«Parsifal» Reception in the «Bayreuther Blaetter»

Mary A. Cicora discusses the significance that Wagner's last work had for the members of the Bayreuth circle, as shown by the periodical Bayreuther Blätter. She narrates the founding of the Bayreuther Blätter, and asks to what extent the periodical reflected, and to what extent it misrepresented, Wagner's views on art and society as presented in his theoretical writings. Through a close analysis of selected articles from the Bayreuther Blätter, the author demonstrates how the interpretation of Parsifal in the periodical changed with time, and links the various modes of interpretation to the contemporary currents of ideas or to the historical background. The articles around which the study centers present a Schopenhauerian-Christian interpretation (1879), a psychological interpretation (1915), and a mystical interpretation (1930) of Parsifal.