Parsifal, Act II: A Film In-Progress
We present a special preview screening of the complete Act II of Parsifal, from a new film adaptation currently six years in the making. This multimedia adaptation blends performance, painting, and dazzling visuals to bring Wagner’s last work to life for the big screen.
Director’s Statement:
My formal introduction to Richard Wagner was in 2018, when I first saw the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Parsifal. Profoundly moved and aware that I had experienced something that far exceeded my own understanding, I sought to make sense of what I had witnessed that evening. As someone who was not a musician, singer, or music theorist, the most logical approach to this work seemed to be through my field of study: Filmmaking.
In the autumn of 2018, my creative collaborator, Anthony Miksad, and I began the early stages of pre-production on this cinematic adaptation of Wagner’s final drama. Enlisting a team of talented artists and peers (as we were, at the time, both students at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn), we assembled a production crew that would work together to bring Wagner’s Parsifal to the big screen. Thanks to the assistance and generosity of the late Lady Valerie Solti, we were able to reach an agreement to use her husband, Sir Georg Solti’s, 1972 recording of Parsifal with the Vienna Philharmonic as our soundtrack. After rigorous auditions, we found a superb group of theater actors who would perform these roles in synchronization with the vocal and musical performances of this great recording.
“Cruel one! If you now feel in your heart only the pain of others, then you can feel mine!” – Kundry, Act II, Scene 2, tr. by Derrick Everett
Parsifal is a story of characters who are desperately trying to make their pains known to one another. Overwhelmed by their own suffering, they do not possess the ability to recognize the inner-wounds present in those around them.
How were we to reflect this tremendous concept at the core of Wagner’s drama in our film’s own mise-en-scène? How could the world of Parsifal be adequately realized? If leaving behind an old way of being is the first step on the path to understanding, then it seemed that Wagner presented us with a story of people moving from one world to another.
“Now I seek Him from world to world to meet Him once again.” – Kundry, Act II, Scene 2, tr. by Derrick Everett
This adaptation presents the struggle of these troubled characters caught between these “worlds”. The set pieces are constructed from centuries-worth of paintings to create visual on-screen environments. As these paintings begin to transform around our heroes, the boundaries of their reality begin to vanish to reveal a deeper, more physical world around them.
Over six years in the making, our film still has a long road ahead in its production. We firmly believe that this preview screening of Act II will serve as an insight into how we are exploring the curiosities and questions found in Wagner’s Parsifal.
Griffin Kaiser, Director
In-Person only at the Dolby 88 Screening Room, 1350 Avenue of the Americas
Doors at 7:00 p.m.
Film begins at 7:30 p.m., runtime 90 minutes
Followed by a social hour with dessert & refreshments
Accessibility: Venue is ADA accessible. Entrance is on 55th street at 6th Avenue, next door to Pret à Manger. There are sidewalk cutouts on the corner and an accessible entrance. Once through building security turnstiles, the movie theater-style-seating venue is on the lobby level, to your left. There are several stairs to the lobby level restroom but fully-accessible restrooms will be available by taking the elevator to another floor.