13th of January 1882
Richard Wagner completes his final opera "Parsifal"
Parsifal is an opera in three acts composed by Richard Wagner with a libretto by the composer himself. It premiered on July 26, 1882, at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the theater Wagner designed specifically for his works. The opera is Wagner’s final completed composition and is often considered one of his most profound and spiritual works.
Story Overview:
The opera is based on medieval legends of the Holy Grail and the Arthurian knight Parsifal (Percival). It explores themes of redemption, compassion, and spiritual enlightenment.
Act 1:
• In the forest near the Grail Castle, the knights of the Holy Grail suffer due to their king Amfortas’s wound, inflicted by his failure to resist the temptress Kundry.
• Parsifal, a young and naive knight, appears, ignorant of his origins and destiny.
• He is brought to the Grail Castle, where the sacred relics are kept, but fails to understand their significance.
Act 2:
• At the castle of Klingsor, a magician who opposes the Grail knights, Kundry attempts to seduce Parsifal.
• Parsifal resists her, realizing the suffering caused by desire and sin.
• He defeats Klingsor and takes the sacred spear, which can heal Amfortas.
Act 3:
• Years later, Parsifal returns to the Grail Castle, now in despair due to Amfortas’s worsening condition.
• Parsifal uses the spear to heal Amfortas and becomes the new guardian of the Holy Grail.
• The opera concludes with a vision of spiritual redemption.
Musical Significance:
“Parsifal” is noted for its profound and meditative music, with themes such as the “Dresden Amen” and the Grail leitmotif woven throughout. Wagner referred to it as a “stage-consecrating festival play” (Bühnenweihfestspiel), reflecting its unique status in his oeuvre.
Legacy:
The work has inspired intense devotion and controversy due to its religious and philosophical content. Its performances were restricted to Bayreuth for many years, honoring Wagner’s wishes.
In the Katholikon of the Old Monastery of Taxiarches in Aegialia, just 15 km from Aigio, two layers of frescoes of high artistic quality from the late Byzantine period are preserved, reflecting the aesthetic trends of Constantinople. During their conservation work, archaeologist Dr. Anastasia Koumousi, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Achaia, discovered in the second layer of frescoes—which, based on stylistic criteria, is securely dated to the mid-15th century—the unique portrait of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos.
Unlike idealized representations, this portrait authentically captures the physical features of Constantine XI. He is depicted as a mature man with a slender face, radiating calmness and nobility.
The artist behind the fresco likely came from Mystras, where Constantine XI lived for five years as “Despot”—the title for a regional governor—before ascending to the throne. The portrait is linked to the generous patronage of the monastery by Constantine’s brothers, which is well-documented in historical records. This donation followed the resolution of their civil war (1449-1450), mediated by Constantine, as noted by the historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles.
The Ministry of Culture’s announcement identifies the figure as Constantine XI Palaiologos, the brother of the monastery’s patrons, the Despots of Morea, Demetrios and Thomas.
This fresco represents the last known portrait of a Byzantine emperor in monumental painting and the only contemporary depiction of Constantine XI during his reign (January 6, 1449 – May 29, 1453).
SOURCE: Ministry of Culture/The National Herald
Fascism can be understood as the natural evolution of romantic nationalism, identifying and embracing the unique cultural characteristics responsible for bestowing a nation with its sense of identity. The ideology of Fascism is not only malleable, but fundamentally adaptive, taking on nation-specific forms rather than being a universally applicable and generic political theory. Whether it be traditional Italian Fascism, German National Socialism or Japanese State Shintoism, each nation’s idiosyncratic conception of Fascism is advised by their respective indigenous belief systems, folklore and history to be in consonance with the local polity and to invigorate these cultural traits. Reflecting this ethos, ethnospecific symbolism feature prominently in the Fascist aesthetic. Distilled of the perceived decadent impurities of postmodernism, its art offers an unclouded view into a nation’s soul and the spiritual essence of its people.
Spring 1943.
A selection of portraits of soldiers of the 9th SS Panzer Division "Germania"
made by Ernst Baumann
