Stage Play In Richard Wagner's Final Stage Work

Richard Wagner, a Romantic German composer, is one of the leading opera composers of his time; he often defined his stage works using the term bühnenfestspiel, or festival stage play. He is known for writing several such works, including Lohengrin, Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Tristan und Isolde. In these works Wagner is credited with the use of many compositional devices and philosophies. In particular, he is recognized for employing the idea of a “gesamtkunstwerk,” or collective art, in which the music, poetry, set design, and all other elements of the work act together to form a product. In fact, Wagner took charge of every aspect of his stage works, including the music and libretto. He is also known for his use of the leitmotif, or a leading motive representing a character or idea that is reworked throughout a composition. Wagner perfected his use of these devices throughout his compositional career, and they often are used to define his compositions. However, the role of Wagner’s final stage work, a bühnenweihfestspiel (sacred festival stage play) titled Parsifal, is often debated in his compositional output; many scholars consider it to be a summation of all of his compositional efforts thus far, while others consider it to be a new and outlying creation in his output. Evidence suggests that Parsifal acts as a summation and culmination of his skills and technique developed throughout …show more content…
This is justified by its conception and importance to Wagner during multiple periods of his life long before it was written, its musical similarities to his other stage works, and its non-musical roles compared to his