Model, Parsifal

Staged 2012, Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, Denmark

“Richard Wagner conceived his final work as a ritual mass for the consecration of a stage. Over four hours of largely static drama, the audience transcends time and space through a rite of compassion. The director Keith Warner and I conceived an enormous revolving rook chess piece whose conical interior formed a new theater within Copenhagen’s opera house. We presented Parsifal’s odyssey from naivety to wisdom as a resistance to the rules of an antiquated game.”

—Es Devlin

Drawing of a large horizontal oval with a smaller oval inside; lines and figures drawn to scale within the larger oval suggest a tunnel-like form. Handwritten text in uppercase letters surrounds the drawing, including “ACT 3” written at the top left.

Es Devlin, Study, Parsifal, Graphite on paper.
By Richard Wagner, staged 2012, Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, Denmark
Courtesy of Es Devlin

Large oval tunnel with gray, brick-textured surfaces above a black background. A person walks away from the viewer toward the opposite end of the tunnel which is illuminated.

Production photograph, Parsifal
By Richard Wagner, staged 2012, Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, Denmark
Courtesy of Es Devlin

Large oval tunnel with gray, brick-textured surfaces above a black background. A crowd of people fills the tunnel and their proportional sizes indicate depth. Four people exist outside of the oval toward the bottom and are facing it.

Production photograph, Parsifal
By Richard Wagner, staged 2012, Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, Denmark
Courtesy of Es Devlin

An oblong structure with light visible through a small hole is perched upon a small pole.

Es Devlin, Model, Parsifal, Laser-cut foam, resin, and paint, recreated for exhibition.
By Richard Wagner, staged 2012, Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, Denmark
Photo: Elliot Goldstein © Smithsonian Institution

A tunnel with an oval shape with a small human figure within it is perched on a tiny rod against a dark-gray background.

Drawing of a winding path that spirals upward and shrinks toward the top; the path is lined with several beds and is surrounded by marks. Handwritten text in uppercase letters surrounds the drawing, including “ACT 1” written at the top left.

Es Devlin, Study, Parsifal, Graphite on paper.
By Richard Wagner, staged 2012, Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, Denmark
Courtesy of Es Devlin

Model, Parsifal

An Atlas of Es Devlin

Your journey so far

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An Infinite Archive

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Studies, Abel’s Mask

Studies, After Hours Til Dawn

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Studies, Flag: Burning

Studies, Forest of Us

Studies, Fundamental

Studies, Hello

Studies, Innocence + Experience

Studies, Legend of the Fall

Studies, Memory Palace

Studies, Mirror Maze

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Studies, Witness

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Study, Free Your Mind

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Model, Don Giovanni

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Model, Howie the Rookie

Model, La Caja Mágica / The Seed

Model, Legend of the Fall

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Model, Parsifal

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