123-658: Das Rheingold ( pronunciation ; The Rhinegold ), WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner 's Der Ring des Nibelungen (English: The Ring of the Nibelung ). It premiered as a single opera at the National Theatre of Munich on 22 September 1869, and received its first performance as part of the Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 13 August 1876. Wagner wrote
246-512: A "greeting to the waters". The first two and last two notes of this short, lilting passage form a falling musical step which, in different guises, will recur throughout the opera, signifying variously the Rhinemaidens' innocence, their joy in the gold and conversely, in the minor key, Alberich's woe at his rejection by the maidens, and his enslavement of the Nibelungs. The first appearance of the gold
369-474: A C major arpeggio that will become highly significant in later Ring operas, and the haunting "Rhinemaidens' Lament", developed from the falling step which earlier signified the maidens' joy in the gold. Scruton writes of this lament: "And yet, ever sounding in the depths, is the lament of the Rhine-daughters, singing of a natural order that preceded the conscious will that has usurped it. This lament sounds in
492-565: A circle of fire that will protect her from all but the bravest of heroes. He bids her a loving farewell and lays her sleeping form down on a rock. He then invokes Loge , the demigod of fire, and creates a circle of perpetual fire around her. Before slowly departing, Wotan pronounces that anyone who fears his spear shall never pass through the fire. Wagner's original title for the work was Siegfried und Sieglind: der Walküre Bestrafung ("Siegfried and Sieglinde: The Valkyrie Punished"), but he quickly simplified this to Die Walküre . Prose sketches for
615-503: A continuity between Wagner's time and our own". Many of this production's features were highly controversial: the opening of Das Rheingold revealed a vast hydro-electric dam in which the gold is stored, guarded by the Rhinemaidens who were portrayed, in Spotts's words, as "three voluptuous tarts" – a depiction, he says, which "caused a shock from which no one quite recovered". According to The Observer ' s critic, "I had not experienced in
738-413: A dagger, and I ask myself whether this disgraceful act will really go unavenged?". The premiere was attended by leading figures from the musical world, including Liszt , Brahms , Camille Saint-Saëns , and the violinist Joseph Joachim . The reception from audience and critics was much more positive than had been the case a year earlier with Rheingold , although Osborne quotes one dissenting voice, from
861-434: A deistic universe to one controlled by human beings". The dangers of subverted scientific progress were demonstrated in the third Rheingold scene, where Nibelheim was represented as a medical chamber of horrors, replete with vivisections and "unspeakable" genetic experiments. From the late 1980s a backlash against the tendency towards ever more outlandish interpretations of the Ring cycle led to several new productions in
984-589: A dragon to guard the gold. The Eddas also introduce the gods Thor (Donner), Frey (Froh) and the goddesses Frigg (Fricka) and Freyja (Freia). The idea of Erda, the earth mother, may have been derived from the character Jord (meaning "Earth"), who appears in the Eddas as the mother of Thor. A few Rhinegold characters originate from outside the Eddas. Mime appears in the Thidriks saga , as a human smith rather than as an enslaved Nibelung. The three Rhinemaidens do not appear in any of
1107-858: A hero who, unencumbered by the gods' treaties, will obtain the ring from Fafner. Prelude to Act I Scene 1 As a large storm rages, Siegmund finds shelter from his enemies in a large dwelling built around a massive ash tree . Unarmed and wounded, he collapses with exhaustion. Sieglinde enters; she gives Siegmund some water and some honeyed mead, and tells him that she is the wife of Hunding, and that he may rest there until Hunding's return. As they talk, they look at each other with growing interest and emotion. Siegmund gets ready to leave, telling Sieglinde that misfortune follows him, and he does not want to bring it on her; she replies that misfortune dwells with her already. Orchestral Interlude Scene 2 Hunding returns and questions Siegmund's presence. Calling himself Wehwalt ("woeful"), Siegmund explains that he grew up in
1230-605: A huge mound of gold. He boasts to the visitors about his plans to conquer the world using the power of the ring. Loge asks how he can protect himself against a thief while he sleeps. Alberich replies the Tarnhelm will hide him, by allowing him to turn invisible or change his form. Loge expresses doubt and requests a demonstration. Alberich complies by transforming himself into a giant snake; Loge acts suitably impressed, and then asks whether Alberich can also reduce his size, which would be very useful for hiding. Alberich transforms himself into
1353-577: A largely new cast of singers – of the Munich cast, only Heinrich Vogl (Loge) was engaged, although Richter, deposed as conductor in Munich, was given the baton in Bayreuth. The 13 August premiere was an event of international importance, and attracted a distinguished audience which included Kaiser Wilhelm I , Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and numerous representatives of the various European royal houses. King Ludwig, unwilling to face contact with his fellow-royals or
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#17328515111441476-420: A lengthy Prelude (Vorspiel)". Each of these dramas would, he said, constitute an independent whole, but would not be performed separately. "At a specially appointed Festival, I propose, some future time, to produce those three Dramas with their Prelude, in the course of three days and a fore-evening". In accordance with this scheme, Wagner preceded Siegfried's Death (later Götterdämmerung ( The Twilight of
1599-417: A meaningful glance to a particular spot on the tree in which, the firelight reveals, a sword is buried to the hilt. Scene 3 Sieglinde returns, having drugged Hunding's drink. She reveals that she was forced into the marriage and that during their wedding feast, an old man appeared and plunged a sword into the trunk of the ash tree which neither Hunding nor any of his companions have been able to remove. She
1722-423: A mortal woman, to be held in defenceless sleep on the mountain, prey to any man who finds her. The other Valkyries protest, but when Wotan threatens them with the same, they flee. Orchestral Interlude Scene 3 In a long discourse with Wotan, Brünnhilde explains that she decided to protect Sieglinde knowing that this was Wotan's true desire. Wotan consents to her request that he surround her resting place with
1845-434: A murky C major triad , with clarinets in their lowest register over a timpani pedal in F sharp". This motif will recur throughout the cycle; it will be heard later in this scene, when Fafner clubs Fasolt to death over possession of the ring. Tranquil, ascending harmonies introduce the reconvention of the gods and giants. The subsequent dispute over Wotan's reluctance to part with the ring ends with Erda's appearance; her motif
1968-493: A network of myths from his sources and imagination, each telling a stage of the story. In 1851 he outlined his purpose in his essay " A Communication to My Friends ": "I propose to produce my myth in three complete dramas, preceded by a lengthy prelude (Vorspiel)." Each of these dramas would, he said, constitute an independent whole, but would not be performed separately. "At a specially-appointed Festival, I propose, some future time, to produce those three dramas with their prelude, in
2091-600: A number of changes between his original draft and the final text. For example, in the first sketch, Wotan appeared in person in Act I to drive the sword into the tree. Siegmund withdrew the sword much earlier in the act, and in Act II Hunding was not slain by Wotan, but left alive to follow Wotan's instruction: "Get hence, slave! Bow before Fricka." Apart from some rough sketches, including an early version of what became Siegmund's "Spring Song" in Act I of Die Walküre , Wagner composed
2214-447: A number of stagehands and stage machinery; early in scene 4, Franz Betz (as Wotan) mislaid the ring and had to go backstage to look for it; the gas lighting failed repeatedly, plunging the auditorium into darkness. Some innovations worked well – the wheeled machinery used by the Rhinemaidens to simulate swimming was successful, and the quality of the singing pleased even Wagner, who was otherwise in despair and refused to present himself to
2337-423: A panic, followed by Fasolt and Fafner. Fasolt demands that Freia be given up. He points out that Wotan's authority is sustained by the treaties carved into his spear, including his contract with the giants, which Wotan therefore cannot violate. Donner , god of thunder, and Froh , god of sunshine, arrive to defend Freia, but Wotan cannot permit the use of force to break the agreement. Hoping that Loge will arrive with
2460-415: A powerful magic ring out of it. A discussion of the ring and its powers ensues, and everyone finds good reasons for wanting to own it. Fafner makes a counter-offer: the giants will accept the Nibelung's treasure in payment, instead of Freia. When Wotan tries to haggle, the giants depart, taking Freia with them as hostage and threatening to keep her forever unless the gods ransom her by obtaining and giving them
2583-455: A prologue which he named Das Rheingold . Prelude At the bottom of the Rhine, the three Rhinemaidens , Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Floßhilde, play together. Alberich , a Nibelung dwarf , appears from a deep chasm and tries to woo them. The maidens mock his advances and he grows angry – he chases them, but they elude, tease and humiliate him. A sudden ray of sunshine pierces the depths, to reveal
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#17328515111442706-477: A prose outline for Siegfried's Death , which during the following months he developed into a full libretto. After his flight from Dresden and relocation in Switzerland, he continued to develop and expand his Siegfried project, having decided meantime that a single work would not suffice for his purposes; in his enlarged concept, Siegfried's Death would be the culmination of a series of musical dramas incorporating
2829-473: A revised version of Tannhäuser . However, King Ludwig of Bavaria , to whom Wagner had sold the copyrights to the Ring works, was insistent that the two completed Ring operas be staged, and over Wagner's bitter protests arranged for them to be performed at the Munich Hofoper , Das Rheingold on 22 September 1869 and Die Walküre on 26 June 1870. The core of Wagner's objection to a Munich performance
2952-419: A rising arpeggio to announce the "Nature" motif, outlining the lower partials of an harmonic series with an E ♭ fundamental. This is further elaborated in the strings; the lower-register instruments sustain the E ♭ note throughout the prelude, while the chord is increasingly enhanced by the orchestra. The "Rhine" motif emerges, representing what Osborne describes as "the calm, majestic course of
3075-597: A stand-alone work and continues to be performed independently from its role in the tetralogy. The story of Die Walküre is based on the Norse mythology told in the Völsunga saga and the Poetic Edda . In this version, the Volsung twins Sieglinde and Siegmund , separated in childhood, meet and fall in love. This union angers the gods, who demand that Siegmund must die. Sieglinde and
3198-492: A toad. Wotan and Loge seize him, tie his hands, and drag him up to the surface. Orchestral Interlude - Aufstieg von Nibelheim ( Ascent from Nibelheim ) Back on the mountaintop, Wotan and Loge force Alberich to exchange his wealth for his freedom. He summons the Nibelungen, who bring up the hoard of gold. He then asks for the return of the Tarnhelm, but Loge says that it is part of his ransom. Alberich still hopes he can keep
3321-530: Is "to expound, not to draw conclusions". The fact that most of its characters display decidedly human emotions makes it seem, according to a recent writer, "much more a present-day drama than a remote fable". Nevertheless, Philip Kennicott, writing in The Washington Post describes it as "the hardest of the four installments to love, with its family squabbles, extensive exposition, and the odd, hybrid world Wagner creates, not always comfortably balanced between
3444-561: Is a conflation of several characters in the sagas, notably Siggeir who is wedded to Signy, and the villainous King Hunding who is Siegmund's mortal enemy in the Poetic Edda. Wotan (Odin) appears in the northern sagas as the god of all life as well as of battles, although he is by no means omnipotent. Fricka (Frigg) has most of the hallmarks of her counterpart in the Poetic and Prose Eddas, as wife of Wotan and goddess of family values. Brünnhilde
3567-490: Is a less central figure in the sagas than she is in the Ring cycle. In an early lay , she is sought as a wife by Gunther, who seeks the help of Siegfried in overcoming her superhuman strength. Certain aspects of her Ring character appear in the Eddas and the Nibelungenlied, such as her encirclement by Wotan in a ring of fire, and her rescue by a hero without fear. The Valkyries have a basis in historical fact, within
3690-407: Is a minor-key variation of the "Nature" motif from the prelude. After her warning she departs to the sounds of the "Downfall" motif, an inversion of Erda's entry that resembles "Woman's Worth". The scene ends with a rapid succession of motifs: "Donner's Call", a horn fanfare by which he summons the thunderstorm; Froh's "Rainbow Bridge" which provides a path for the gods into Valhalla; the "Sword" motif,
3813-458: Is an index and musicological guide to the 113 musical compositions and works for the stage by Richard Wagner . It includes guidance on editions of the published works and explanations of historical performance practices. John Deathridge , Martin Geck , and Egon Voss compiled the catalogue. In compiling the catalogue, the authors studied Wagner's writings and examined drafts, sketches, and scores of
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3936-492: Is described by Holman as one of the most pervasive and appealing motifs in the entire Ring cycle – he lists 43 occurrences of the motif throughout the cycle. Many of the Ring ' s characters – Wotan, Froh, Alberich, Fasolt and Erda in Das Rheingold – either sing this phrase or are orchestrally referenced by it. The descent of Wotan and Loge into Nibelheim is represented musically in the second entr'acte, which begins with
4059-497: Is heard; he arrives and attacks Siegmund. Under Brünnhilde's power, Siegmund begins to overpower Hunding, but Wotan appears and shatters Siegmund's sword with his spear. Hunding stabs Siegmund to death. Brünnhilde gathers up the fragments of the sword and flees on horseback with Sieglinde. Contemptuously, Wotan kills Hunding with a simple wave of hand, and sets out in pursuit of Brünnhilde, vowing to punish her harshly for her disobedience. Prelude to Act 3 - Walkürenritt ( The Ride of
4182-487: Is longing for the hero who will draw the sword and save her. When Siegmund expresses his love for her, she reciprocates, and when he speaks the name of his father, Wälse , she recognises him as Siegmund, and realises that the sword was left for him. Siegmund then draws the sword from the tree. She reveals herself as Sieglinde, his twin sister. Siegmund names the sword " Nothung " and declares that it will be her protection. The two sing of their passionate love for each other, as
4305-463: Is signified by a muted horn call in the lower register, played under a shimmer of undulating strings, conveying, says Holman, "the shining, innocent beauty of the Rhinegold in its unfashioned state." The motif for the ring itself first appears in the woodwind, as Wellgunde reveals that a ring fashioned from the gold would confer on its owner the power to win the wealth of the world. This is followed by what
4428-416: Is sometimes known as the "renunciation" motif, when Woglinde sings that to fashion such a ring, the owner must first renounce love. Confusion arises because this same motif is used later in the Ring cycle to represent affirmation rather than rejection of love; Roger Scruton suggests the motif would be more appropriately labelled "existential choice". Alberich duly curses love, seizes the gold and departs, to
4551-444: Is sung by Fafner as a threatening reminder to the gods that the loss of Freia means the loss of their youth and vigour; it is later used by Loge to mock the gods for their weakness after Freia's departure with the giants. The "Spear" motif, a rapidly descending scale, represents the moral basis of Wotan's power and the sanctity of the treaties engraved on it. The phrase of five descending notes known as "Woman's Worth", first sung by Loge,
4674-466: The National Theatre Munich on 26 June 1870, and received its first performance as part of the Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 14 August 1876. As the Ring cycle was conceived by Wagner in reverse order of performance, Die Walküre was the third of the four texts to be written, although Wagner composed the music in performance sequence. The text was completed by July 1852, and
4797-563: The Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda – provided most of the material for Das Rheingold . These are poems and texts from 12th and 13th-century Iceland, which relate the doings of various Norse gods. Among these stories, a magic ring and a hoard of gold held by the dwarf Andvari (Wagner's Alberich) are stolen by the gods Odin (Wotan) and Loki (Loge) and used to redeem a debt to two brothers. One of these, Fafnir, kills his brother and turns himself into
4920-561: The Rheingold music on 1 November. He finished the first draft in mid-January 1854, and by the end of May had completed the full orchestral score. According to Holman, the result was "a stunning break from Wagner's earlier musical output" In the three years following his completion of the Rheingold score, Wagner wrote the music for Die Walküre , and for the first two acts of Siegfried . At that point, in 1857, he set Siegfried aside in order to work on Tristan und Isolde , and did not return to
5043-409: The Ring librettos in reverse order, so that Das Rheingold was the last of the texts to be written; it was, however, the first to be set to music. The score was completed in 1854, but Wagner was unwilling to sanction its performance until the whole cycle was complete; he worked intermittently on this music until 1874. The 1869 Munich premiere of Das Rheingold was staged, against Wagner's wishes, on
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5166-605: The Ring music in its proper sequence. Having completed the music for Das Rheingold in May 1854, he began composing Die Walküre in June, and finished the full orchestral score nearly two years later, in March 1856. This extended period is explained by several concurrent events and distractions, including Wagner's burgeoning friendship with Mathilde Wesendonck , and a lengthy concert tour in London at
5289-521: The Ring project for 12 years. Long before Das Rheingold was ready for performance, Wagner conducted excerpts of the music from scenes 1, 2 and 4, at a concert in Vienna on 26 December 1862. The work remained unstaged, but by 1869 Wagner's principal financial sponsor, King Ludwig of Bavaria , was pressing for an early performance in Munich . Wagner wanted to wait until the cycle was completed, when he would stage
5412-559: The Valkyries , whose task is to recover heroes fallen in battle and bring them to Valhalla, where they will protect the fortress from Alberich 's assault should the dwarf recover the ring. Wotan has also wandered the earth, and with a woman of the Völsung race has fathered the twins Siegmund and Sieglinde, who have grown up separately and unaware of each other. From the Völsungs Wotan hopes for
5535-578: The Völsunga saga , the Poetic Edda , the Prose Edda , the Nibelungenlied and other fragments of Teutonic literature. From this plethora of material he selected particular elements and transformed them, to create his own narrative through the compression of events, the rearrangement of chronology and the fusion of characters. For example, in the Völsunga saga Siegmund is not Wotan's son, although he arranges
5658-544: The "Sword". Das Rheingold is scored for the following instrumental forces: Although it is sometimes performed independently, Das Rheingold is not generally considered outside the structure of the Ring cycle. However, as Millington points out, it is a substantial work in its own right, and has several characteristics not shared by the other works in the tetralogy. It is comparatively short, with continuous music; no interludes or breaks. The action moves forward relatively swiftly, unencumbered, as Arnold Whittall observes, by
5781-451: The "renunciation" and "spear" motifs but is quickly overwhelmed with the insistent, rhythmic 9/8 beat of the Nibelung motif in B ♭ , briefly foreshadowed in Loge's scene 2 soliloquy. In the climax to the entr'acte this rhythm is hammered out on eighteen anvils. This motif is thereafter used, not just to represent the Nibelungs but also their enslavement in a state of relentless misery. During
5904-441: The "retarding explanations" – pauses in the action to clarify the context of what is going on – that permeate the later, much longer works. Its lack of the conventional operatic devices (arias, choruses, ensembles) further enable the story to progress briskly. Since it was written as a prelude to the main events, Das Rheingold is in itself inconclusive, leaving numerous loose ends to be picked up later; its function, as Jacobs says,
6027-450: The 1970s, when a reaction to its bleak austerity produced a number of fresh approaches. The Bayreuth centenary Ring production of 1976, directed by Patrice Chéreau provided a significant landmark in the history of Wagner stagings: "Chéreau's demythologization of the tetralogy entailed an anti-heroic view of the work ... his setting of the action in an industrialized society ... along with occasional 20th century costumes and props, suggested
6150-472: The Gods ) with the story of Siegfried's youth, Young Siegfried , later renamed Siegfried . This was, in turn, preceded by Die Walküre ( The Valkyrie ), dealing with Siegfried's origins, the whole tetralogy being fronted by a prologue, Das Rheingold . Because Wagner prepared his texts in reverse chronological sequence, Die Walküre was the third of the dramas to be conceived and written, but appears second in
6273-525: The January cast, Seidl conducted Das Rheingold to begin the first American Ring cycle. Thereafter, Das Rheingold , either alone or as part of the Ring , became a regular feature of the international opera repertory, being seen in Saint Petersburg (1889), Paris (1901), Buenos Aires (1910), Melbourne (1913),, and Rio de Janeiro (1921), as well many other major venues. After the 1896 revival, Das Rheingold
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#17328515111446396-499: The Met for a final performance. Das Rheingold was Wagner's first attempt to write dramatic music in accordance with the principles he had enunciated in Opera and Drama , hence the general absence in the score of conventional operatic "numbers" in the form of arias, ensembles and choruses. Rather than acting as the accompanist to the voices, the orchestra combines with them on equal terms to propel
6519-414: The Munich premiere derives from later Bayreuth propaganda, and concludes that, "in many ways, these Munich performances surpassed the level of the first Bayreuth festival". As to the public's reaction, the audience's main interest was in the novel scenery and stage effects; Wagner's new approach to composition largely passed them by. In 1876, with the Bayreuth Festspielhaus built, Wagner was ready to stage
6642-417: The Munich premiere. Osborne maintains that the performance was successful, as does Holman, while Oliver Hilmes in his biography of Cosima describes it as "an artistic disaster". Cosima's diary entries for 24 and 27 September note that the performance was portrayed in the Munich press as a succès d'estime , or otherwise as "a lavishly decorated, boring work". Gutman maintains that much of the adverse comment on
6765-453: The Nibelung dwarves with the power of the ring. He has forced his brother Mime, a skillful smith, to create a magic helmet, the Tarnhelm . Alberich demonstrates the Tarnhelm's power by making himself invisible, the better to torment his subjects. Wotan and Loge arrive and happen upon Mime, who tells them of the dwarves' misery under Alberich's rule. Alberich returns, driving his slaves to pile up
6888-399: The Nibelung's gold by the end of the day. Freia's golden apples had kept the gods eternally young, but in her absence they begin to age and weaken. In order to redeem Freia, Wotan resolves to travel with Loge to Alberich's subterranean kingdom to obtain the gold. Orchestral interlude – Abstieg nach Nibelheim ( Descent into Nibelheim ) In Nibelheim, Alberich has enslaved the rest of
7011-408: The Nibelungs' enslavement. After Wotan seizes the ring from the captive Alberich, the dwarf's agonised, self-pitying monologue ("Am I now free?") ends with his declamation of the "Curse" motif – "one of the most sinister musical ideas ever to have entered the operatic repertoire", according to Scruton's analysis: "It rises through a half-diminished chord , and then falls through an octave to settle on
7134-503: The Rhinegold. The maidens rejoice in the gold's gleam. Alberich asks what it is. They explain that the gold, which their father has ordered them to guard, can be made into a magic ring which gives power to rule the world, if its bearer first renounces love. The maidens think they have nothing to fear from the lustful dwarf, but Alberich, embittered by their mockery, curses love, seizes the gold and returns to his chasm, leaving them screaming in dismay. Orchestral interlude Wotan , ruler of
7257-528: The Second World War, resumed in 1951 under Wieland Wagner , Siegfried's son, who introduced his first Ring cycle in the "New Bayreuth" style. This was the antithesis of all that had been seen at Bayreuth before, as scenery, costumes and traditional gestures were abandoned and replaced by a bare disc, with evocative lighting effects to signify changes of scene or mood. The stark New Bayreuth style dominated most Rheingold and Ring productions worldwide until
7380-481: The Valkyries ) Scene 1 The Valkyries congregate on the mountain-top, each carrying a dead hero and chattering excitedly. Brünnhilde arrives with Sieglinde, and begs her sisters for help, but they dare not defy Wotan. Sieglinde tells Brünnhilde that without Siegmund she no longer wishes to live. Brünnhilde tells Sieglinde that she is pregnant by Siegmund, and urges her to remain alive for her child's sake, and to name
7503-435: The act ends. Prelude to Act 2 Scene 1 On a high mountain ridge, Wotan instructs Brünnhilde, his Valkyrie daughter, to protect Siegmund in his forthcoming battle with Hunding. Fricka arrives, and in her role as goddess of family values demands that Siegmund and Sieglinde be punished for their adultery and incest. She scorns Wotan's argument that he requires Siegmund as a "free hero", who can further his plans to recover
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#17328515111447626-465: The air, using lip sync to co-ordinate with off-stage singers. Edward Rothstein , writing in The New York Times , found the production "a puzzle ... cluttered with contraptions and conceits" which, he imagined, were visual motifs which would be clarified in later operas. Keith Warner , in his 2004 production for Covent Garden , portrayed, according to Barry Millington's analysis, "the shift from
7749-403: The alternative payment he has promised, Wotan tries to stall. When Loge arrives, his initial report is discouraging: nothing is more valuable to men than love, so there is apparently no possible alternative payment besides Freia. Loge was able to find only one instance where someone willingly gave up love for something else: Alberich the Nibelung has renounced love, stolen the Rhine gold, and made
7872-470: The application of these principles here, particularly in Act III, when the Valkyries engage in frequent ensemble singing. As with Das Rheingold , Wagner wished to defer any performance of the new work until it could be shown in the context of the completed cycle, but the 1870 Munich premiere was arranged at the insistence of his patron, King Ludwig II of Bavaria . Die Walküre has achieved some popularity as
7995-468: The appointed conductor, Hans Richter to stand down after a troublesome dress rehearsal. Ludwig was unmoved; he denounced Wagner, sacked Richter, appointed another conductor, Franz Wüllner , and rescheduled the premiere for 22 September. Wagner was refused admission to the rehearsals at the theatre, and returned, angry and defeated, to his home in Tribschen . Accounts differ as to the success or otherwise of
8118-399: The assembled crowd, attended the dress rehearsals incognito, but left Bayreuth before the opening night. Most of Europe's leading composers were also present, including Tchaikovsky , Gounod , Bruckner , Grieg , Saint-Saëns and Wagner's father-in law Franz Liszt , together with a large corps of music critics and opera house managers. The huge influx of visitors overwhelmed the resources of
8241-454: The audience despite their clamouring for him. The critics made much of the technical shortcomings, which were largely overcome during the course of the festival, although, to Wagner's fury, they failed to acknowledge this fact. After the 1876 festival, Das Rheingold was not seen again at Bayreuth for 20 years, until Cosima revived the Ring cycle for the 1896 festival. Meanwhile, opera houses across Europe sought to mount their own productions,
8364-686: The basis of the famous Ride of the Valkyries that opens Act III. Wagner wrote the concert version of the Ride in 1862, for performance in concerts at Vienna and Leipzig. As with Das Rheingold , many years elapsed between the completion of the Die Walküre score and its first performance. Seeing little chance of the Ring project coming to any immediate fruition, and in need of money, in August 1857 Wagner abandoned work on it and concentrated instead on Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg , and on
8487-402: The child Siegfried . Brünnhilde gives the fragments of the sword Nothung to Sieglinde, who thanks her for her loyalty and comfort, and resolves to save the child. As she departs, Wotan is heard approaching with great wrath. Scene 2 When Wotan arrives, the Valkyries vainly try to hide Brünnhilde. He faces her and declares her punishment: she is to be stripped of her Valkyrie status and become
8610-401: The complacent gods by fire – he will think it over. Far below, the Rhinemaidens mourn the loss of their gold and condemn the gods as false and cowardly. Because Wagner developed his Ring scheme in reverse chronological order, the "poem" (libretto) for Das Rheingold was the last of the four to be written. He finished his prose plan for the work in March 1852, and on 15 September began writing
8733-404: The compositions. For the full list, see List of compositions by Richard Wagner . Die Walk%C3%BCre Die Walküre ( German pronunciation: [diː valˈkyːʁə] ; The Valkyrie ), WWV 86B , is the second of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner 's Der Ring des Nibelungen (English: The Ring of the Nibelung ). It was performed, as a single opera, at
8856-480: The couple's unborn child are saved by the defiant actions of Wotan 's daughter, the title character, Valkyrie Brünnhilde , who as a result faces the gods' retribution. Structure of the Ring cycle Wagner began work on what became his Ring project in October 1848, when he prepared a prose outline for Siegfried's Death , based on the legendary hero of Germanic myth . During the following months, he developed
8979-399: The course of three days and a fore-evening. In accordance with this scheme, Siegfried's Death , much revised from its original form, eventually became Götterdämmerung ( The Twilight of the Gods ). It was preceded by the story of Siegfried's youth, Young Siegfried , later renamed Siegfried , itself preceded by Die Walküre ( The Valkyrie ). Finally, to these three works Wagner added
9102-515: The critic of the Süddeutsche Presse . Having described the first act as "for the most part, drearily long-winded", this critic thought that the second act dragged and came to life only occasionally. He went on: "The third act begins so deafeningly that total stupor would be ensured even if the rest were less long-winded ... The overall effect of the music is not agreeable...". Cosima kept all communications from Munich away from Wagner, and tore up
9225-462: The cycle, Das Rheingold gives the background to the events that drive the main dramas of the cycle. It recounts Alberich 's theft of the Rhine gold after his renunciation of love; his fashioning of the all-powerful ring from the gold and his enslavement of the Nibelungs ; Wotan 's seizure of the gold and the ring, to pay his debt to the giants who have built his fortress Valhalla ; Alberich's curse on
9348-473: The drama forward. According to Barry Millington's analysis, Das Rheingold represents Wagner's purest application of the Opera and Drama principles, a rigorous stance that he would eventually modify. Even in Rheingold , as Jacobs indicates, Wagner was flexible when the dramatic occasion warranted it; thus, the Rhinemaidens sing in the disavowed ensembles, and there are several instances in which characters sing melodies that appear to be musically independent from
9471-434: The entire tissue of the music drama". The Rheingold score is structured around many such motifs; analysts have used different principles in determining the total number. Holman counts 42, while Roger Scruton , in his 2017 philosophical analysis of the Ring , numbers them at 53. Apart from some early sketches in 1850, relating to Siegfried's Death , Wagner composed the Ring music in its proper sequence. Thus, Das Rheingold
9594-427: The first Bayreuth Festival with his own production of the now complete Ring cycle, beginning with a performance of Das Rheingold on 13 August. This event was preceded by months of preparation in which Wagner was deeply engaged; according to witnesses, he was "director, producer, coach, conductor, singer, actor, stage manager, stage hand and prompter". He searched Europe for the finest orchestral players, and selected
9717-497: The first Hungarian performance of Das Rheingold , conducted by the young Gustav Mahler , was briefly interrupted when the prompt-box caught fire and a number of patrons fled the theatre. The American premiere of Das Rheingold was given by the New York Metropolitan Opera in January 1889, as a single opera, with Seidl conducting. The production used Carl Emil Doepler 's original Bayreuth costume designs, and scenery
9840-604: The first to do so being the Vienna State Opera , which staged Das Rheingold on 24 January 1878. In April 1878 Das Rheingold was produced in Leipzig , as part of the first full Ring cycle to be staged outside Bayreuth. London followed suit in May 1882, when Rheingold began a cycle at Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket , under the baton of Anton Seidl . In the years following the London premiere, Ring cycles were staged in many European capitals. In Budapest on 26 January 1889,
9963-512: The first two acts were prepared in November 1851, and for the third act early in the following year. These sketches were expanded to a more detailed prose plan in May 1852, and the full libretto was written in June 1852. It was privately printed, with the other Ring libretti, in February 1853. Wagner constructed his Die Walküre libretto from a range of ancient Norse and Germanic sources, principally
10086-435: The forest with his parents and twin sister. One day he found their home burned down, his mother killed and his sister gone. Recently he fought with the relatives of a girl being forced into marriage. His weapons were destroyed, the bride was killed, and he was forced to flee. Hunding reveals that he is kin to one of Siegmund's pursuers; Siegmund may stay, he says, but they must fight in the morning. Before leaving, Sieglinde gives
10209-563: The full libretto, which he completed on 3 November. In February 1853, at the Hotel Baur au Lac in Zürich, Wagner read the whole Ring text to an invited audience, after which all four parts were published in a private edition limited to 50 copies. The text was not published commercially until 1863. Of the principal sources that Wagner used in creating the Ring cycle, the Scandinavian Eddas –
10332-406: The general flow. The music is continuous, with instrumental entr'actes linking the actions of the four discrete scenes. The prelude to Das Rheingold consists of an extended (136-bar) chord in E ♭ major, which begins almost inaudibly in the lowest register of eight double-basses. The note of B ♭ is added by the bassoons and the chord is further embellished as the horns enter with
10455-477: The giants. This duologue is characterised by Fricka's "Love's longing" motif, in which she sighs for a home that will satisfy Wotan and halt his infidelities. Freia's distressed entrance is illustrated by "Love", a fragment that will recur and develop as the Ring cycle unfolds. The Giants' entrance is signified by heavy, stamping music that reflects both their simple nature and their brute strength. The "Golden Apples" motif, of "remarkable beauty" according to Scruton,
10578-467: The gods , is asleep on a mountaintop, with a magnificent castle behind him. His wife, Fricka , wakes Wotan, who salutes their new home. Fricka reminds him of his promise to the giants Fasolt and Fafner , who built the castle, that he would give them Fricka's sister Freia , the goddess of youth and beauty, as payment. Fricka is worried for her sister, but Wotan trusts that Loge , the cunning demigod of fire, will find an alternative payment. Freia enters in
10701-400: The gold be piled high enough to hide her from view. Wotan is forced to relinquish the Tarnhelm, to help cover Freia completely. However, Fasolt spots a remaining crack in the gold, through which one of Freia's eyes can be seen. Loge says that there is no more gold, but Fafner, who has noticed the ring on Wotan's finger, demands that Wotan add it to the pile, to block the crack. Loge protests that
10824-543: The invitation of the Royal Philharmonic Society , when he conducted a full season amid some controversy, although his own Tannhäuser overture was well received. The system of leitmotifs , integral to the Opera and Drama principles, is used to the full in Die Walküre ; Holman numbers 36 such motifs that are introduced in the work. The well-known "Valkyrie" motif, used to introduce Brünnhilde in Act II, forms
10947-422: The latter's conception by a Völsung woman. Sigurd (Siegfried) is not the child of Siegmund's incestuous marriage to his sister, but of a later wife who preserves the sword fragments. Likewise, in the sagas Sieglinde is a somewhat different character, Signy; she is Siegmund's twin sister, but the son she bears him is not Siegfried, and the manner of her death is quite different from that depicted by Wagner. Hunding
11070-402: The modest-sized town and caused considerable discomfort to some of the most distinguished of the guests; Tchaikovsky later described his sojourn at Bayreuth as a "struggle for existence". Despite the careful preparation, the first Bayreuth performance of Das Rheingold was punctuated by several mishaps. Some scene changes were mishandled; at one point a backdrop was prematurely lifted to reveal
11193-512: The more critical newspaper reviews. After a second performance, Die Walküre was performed at the Hofoper three further times, alternating with Das Rheingold in a Ring semi-cycle. King Ludwig, who was absent from the premiere, attended one of the later performances. The Munich festival had taken place amid a mounting war fever, as relations between France and the German states rapidly deteriorated;
11316-518: The more traditional manner. Otto Schenk 's staging of Das Rheingold , first seen at the New York Met in 1987 and forming the prelude to his full Ring cycle two years later, was described by The New York Times as "charmingly old fashioned", and as "a relief to many beleaguered Wagnerites". James Morris , who sang Wotan in the 1987 production, and James Levine , the original conductor, both returned in 2009 when Schenk brought his Ring cycle back to
11439-466: The music by March 1856. Wagner largely followed the principles related to the form of musical drama, which he had set out in his 1851 essay Opera and Drama under which the music would interpret the text emotionally, reflecting the feelings and moods behind the work, using a system of recurring leitmotifs to represent people, ideas, and situations rather than the conventional operatic units of arias, ensembles, and choruses. Wagner showed flexibility in
11562-461: The music would interpret the text emotionally, reflecting the feelings and moods behind the work, by using a system of recurring leitmotifs to represent people, ideas and situations. Das Rheingold was Wagner's first work that adopted these principles, and his most rigid adherence to them, despite a few deviations – the Rhinemaidens frequently sing in ensemble. As the "preliminary evening" within
11685-441: The mythic and the recognizably human." Certain presumptions are challenged or overturned; John Louis Gaetani, in a 2006 essay, notes that, in Loge's view, the gods are far more culpable than the Nibelungs, and that Wotan, for all his prestige as the ruler of the gods, "does much more evil than Alberich ever dreams of". Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis The Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis ( Catalogue of Wagner's Works ), abbreviated WWV ,
11808-470: The orchestral overture to the Rheingold, which must long have lain latent within me, though it had been unable to find definite form, had at last been revealed to me". Some authorities (for example Millington et al., 1992) have disputed the validity of this tale, which Nikolaus Bacht refers to as an "acoustic hallucination". After an extended tour, Wagner was back in Zürich by late October and began writing down
11931-504: The orders of King Ludwig II of Bavaria , his patron. Following its 1876 Bayreuth premiere, the Ring cycle was introduced into the worldwide repertory, with performances in all the main opera houses, in which it has remained a regular and popular fixture. In his 1851 essay Opera and Drama , Wagner had set out new principles as to how music dramas should be constructed, under which the conventional forms of opera (arias, ensembles, choruses) were rejected. Rather than providing word-settings,
12054-434: The other gods were represented as gangsters in mafioso sunglasses. This entire Ring , says Spotts, was "a parable of how the power-hungry cheat, lie, bully, terrorise and kill to get what they want". In August Everding 's Chicago Reingold (which would become part of a full Ring cycle four years later), the Rhinemaidens were attached to elasticated ropes manipulated from the wings, which enabled them to cavort freely through
12177-553: The outline into a full "poem" or libretto. After his travels to Switzerland in May 1849, Wagner continued to expand his project, having decided that a single work would not suffice for his purposes. He would, therefore, create a series of music dramas, each telling a stage of the story, basing the narrative on a combination of myth and imagination; Siegfried's Death would provide the culmination. In 1851, he outlined his purposes in his essay "A Communication to My Friends": "I propose to produce my myth in three complete dramas, preceded by
12300-585: The primitive Teutonic war-cult. According to Cooke, originally they were "grisly old women who officiated at the sacrificial rites when prisoners were put to death." They became entwined in legend: in the Poetic Edda they emerge as supernatural warrior maidens carrying out Odin's orders as to who should die. In the Poetic Edda the Valkyries are given names: Skuld, Skogul, Gunn, Hild, Gondul and Geirskogul. Some of these names differ in other sources. The names that Wagner gave to his Valkyries were his own invention, apart from Brünnhilde and Siegrune. Wagner effected
12423-520: The ring and its possessors; Erda 's warning to Wotan to forsake the ring; the early manifestation of the curse's power after Wotan yields the ring to the giants; and the gods' uneasy entry into Valhalla, under the shadow of their impending doom. Structure of the Ring cycle Having completed his opera Lohengrin in April 1848, Richard Wagner chose as his next subject Siegfried , the legendary hero of Germanic myth . In October of that year he prepared
12546-457: The ring belongs to the Rheinmaidens, and Wotan angrily declares that he intends to keep it for his own. As the giants seize Freia and start to leave, Erda , the earth goddess, appears and warns Wotan of impending doom, urging him to give up the cursed ring. Troubled, Wotan calls the giants back and surrenders the ring. The giants release Freia and begin dividing the treasure, but they quarrel over
12669-413: The ring from Fafner, uninhibited by Wotan's contracts. She retorts that Siegmund is not free but is Wotan's pawn, whose every move the god seeks to direct. Defeated by Fricka's argument, Wotan reluctantly agrees that he will not protect Siegmund. Scene 2 After Fricka leaves, the troubled Wotan gives Brünnhilde the full story, and with great sorrow rescinds his earlier instruction; he orders her to give
12792-402: The ring itself. Fafner clubs Fasolt to death. Wotan, horrified, realizes that Alberich's curse has terrible power. Donner summons a thunderstorm to clear the air, after which Froh creates a rainbow bridge that stretches to the gate of the castle. Wotan leads the gods across the bridge to the castle, which he names Valhalla . Loge does not follow; he says in an aside that he is tempted to destroy
12915-459: The ring, but Wotan demands it, and when Alberich refuses, Wotan tears it from Alberich's hand and puts it on his own finger. Crushed by his loss, Alberich lays a curse on the ring: until it returns to him, it will inspire restless jealousy in those who own it, and murderous envy in those who do not, thus condemning all the possessors of the ring. The gods reconvene. Fasolt and Fafner return with Freia. Fasolt, reluctant to release her, insists that
13038-420: The river's character The composer Robert Erickson describes the prelude as drone music – "the only well-known drone piece in the concert repertory". Millington suggests that the protracted chord does not simply represent the depths of the Rhine, rather "the birth of the world, the act of creation itself". When the prelude reaches its climax the curtain rises and the key shifts to A ♭ as Woglinde sings
13161-488: The rocks by her singing, and by the Greek Hesperides myth in which three maidens guard a golden treasure. Robert Jacobs, in his biography of the composer, observes that the "Nibelung Myth" on which Wagner based his entire Ring story was "very much a personal creation", the result of Wagner's "brilliant manipulation" of his sources. In the Rheingold text, Wagner used his imaginative powers to adapt, change and distort
13284-484: The sagas and are substantially Wagner's own invention; he also provided their individual names Woglinde, Wellgunde and Floßhilde. In his analysis of The Ring Deryck Cooke suggests the Rhinemaidens' origin may be in the Nibelungenlied , where three water sprites tease the characters Hagen and Gunther . Wagner may also have been influenced by the Rhine-based German legend of Lorelei , who lures fishermen on to
13407-405: The sagas, are reduced by Wagner to roles of largely passive impotence. Wagner originally conceived the first scene of Das Rheingold as a prologue to the three scenes that follow it. As such, the structure replicates that of Götterdämmerung , and also that of the full Ring cycle. As early as 1840, in his novella "A Pilgrimage to Beethoven", Wagner had anticipated a form of lyric drama in which
13530-417: The scene's opening interaction between Alberich and Mime, the soft, mysterious "Tarnhelm" motif is heard on muted horns; this is later combined with the "serpent" motif as, at Loge's behest, Alberich uses the Tarnhelm to transform himself into a giant snake. The transition back to the mountaintop, following Alberich's entrapment, references a number of motifs, among them Alberich's woe, the ring, renunciation and
13653-452: The sounds of the despairing shrieks of the Rhinemaidens. During the first entr'acte, the Ring motif is transformed into the multipart and oft-reiterated "Valhalla" music – four intertwined motifs which represent the majesty of the gods and the extent of Wotan's power. Scene two begins on the mountaintop, in sight of the newly completed castle, where Fricka and Wotan bicker over Wotan's contract with
13776-455: The standard operatic divisions would disappear. In early 1851 he published his book-length essay Opera and Drama , in which he expounded his emerging ideas around the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk – "total work of art". In the new kind of musical drama, he wrote, the traditional operatic norms of chorus, arias and vocal numbers would have no part. The vocal line would, in Gutman's words, "interpret
13899-528: The stories and characters from the sagas. J.K. Holman, in his "Listener's Guide and Concordance" (2001), cites the Alberich character as typifying Wagner's ability to "consolidate selected aspects from diverse stories to create ... vivid, consistent and psychologically compelling portrait[s]". While some characters' importance is enhanced in Wagner's version, others, such as Donner, Froh, and Freia, who are major figures in
14022-430: The tetralogy. During the lengthy time that has passed since the gods entered Valhalla at the end of Das Rheingold , Fafner has used the Tarnhelm to assume the form of a dragon , and guards the gold and the ring in the depths of the forest. Wotan has visited Erda seeking wisdom, and by her has fathered a daughter, Brünnhilde; he has fathered eight other daughters, possibly also by Erda. These, with Brünnhilde, are
14145-491: The text emotionally through artificially calculated juxtapositions of rhythm, accent, pitch and key relationships". The orchestra, as well as providing the instrumental colour appropriate to each stage situation, would use a system of leitmotifs , each representing musically a person, an idea or a situation. Wagner termed these "motifs of reminiscence and presentiment", which carry intense emotional experience through music rather than words. According to Jacobs, they should "permeate
14268-479: The theatre protest as furious as that which greeted Das Rheingold ." Eventually this hostility was overcome; the final performance of this production, in 1980, was followed by an ovation that lasted ninety minutes. The iconoclastic centenary Ring was followed by numerous original interpretations, at Bayreuth and elsewhere, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The 1988 festival opened with Harry Kupfer 's grim interpretation of Das Rheingold , in which Wotan and
14391-422: The unconsciousness of us all, as we pursue our paths to personality, sovereignty and freedom...". These are the last voices that are heard in the opera, "piercing our hearts with sudden longing, melting our bones with nostalgic desire", before the gods, "marching in empty triumph to their doom", enter Valhalla to a thunderous orchestral conclusion, made up from several motifs including "Valhalla", "Rainbow Bridge" and
14514-780: The victory to Hunding and then departs. Orchestral Interlude Scene 3 Siegmund and Sieglinde are running away from Hunding but are forced to stop. With a vision of Hunding's dogs scratching Siegmund's face Sieglinde faints, consumed with guilt and exhaustion. Orchestral Interlude Scene 4 Brünnhilde suddenly appears to Siegmund and tells him of his impending death; he refuses to follow Brünnhilde to Valhalla when she tells him Sieglinde cannot accompany him. Siegmund still believes that his father's sword will assure him of victory over Hunding, but Brünnhilde tells him it has lost its power. Siegmund threatens to kill both Sieglinde and himself. Much moved, Brünnhilde decides to defy her father and grant victory to Siegmund. Scene 5 Hunding's horn
14637-492: The work himself; also, his return to Munich would likely have precipitated a scandal, in view of his, at the time, affair with the married Cosima von Bülow . Wagner was horrified at the idea of his work being presented in accordance with Ludwig's eccentric tastes. However, Ludwig, who possessed the copyright, was insistent that Rheingold be produced at the Munich Hofoper without further delay. Wagner did all he could to sabotage this production, fixed for August 1869, and persuaded
14760-737: Was being performed regularly at the Bayreuth Festival, although not every year, within a variety of Ring productions. Until the Second World War , under the successive artistic control of Cosima (from 1896 to 1907), her son Siegfried (1908 to 1930) and Siegfried's widow Winifred (1931 to 1943), these productions did not deviate greatly from the stagings devised by Wagner for the 1876 premiere. With few exceptions, this generally conservative, even reverential approach – which extended to all Wagner's operas – tended to be mirrored in performances outside Bayreuth. The Bayreuth Festival, suspended after
14883-549: Was his first attempt to adopt the principles set out in Opera and Drama . According to his memoirs, Wagner's first inspiration for the music came to him in a half-dream, on 4 September 1853, while he was in Spezia in Italy. He records a feeling of "sinking in swiftly flowing water. The rushing sound formed itself in my brain into a musical sound, the chord of E flat major, which continually re-echoed in broken forms ... I at once recognised that
15006-491: Was his relationship with the married Cosima von Bülow , with whom he was cohabiting in Switzerland; he could not return to Munich without provoking scandal, and therefore could not directly control the performances. As the date for the Die Walküre premiere approached, Wagner grew more distressed and sullen; a letter from the critic Franz Müller reporting that everything was going well did nothing to console him. Cosima wrote in her diary that his distress "pierces my heart like
15129-440: Was imported from Germany. According to The New York Times , "[t]he scenery, costumes and effects were all designed and executed with great art and caused admirable results." Of particular note was the performance of Joseph Beck who sang Alberich: "a fine example of Wagnerian declamatory singing, His delivery of the famous curse of the ring was notably excellent in its distinctness and dramatic force". On 4 March 1889, with largely
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