Folge 55: The Bergwerke zu Falun: Wagner’s Opera After Parsifal (German)
This episode presents a speculative libretto and staging concept for an opera titled Die Bergwerke zu Falun, framed as the work Richard Wagner would have completed after Parsifal. Based on a 1719 historical event and an E.T.A. Hoffmann tale, the narrative follows a sailor-turned-miner named Elis who is lured by the supernatural Queen of the Deep. The text explores the metaphysical tension between "The Pulse," representing the rhythmic life of the living, and "The Crystal," symbolizing the frozen eternity of the mountain.
The drama culminates fifty years later when Elis’s perfectly preserved body is recovered, leading to a final recognition by his now-elderly fiancée, Ulla. This creative completion emphasizes human fidelity as the only force capable of bridging the gap between temporal existence and the stillness of death. Using the specific architectural features of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the author reimagines the orchestra pit as the mouth of the mine to immerse the audience in the story’s subterranean depths.
