update january 1st and 2006parsifal be one of my two favorite wagner opera or music drama and to be more accurate and ( meistersinger be the other . ) though it hard to imagine it a the top of anyone pop . the libretto and by the composer a usual and be a muddle of religion and paganism and eroticism and and possibly even homo eroticism and and it length may make it seem to the audience like hear paint dry . wagner and be a famous anti semite and ( klingsor may be one of his surrogate jewish villain . ) naturally entrust the premiere to an unconverted ( not for want of rw try . ) hermann levi and who be his favorite conductor . ( go figure . ) kundry and a most mixed up gal and another likely jewish surrogate and be both villainous or benevolent and depend on the scene . consider that many video version of parsifal seem on the stodgy side and this film of the opera be and in comparison and a breath of fresh air . han jürgen syberberg and the director and have bring considerable imagination to it but it hard to know why he make some of his choice . for example represent the notorious dual parsifals ( of each gender . ) and the puppet and the death mask of wagner set and various doll and symbol such a the nazi swastika in one of the travel scene . ( if i remember and the real engelbert humperdinck write the actual music to pad out the scene change . ) though wagner himself die much too early to be an actual nazi and many of his descendant ( as well a his second wife cosima . ) be at least fellow traveler and include their grandson wolfgang wagner who still run the bayreuth festival at an advanced age . in fact and wolfgang son gottfried wagner and in complete opposition to his father and have try to come to term honestly with his great grandfather . syberberg and too and seem politically ambiguous from what i have read . in 1977 and he make a well know film on hitler and hitler represent ein film au deutschland ( sometimes call our hitler in english . ) . since it last all of 8 hour and hasn not be widely distribute and most people have not see it ( include myself . ) . armin jordan and the conductor of the audio cd on which this film be base and play amfortas ( sing by wolfgang schöne ) edith clever ( yvonne minton ) play kundry and michael kutter and karin krick play the dual parsifals ( both sing by reiner goldberg . ) and robert lloyd and aage haugland both play and sing gurnemanz and klingsor . though the opera take place over a long period of time and all ( except kundry . ) have be describe a have age considerably between act 2 and 3 and no one look a day old by the end of the opera . ( the magic of the grail . in this opera the grail be the cup from which jesus drank at the last supper and not mary magdalene a in more recent time and an idea i find preposterous . ) . the conducting and singing be all quite serviceable and the dvd seem to have improve the sound and if not the picture and to a great extent . ( yes and i agree that kna approach be superior and even on the second and stereo and version but he be probably superior to all record version on the whole . ) not a parsifal for all wagnerites but i think it work quite well a a filmed opera .