Parsifal is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance Parzival of the Minnesänger Wolfram von Eschenbach and the Old French chivalric romance Perceval ou le Conte du Graal by the 12th-century trouvère Chrétien de Troyes, recounting different accounts of the story of the Arthurian knight Parzival (Percival) and his spiritual quest for the Holy Grail.
Angela Gheorghiu is a Romanian soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Puccini and Verdi.
Sir Reginald Goodall was an English conductor and singing coach noted for his performances of the operas of Richard Wagner and for conducting the premieres of several operas by Benjamin Britten.
Dame Gwyneth Jones is a Welsh dramatic soprano, widely regarded as one of the greatest Wagnerian sopranos in the second half of the 20th century.
Simon John O'Neill is a New Zealand-born operatic tenor. In 1998, his image appeared on the New Zealand one-dollar performing arts postage stamp.
Violeta Urmanavičiūtė-Urmana is a Lithuanian opera singer who has sung leading mezzo-soprano and soprano roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America.
Milka Ternina was a Croatian dramatic soprano who enjoyed a high reputation in major American and European opera houses. Praised by audiences and music critics alike for the electrifying force of her acting and the excellence of her singing in both German and Italian works, her career was curtailed at its peak in 1906 by a medical condition which paralyzed a nerve in her face.
The Bayreuth canon consists of those operas by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813–1883) that have been performed at the Bayreuth Festival. The festival, which is dedicated to the staging of these works, was founded by Wagner in 1876 in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth, and has continued under the directorship of his family since his death. Although it was not originally held annually, it has taken place in July and August every year since the 75th anniversary season in 1951. Its venue is the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which was built for the first festival. Attendance at the festival is often thought of as a pilgrimage made by Wagner aficionados.
Jonas Kaufmann is a German-Austrian tenor opera singer. He is best known for the versatility of his repertoire, performing a variety of opera roles in multiple languages in recital and concert each season. Some of his standout roles include Don José in Carmen, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, Don Alvaro in La forza del destino, Siegmund in Die Walküre, and the title roles in Parsifal, Werther, Don Carlos, and Lohengrin. In 2014 The New York Times described Kaufmann as "a box-office draw, and... the most important, versatile tenor of his generation."
Maria Agasovna Guleghina is a Soviet-born operatic soprano singer, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.
Katarina Dalayman is a Swedish former soprano who has transitioned into a mezzosoprano. She has received critical acclaim singing major operatic roles by composers such as Wagner, Berg, Shostakovich and Bartók, among others. In a recent interview, she commented that Wagner's music "[has] always been closest to my heart, always, since I started singing".
Ana James is a New Zealand-born operatic soprano who has appeared with The Royal Opera, the Glyndebourne touring ensemble, and Opera Holland Park as well as with opera companies in France and New Zealand.
Isobel Buchanan is a Scottish operatic soprano.
Ekkehard Wlaschiha was a German operatic baritone who specialized in Wagnerian "villains", such as Alberich, Klingsor and Friedrich von Telramund. He performed at the Bayreuth Festival and at the Metropolitan Opera, and left many recordings.
Pumeza Matshikiza is a South African operatic soprano. A graduate of the Royal College of Music and a member of the Royal Opera's Jette Parker Young Artists Programme from 2007 to 2009, she made her début as a flower maiden in Parsifal and has gone on to sing leading soprano roles with Stuttgart Opera. Matshikiza has released two solo albums on the Decca Classics label.
Gerda Lammers was a German soprano.
Günther Groissböck is an Austrian operatic bass. Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic for The New York Times, described Groissböck's "imposing and good-looking" portrayal of Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, as "a revelation". James Jorden of the New York Observer praised Groissböck's "innovative take" on the role and his "big, virile sound". A 2018 recording of the Met performance was nominated for Grammy Award in the Best Opera Recording.
Kathrin Göring is a German operatic mezzo-soprano, a member of the Oper Leipzig who has appeared at other major opera houses, also in concert and recital, and made recordings. She has appeared in Leipzig in leading roles such as Bizet's Carmen and Wagner's Parsifal. She sang both Fricka and Waltraute in Der Ring in Minden.
Wiebke Lehmkuhl is a German contralto in opera and concert who has appeared at international leading opera houses and festivals, including as Wagner's Magdalene at the Bayreuth Festival, as Erda in Paris, and as Annina at the Salzburg Festival. She was the alto soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the 2017 opening of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.
Elena Manistina is a Russian operatic mezzo-soprano. She is a member of the Bolshoi Theatre and has appeared in many operas internationally. She also appeared as Verdi's Azucena at the Metropolitan Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Opéra Bastille, and as Amneris at the Arena di Verona.
