Quiz Quest – Parsifal Out West

Who filed an injunction against the Met’s production of Parsifal in 1903?

A) Pope Leo XIII
B) Johannes Brahms
C) President Theodore Roosevelt
D) Wagner’s widow, Cosima Wagner

Answer: D) Wagner’s widow, Cosima Wagner

Cosima Wagner fiercely protected Parsifal’s exclusivity to Bayreuth and filed legal action to try to stop the Met’s first fully staged performance outside Germany in 1903. She was unsuccessful as U.S. copyright law at the time did not recognize European exclusivity, but she enacted her vengeance on German tenor Alois Burgstaller who sang Parsifal in the Met’s production by banning him for life from Bayreuth.

Visit the North Grand Tier (2nd Floor) to discover more about the history of Parsifal in San Francisco and view the virtual exhibit at the link below.

Virtual Exhibit

Continue your search…test your Parsifal knowledge with the full quiz below
      Full Quiz