Parsifal
And -oh- those children's voices, singing in the dome!
Verlaine's poem is his emotional response to a performance of Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal (1882). Wagner's Parsifal is rooted in the myth of the Fisher King, but mainly adapted from a 13th Century romance by Wolfram von Eschenbach.
The action of the opera begins near the castle of the Holy Spear and Holy Grail (the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper). Amfortas, king of the Grail Knights, suffers from an unhealed wound inflicted on him with the Holy Spear: the magician Klingsor had stolen the Spear, while Amfortas was being seduced by Klingsor's seductive slave, Kundry. Amfortas can only be healed by the purest and most innocent person.
That person is Parsifal: but when he first arrives at the castle, he appears to be just a fool and is sent away. However, he travels to Klingsor's castle, avoids seduction by Kundry, and retrieves the Spear. Klingsor's power is destroyed.
Years later, Parsifal returns to the Grail Castle. He heals Amfortas with the point of the Spear; he releases Kundry from Klingsor's spell; and he blesses the knights with the Grail. A dove appears as a symbol of his Christ-like goodness.
The appearance of a symbol of purity and artistic beauty is in stark contrast to the images of prostitution and sexual violence that surround it.
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