Neither balsam, nor medicinal herbs can provide relief to the wounded and ailing Amfortas, ruler of the Grail kingdom. His path to recovery proves to be a complex one. No member of the Grail community can reclaim the spear which inflicted the wound, but only an outsider, a “pure fool”, enlightened by compassion. Only by the tip of this spear touching Amfortas’s wound can he be healed. On his journey of self-discovery, towards his destiny as chosen deliverer, Parsifal is accompanied, not only by the skilful Grail Knight Gurnemanz, but also by the enigmatic and seductive Kundry, who opens his eyes to sensuality and extrasensory experience.

Parsifal, a „Bühnenweihfestspiel“ („A Stage Inauguration Festival Play“), was first performed in Bayreuth in 1882. Richard Wagner’s final musical drama addresses wounds which fester both within individuals, as well as in society as a whole, before proffering miracle remedies with the ability to ease the pain.