Premiering in 1882 at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, Parsifal is Richard Wagner’s final opera and widely regarded as one of his greatest achievements. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach’s epic poem Parzival, written in the first quarter of the thirteenth century, which recounts the story of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail. Set in Monsalvat, it sees the title character attempt to retrieve the Holy Spear that pierced Christ’s side...

In January and February 2021 the London Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, will be presenting Richard Wagner’s tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen twice at the Royal Festival Hall. It began performing the operas individually two years ago, with Das Rheingold being presented in 2018, Die Walküre last year and Siegfried appearing now. This is the opera that moves on from the failed attempts of the chief god Wotan to retain control of the world for...