'αποκατάστασις πάντον

Speranza

Another classical connection in Wagner's "Parsifal", as per,

http://www.monsalvat.no/erlosung.htm

 

D. Everett writes:

"Borchmeyer is convinced that the end of "Parsifal" is a "restitutio in integrum" in which the Grail community is re-established, Klingsor's contrastive world is exorcized and nature is restored to its paradisal innocence."

"Borchmeyer refers to the idea found both in early Christianity and in Stoicism (relevant because of Wagner's interest in the writings of Marcus Aurelius) of

'αποκατάστασις πάντον

-- a renewal of the world through the cyclical restitution of a perfect primordial state.

In the ending of the Ring there is a new beginning (which can be traced, in that drama, back to the Eddic poem Volüspá in which the universe, i.e. the worlds connected by the world-ashtree, is destroyed at Ragnarök, only to begin anew), in which as in Isaiah 65:17 there are new heavens (the old gods are destroyed) and a new earth (in which there are, so far, no rulers)."

"As Borchmeyer points out ("Richard Wagner: Theory and Theatre", p. 391), the idea of "'αποκατάστασις" is better symbolised by a spiral than it is by a circle."

"After the cosmic conflagration of Götterdämmerung, or after the return of Parsifal with the spear (and, just as importantly, with Kundry), there is a new beginning, in which it must be hoped the mistakes of the previous cycle (such as the exclusion of women from the Temple) will not be repeated."