou see, it is not so.They are the repentant tears of the sinnerThat drop today with holy dewUpon both field and meadow:Thus they flourish.Now all creatures rejoiceAt the Redeemer's gracious sign,And dedicate their prayer to him.Him upon the Cross they cannot see:And so they look up to Man redeemed,Who feels free of his burden of sin and shame,Made pure and whole by the loving sacrifice of God:Now stalk and flower of the meadows perceivesThat this day no foot of man shall crush them,But just as God with heavenly patienceTook mercy on him and suffered for him,So Man today with pious graceSpares them with gentle tread.For this, all creation then gives thanks -All'that blooms and shortly withers -For Nature cleansedHas gained this day her day of innocence.PARSIFALI saw them fade, yet once they laughed -Do they now yearn for redemption?to KundryYour tears too became a dew of blessing.You weep and lo! the meadows smile!He kisses Kundry gently on the forehead. There is a distant pealing of bells.GURNEMANZMidday: the hour is come.Permit your servant, lord, to lead you!Gurnemanz has fetched his Grail-Knight's cloak, with which he and Kundry enrobe Parsifal. Solemnly Parsifal takes up the spear and, together with Kundry, follows Gurnemanz who slowly leads the way. The scene changes gradually, similarly to Act 1. The forest recedes and rocky arches approach. The rocky walls open, revealing the Grail Hall as in Act 1. From one side enter Knights bearing the coffin with Titurel's body; from the other enter those bearing Amfortas upon his litter; in front of him is the covered shrine of the Grail.KNIGHTS1st Procession with Amfortas:We bear the Grail in concealing shrineTo its holy office;Whom have you in that gloomy shrineThat you mourning hither bear?

2nd Procession, as they pass one another:This funeral shrine the warrior holds;There lies the heavenly power,Into whose care God once gave Himself:Titurel we bear.

1st Procession:Who did slay him that, in God's care,Once God Himself protected?

2nd Procession:Him slew the victorious burden of age,When he no longer beheld the Grail.

1st Procession:Who denied him the sightOf the Grail's favour?

2nd Procession:He whom there you bear,The guilty guardian.

1st Procession:We bear him today,For this day, once more,For the last time,He will perform his office.Amfortas is now set down on the couch behind the Grail.Table, and the Coffin before it: the Knights turn to Amfortas.ALL THE KNIGHTSWoe, guardian of the Grail!Ah, for the last time!Be mindful of your duty! For the last time!AMFORTASYea, woe! woe!Woe is me!This I freely cry with you.More freely would I accept death from you,The mildest atonement for sin.The coffin is opened. At the sight of Titurel's corpse, all break into a sudden wailing.AMFORTASMy father! Most blessed of warriors!Purest of all, before whom the angels once bowed:Desiring only to die myself,To you I did give death!Oh, you who now 'mid divine radianceBehold the Redeemer himself,Implore of Him, that His holy Blood,If once more His Blessing this day shall quickenThe Brothers, while granting them new life,May grant me death at last!Death! To die... the only grace!Perish the terrible wound, the poisonThat gnaws and stiffens the heart!My father! I call to you:Do you call to him,"Redeemer, give my son peace!"KNIGHTSReveal the Grail!Perform your duty!Your father exhorts you:You must! You must!Amfortas jumps up and hurls himself into the midst of the retreating Knights.AMFORTASNo! No more! Ha!Already I feel death closing round me;Should I then return again to life?Madmen! Who shall compel me to live?But you could give me death!He tears open his robe.Here I am, and here the open wound!Here flows the blood that poisons me:Out with your weapons!Thrust deep your swords,Deep, to the hilt!Up, you warriors,Slay the sinner and his torment,Then shall the Grail glow of itself for you!Unnoticed by the Knights, Parsifal has appeared among them, accompanied by Gurnemanz and Kundry. He now steps forward, stretches out the Spear and touches Amfortas' side with its tip.PARSIFALOne weapon suffices -The wound is healed only by the SpearThat caused it.Amfortas' face lights up with holy joy; he seems to stagger under stress of great emotion; Gurnemanz supports him.You are whole, purified and atoned!For I now perform your office.Blessed be your sufferingWhich gave the timid foolThe highest power of pity,The might of purest knowledge!Parsifal strides to the centre, holding the Spear aloft before him.This holy Spear,I bring it back to you!Oh, what a miracle of utter bliss!From this which healed your wound,Holy Blood I see flowing forthIn longing for its kindred source,That flows there in the Grail's depth.No more shall it be closed:Reveal the Grail open the shrine!Parsifal ascends the altarsteps, takes the Grail from the shrine, opened by the youths, and sinks to his knees in silent prayer in its presence.VOICES FROM ABOVE, KNIGHTS, ESQUIRESHighest holy Wonder!The Redeemer redeemed!etc.A ray of light: the Grail glows at its brightest. From the dome swoops a white dove which hovers over Parsifal's head. Kundry sinks, lifeless, to the ground. Amfortas and Gurnemanz kneel in homage to Parsifal who passes the Grail in blessing over the worshipping Knights.

TRISTAN AND ISOLDEHandlung in three actsLibrettoRichard WagnerPremiere10 June 1865, Munich (Royal Court and National Theatre)CastTRISTAN (Tenor)KING MARKE (Bass)ISOLDE (Soprano)KURVENAL (Baritone)MELOT (Tenor)BRANGAENE (Mezzo soprano)SHEPERD (Tenor)STEERSMAN (Baritone)VOICE OF YOUNG SAILOR (Tenor)CHORUSship's crew, knights and pagesPlaceCornwall, Brittany and the seaTimeThe legendary days of King Arthur

ACT ONEPreludeAt sea, on the deck of Tristan's ship during the crossing from Ireland to Cornwall.SCENE ONEIsolde, Brangaene and a SailorVOICE OF A YOUNG SAILORWestwardstrays the eye,eastwardflies our ship.Fresh blows the windhomeward:my Irish maid,where do you linger?Is it the breath of your sighsthat fills our sails?Blow, blow, o wind!Woe, ah woe, my child,my Irish maid,you headstrong, winsome maid!ISOLDEsuddenly starting upWho dares to mock me?She looks around her in bewildermentBrangaene, speak! Where are we?BRANGAENEBlue streaksarose in the east;the ship sailssmooth and swift:on this calm sea, by eveningwe shall safely reach land.ISOLDEWhat land?BRANGAENECornwall's green shore.ISOLDENever!Neither today nor tomorrow!BRANGAENEhastening in consternation to IsoldeWhat is this I hear, my lady? Eh?ISOLDEgazing wildly before herDegenerate race,unworthy of your forebears!Mother, what has becomeof the power to commandsea and storm that you gave up?O enfeebled artof sorcerythat now brews only healing draughts!Awaken again in me,mighty power;emerge from my bosom,where you lay hiding!Hear my will,ye timorous winds!Come forth to the strifeand din of tempest,to the furious clamourof raging storms!Force this dreaming seafrom its sleep,waken from its depthsits resentful greed!Show it the bootyI offer it!Wreck this arrogant ship,and let the waves devour its shattered fragments!And all that livesand draws breath on itI leave to you winds as prize!BRANGAENEin the greatest alarm, concerning herself with IsoldeAlas!Ah! Ah,the evil that I dreaded!Isolde! My lady!Dear heart!What have you hid from me so long?Not one tear did you shedfor father or mother;scarcely one farewelldid you bid those left behind.Parting from your homelandcold and silent,pale and muteon the journey;without food,without sleep;numb and wretched,haggard and distraught;how could I bearto see you so,to be nothing more to you,to be cut off from you?O tell me nowwhat troubles you!Tell me franklywhat torments you,dearest, lovelylady Isolde!Confide now in Brangaeneand let her think herself worthy of you.ISOLDEAir! air!My heart is suffocating within me!Open! Open wide there!Brangaene quickly draws the curtains apart in the middle.

SCENE TWOThe above, Tristan, Kurvenal, Sailors, Knights and SquiresVOICE OF A YOUNG SAILORFresh blows the windhomeward:my Irish maid,where do you linger?Is it the breath of your sighsthat fills our sails?Blow, blow, o wind!Woe, ah woe, my child!ISOLDEwhose eyes at once settle on Tristan: darkly, asideDestined for me,lost to me,splendid and strong,bold and cowardly!Head and heartconsecrated to death!to BrangaeneWhat do you think of that varlet?BRANGAENEfollowing her gazeWhom do you mean?ISOLDEThat hero therewho hides his gazefrom mineand casts down his eyesin shame and embarrassment.Say, how does he seem to you?BRANGAENEIs it of Tristan you ask,Dear lady,that wonder of all kingdoms,that highly vaunted man,that peerless hero,the crown and embodiment of fame?ISOLDEmocking herWho, shrinking from an encounter,seeks refuge where he can,since he won for his lorda corpselike bride!Do my words seemobscure to you?Then ask him yourself,that free man,whether he dare approach me.The craven heroforgets the homageand reverencedue to his lady,so that her eye shall not fall on him,this peerless hero!Oh, he wellknows why!Go to this proud man,take him his lady's word:let him come to me at once,ready at my service.BRANGAENEShall I ask himto wait upon you?ISOLDELet fear of me,Isolde, his queen,command thisstubborn man!At Isolde's imperious gesture Brangaene withdraws and humbly goes along the deck to the stern.KURVENALseeing Brangaene coming, pulls at Tristan's cloak, without risingTake care, Tristan!A message from Isolde.TRISTANwith a startWhat is it? Isolde!He quickly recovers himself as Brangaene reaches him and curtsies.From my lady