By providing children with the opportunity to experience live performances of quality productions, we hope to popularize and promote a deeper understanding of the arts. This has been the aim of the NNTT Kids Opera series. For the inaugural production in the summer of 2004, we staged an original work entitled GET BACK THE RING!, based on the opera Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner. With many experiencing this fantastic world of song and music in a theatre for the first time, the faces of the children were aglow with delighted excitement. In 2006, we premiered Space Turnadot, which was adapted from Turnadot by the great Italian master Puccini. The Kids Opera series has since become a popular summer holiday tradition. For the third production, we present a new work entitled Parsifal and the Magical Holy Grail, which is based on the operas Parsifal and Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner. It is a tale of love and friendship, about a protagonist (Parsifal) who becomes aware of the mission he must undertake and realizes that he cannot live without Magdalena (who has been transformed into a swan), and the miracles that follow. In speaking about the production, director Miura Yasuhiro has said that he hopes the tale will give kids renewed courage as they grow up in today's world, and to encourage a sense of appreciation for the friends and family they have around them. This upcoming summer holiday, we hope children have a wonderful time with their family and friends at the NNTT Kids Opera. This new production is also scheduled to be performed at Sunport Hall Takamatsu and the Hyogo Performing Arts Center.
In a time and place not explicitly stated...
In the recesses of a temple in the kingdom of Monsalvat, a holy grail and spear are kept which have been passed down through generations of the royal family. When the two objects are combined, they exert a strange power, one that keeps the kingdom at peace. At the behest of King Titurel, Amfortas and the Knights of the Grail have been protecting the grail and spear, but then the king dies before he can name a successor. During Titurel's funeral, as the grail ritual is being performed, the black magician Klingsor arrives with his evil cronies and makes off with the holy spear. Amfortas suffers a severe wound from the spear. As he lies on the ground, Amfortas has a prophetic vision in which he learns that a "pure fool" will appear to lead them as king. Amfortas thinks that his vision must have something to do with Parsifal, a young man who has been called to task for shooting a swan, a bird which is considered sacred. Amfortas has Parsifal take part in the grail ritual. When the cover is removed from the grail, a miracle takes place and Parsifal is able to understand the words spoken by the swan. By the power of the grail, the swan's wounds are healed, and a special bond develops between Parsifal and Magdalena the swan. Parsifal hears a voice from the heavens and realizes that it is his mission to recover the grail. He mounts an attack on Mondiavolo, which is ruled by Klingsor, who is making plans for world domination. Parsifal is lured by magic into temptation, but he is saved in the nick of time by Magdalena. He takes back the holy spear, and uses its power to heal Amfortas. As the Grail Knights rejoice, Parsifal realizes that he has left Magdalena behind. He goes back to Mondiavolo, which is now in ruins.
He finds the lifeless body of the swan Magdalena and is stricken with grief. But when he performs the grail ritual and puts the grail and the holy spear together, a miracle occurs and Magdalena is brought back to life and transformed into a beautiful queen. With flowers blooming all around, a jubilant gang of well-wishers celebrates the marriage of their new king Parsifal and his queen, Magdalena.
