Focussing on symbols and myths, it illustrates moral and physical decadence in a family saga, but also a conflict that can be solved by love and forgiveness.
Parsifal is a sacred festival for the stage based on medieval legends about the Holy Grail and the lance of Longinus. It was also Richard Wagner's last score. Symbolic in character, it exemplifies better than any other opera the concept of redemption. Parsifal, the hero who is ignorant of his own origins and even his name, personifies innocence and compassion.
In 1914 the exclusive rights the Bayreuth Festival had held since 1882 expired, allowing Parsifal to be performed at other venues. This aroused such excitement in Barcelona that the Liceu became the first opera house in the world to unveil the colossal score, at midnight on 31 December 1913.