The 3-act opera Parsifal was conceived of by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) in 1857, but not completed until 1882. Telling the story of Parsifal, the "pure fool" destined to claim kingship in the country of the Holy Grail, the work premiered on July 26, 1882 under conductor Hermann Levi at the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, the hall built for Wagner’s works. Parsifal is unique in that Wagner only permitted it to be performed in Bayreuth, with the ban on all other performances maintained after Wagner’s death by his wife Cosima, although some unauthorized performances were staged during this time. The ban was lifted on January 1 of 1914, and the demand resulted in over fifty European opera houses staging the work before August of that year. Instrumentation: 3.3+EH.3+BCl.3+CBsn: 4.3.3.1: Timp(2): Hp(2): Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Vocal soli (19 roles, SSSSSAAAAATTTTBBBBB): Chorus: Banda (2Tpt.4Tbn.Tenor Drum.Glockenspiel.Church Bells.Thunder Machine).