Der Ring des Nibelungen

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This article is about the series of operas; for the science fiction movie, see Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King.

Image:Valkyrie horseback.jpg Der Ring des Nibelungen translated commonly into English as The Ring of the Nibelung or The Nibelung's Ring, is a series of four epic operas based loosely on figures and elements of Germanic paganism, particularly from the Icelanders' sagas. Both the libretto and the music were written by Richard Wagner over the course of twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874.

The four operas in the Ring cycle are:


Contents

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Content

The Ring is a work of extraordinary scale and scope. Its most obvious quality, for a first-time listener, is its sheer length: a full performance of the cycle takes place over four nights at the opera, with a total playing time of about 15 hours, depending on the conductor's pacing. The first and shortest opera, Das Rheingold, typically clocks in at two and a half hours, while the last and longest, Götterdämmerung, can take up to five hours in performance.

As a trilogy, it is modelled after ancient Greek dramas that were presented as three tragedies and one satyr play. As such, the Ring properly begins with Die Walküre and ends with Götterdämmerung. Rheingold, as such, is a prelude to the trilogy proper.

The scale and scope of the story is epic. It follows the struggles of gods, heroes, and several mythical creatures, over the eponymous magic Ring that grants domination over the entire world. The drama and intrigue continues through three generations of protagonists, until the final cataclysm at the end of Götterdämmerung.

The music of the Ring is thick and richly textured, and grows in complexity as the cycle proceeds. Wagner wrote for an orchestra of gargantuan proportions. He eventually had a purpose-built theatre (the Bayreuth Festspielhaus) constructed in Bayreuth in which to perform this work, which had taken him about a quarter of a century to write. The theatre had a special stage which blended the huge orchestra with the singers' voices, allowing them to sing at a natural volume. The result was that the singers did not have to strain themselves vocally during the long performances. The acoustics of this performance space are among the best in the world. In other performance venues singers sometimes find it difficult to achieve this balance between voice and orchestra.

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Story

The plot revolves around a magic ring that grants the power to rule the world, forged by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich from gold stolen from the river Rhine. Several mythic figures struggle for possession of the Ring, including Wotan (Odin), the chief of the Gods. Wotan's scheme, spanning generations, to overcome his limitations, drives much of the action in the story. The hero Siegfried wins the Ring, as Wotan intended, but is eventually betrayed and slain. Finally, the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, Siegfried's lover and Wotan's estranged daughter, returns the Ring to the Rhine. In the process, the Gods are destroyed.

For a detailed plot synopsis, see the articles for the individual operas.

Wagner created the story of the Ring by fusing elements from many German and Scandinavian myths and folk tales. The Old Norse Eddas supplied much of the material for Das Rheingold, which also contains the same plot device as the tale Puss in Boots, while Die Walküre was largely based on the Volsunga saga. Siegfried contains elements from the Eddas, the Volsunga Saga, Thidreks saga, and even the Grimm brothers' fairy tales The Tale of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear and Sleeping Beauty. The final opera, Götterdämmerung, draws from the 12th century High German poem known as the Nibelungenlied, which appears to have been the original inspiration for the Ring, and for which the cycle was named. (For a detailed examination of Wagner's sources for the Ring, and his treatment of them, see among other works Deryck Cooke's tragically unfinished study of the Ring, I Saw the World End, and Ernest Newman's Wagner Nights. Also useful is a translation by Stewart Spencer (Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung: Companion, edited by Barry Millington) which, as well as containing essays including one on the source material, provides an English translation of the entire text which seeks to remain faithful to the early medieval Stabreim technique Wagner used.)

In weaving these disparate sources into a coherent tale, Wagner injected many contemporary concepts. One of the principal themes in the Ring is the struggle of love, which is also associated with Nature and freedom, against power, which is associated with civilization and law. In the very first scene of the Ring, the scorned dwarf Alberich sets the plot in motion by placing a curse on love, an act that allows him to acquire the power to rule the world by means of forging a magical ring. In the last scene of that opera this ring of power is taken from him, and he curses it.

Since its inception, the Ring has been subjected to a plethora of interpretations. George Bernard Shaw, in The Perfect Wagnerite, argues for a view of the Ring as an essentially socialist critique of industrial society and its abuses. Robert Donington in Wagner's Ring and its Symbols interprets it in terms of Jungian psychology as an account of the development of unconscious archetypes in the mind, leading towards individuation. Peter Kjaerulff, in The Ringbearers Diary, interprets the Ring as an attempt to expose a structure of ideas he refers to as The Cursed Ring, which he also links to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Plato's The Ring of Gyges.

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Music

Wagner was unsatisfied with the traditional structure of an opera as a series of distinct songs. In his previous operas, he had tried to disguise the song breaks as part of the music. For the Ring he decided to adopt a through-composed style, where each act of each opera would be a complete song with no breaks whatsoever.

As a new foundation for his operas, Wagner adopted the use of what he called Grundthemen, or "base themes", but known since as leitmotifs (often shortened to "motive", "motiv" or "motif"), or simply as "themes". They are recurring melodies and/or harmonies, sometimes tied to a particular key and often to a particular orchestration, which denote musically an action, object, emotion, character or other subject mentioned in the text and/or presented onstage. While other composers before Wagner had already used leitmotifs, the Ring was unique in the extent to which he employed them, in their perfect expression of their subjects' essential characters (be they concrete, such as sword or spear, a person like Erda, or an abstract concept like "murder" or "love"), and in the ingeniousness of their combination and development.

Any important subject is usually accompanied by a leitmotif, and there are long stretches of music which are constructed exclusively from them. There are dozens of motives spread through the Ring. They often occur as a musical reference to a presentation of their subject onstage, or to a reference in the text. Many of them appear in several operas, and some even in all four. Each of various aspects of several of the subjects is represented by its own leitmotif. Sometimes, as in the character of the Woodbird, a cluster of motives is associated with a single character.

As the cycle progresses, and especially from the third act of Siegfried on, these motives are presented in increasingly sophisticated combinations. It is particularly telling when, as so often happens, they are used as a commentary, often ironic, on an action or a textual reference, or even simultaneously on each other. More particularly, the "system" of leitmotifs consists of close relationships between them, suggesting equivalent relationships between their subjects. A puzzling example is the similarity between the melodic contours of the Curse and the "Siegfried-as-hero" themes. And most importantly, Wagner used his father-in-law Franz Liszt's "metamorphosis of themes" technique to effect a dynamic development of many leitmotifs into quite different ones with a life all of their own. A clear example occurs in the transition from the first to the second scene of Das Rheingold, in which the musical theme associated with the ring of power transforms into that of Valhalla, Wotan's fortress intended as a base from which he as chief of the gods can impose his law on the world. The subject matter's parallelism is too obvious to require stating; what is worth mentioning is that the point is made by our conceptual association of the "ring" motive with its subject. No words are sung during the transition; the burden of the argument at that point is entirely musical. The most important result of this kind of technique is the setting up of an infinitely complex web of musico-conceptual associations which continues to provide material for discussion.

The advances in orchestration and tonality Wagner made in this work are of seminal importance in the history of Western music. He had arguably the best sense of orchestral sound of any Romantic composer; the huge Ring orchestra provided him with a palette of 17 different instrumental families (including the Wagner tuba, an instrument he invented to fill a gap he found between the tone qualities of the French horn and the trombone, as well as variations of existing instruments made for the operas, such as the bass trumpet and a contrabass trombone that used a double slide) which he could use singly or in any number of combinations to give infinite expression to the great range of emotions and events of the drama. For the same reason he weakened traditional tonality to the extent that most of the Ring, especially from Siegfried Act III onwards, cannot be said to be in "keys" as traditionally defined, but rather in "key areas", each of which flow smoothly into the following one. This fluidity, avoiding as it did a perceived need for the musical equivalent of "full stops"/"periods", was an integral component of the style that enabled Wagner to build the work's huge structures - Das Rheingold is an unbroken two-and-a-half hours long. Tonal indeterminacy was heightened by the vastly increased freedom with which he used dissonance. Simple major or minor (i.e. consonant) chords are rare in the Ring, and this work and his Tristan and Isolde are universally recognised as milestones on the way to Arnold Schoenberg's revolutionary break with the traditional concept of key and his rejection of consonance as the basis of an organising principle in music.

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History of the Ring Cycle

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Composition

In summer 1848 Wagner wrote The Nibelung Myth as Sketch for a Drama, combining the medieval sources previously mentioned into a single narrative, very similar to the plot of the eventual Ring cycle, but nevertheless with substantial differences. Later that year he began writing a libretto entitled Siegfrieds Tod ("Siegfried's Death"). He was likely encouraged by a series of articles in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, inviting composers to write a "national opera" based on the Nibelungenlied, a 12th century High German poem which, since its rediscovery in 1755, had been hailed by the German Romantics as the "German national epic". Siegfrieds Tod dealt with the death of Siegfried, the central heroic figure of the Nibelungenlied.

By 1850, Wagner had completed a musical sketch (which he abandoned) for Siegfrieds Tod. He now felt that he needed a preliminary opera, Der junge Siegfried ("The Young Siegfried", later renamed to "Siegfried"), in order to explain the events in Siegfrieds Tod. The verse draft of Der junge Siegfried was completed in May 1851. By October, he had made the momentous decision to embark on a cycle of four operas, to be played over four nights: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Der Junge Siegfried and Siegfrieds Tod.

The text for all four operas was completed in December 1852, and privately published in February 1853. In November, Wagner began the composition draft of Das Rheingold. Unlike the verses, which were written as it were in reverse order, the music would be composed in the same order as the narrative. Composition proceeded until 1857, when the final score up to the end of Act II of Siegfried was completed. Wagner then laid the work aside for twelve years, during which he wrote Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

By 1869, Wagner was living at Tribschen on Lake Lucerne, sponsored by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. At this point, he returned to Siegfried, and, remarkably, was able to pick up where he left off. In October, he completed the final opera, Götterdämmerung, as Siegfried's Tod had been renamed, since the gods were now (in accordance with the new pessimistic thrust of the cycle) destroyed, rather than being redeemed (as in the original optimistic ending). These changes, together with the decision to show onstage the events of Die Walküre and Das Rheingold, which had hitherto only been presented as back-narration in the other two operas, resulted in some discrepancies which it is impossible to reconcile, but which do not diminish the value of the cycle.

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First productions

On King Ludwig's insistence, and over Wagner's objections, "special previews" of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre were given at the Munich Court Theater, before the rest of the Ring. Thus, Das Rheingold premiered on September 22 1869, and Die Walküre on June 26 1870.

Wagner had long desired to have a special festival opera house, designed by himself, for the performance of the Ring. In 1871, he decided on a location in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth. In 1872, he moved to Bayreuth, and the foundation stone was laid. Wagner would spend the next two years attempting to raise capital for the construction, with scant success; King Ludwig finally rescued the project in 1874 by donating the needed funds. The Bayreuth Festspielhaus opened in 1876 with the first complete performance of the Ring, which took place from August 13 to August 17.

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The Ending of the Ring Cycle

Finding an appropriate conclusion for the Ring cycle caused Wagner immense difficulty, and his ideas for the end changed several times as his political and philosophical ideas evolved. Wagner’s original plan for the Ring was outlined in “Der Nibelungen-Mythus: Als Entwurf zu einen Drama", completed on 4 October 1848. In this first version Siegfried and Brunnhilde rise above Siegfried’s funeral pyre to Valhalla to cleanse Wotan of his crime and redeem the Gods, rather as The Dutchman and Senta ascend above the clouds at the end of Der fliegende Holländer. A major difference between this draft and subsequent revisions is that there is no suggestion here that the Gods are destroyed. This poem was re-worked and by the following year had the title “Siegfried’s Tod”. Brunnhilde's final oration stresses the cleansing effect of Siegfried's death:

“Hear then, you mighty Gods. Your guilt is abolished: the hero takes it upon himself. The Nibelungs’ slavery is at an end, and Alberich shall again be free. This Ring I give to you, wise sisters of the watery deeps. Melt it down and keep it free from harm.”

In these early drafts, Siegfried was the focus of the opera. By 1851 he had rewritten the story to expand the role of Wotan and to make the events of Das Rheingold and Die Walkure into separate operas. The ending changes now so that the Gods achieve redemption in death. Brunnhilde's speech now reads:

“Fade away in bliss before the deed of Man: the hero you created. I proclaim to you freedom from fear, through blessed redemption in death.”

This was subsequently replaced by a version in 1852 which bears the imprint of Wagner’s discussions with the anarchist Bakunin, and of his study of Feuerbach, whose writing suggested that Gods were the construction of human minds, and the love had primacy over all other human endeavours. In this “Feuerbach” ending Brunnhilde proclaims the destruction of the Gods and their replacement with a society ruled by love:

"Nicht Gut, nicht Gold, Noch göttliche Pracht; nicht Haus, nicht Hof, noch herrischer Prunk; nicht trüber Verträge trügender Bund, nicht heuchelnder Sitte hartes Gesetz: selig in Lust und Leid, lässt - die Liebe nur sein."

[“Not goods or gold, nor glittering Gods; Not house, nor hall, not splendid displays; not treacherous treaties nor broken bonds, nor arrogant custom’s adamant law: blissful in gladness and sorrow – love alone shall endure.”]

By 1856, Wagner’s intentions for what was now Gotterdammerung had changed again. Under the profound influence of Buddhist and Schopenhauerian ideas, he appended a new section to Brunnhilde’s final aria. These words appeared in some printed copies of the poem, but were never set to music. The “Schopenhauer” ending stressed self-overcoming, resignation and the illusory nature of human existence, in keeping with the notion of negation of the Will:

"Führ' ich nun nicht mehr Nach Walhalls Feste, wisst ihr, wohin ich fahre?
Aus Wunschheim zieh' ich fort, Wahnheim flieh' ich auf immer;
des ew'gen Werdens off'ne Tore schliess' ich hinter mir zu: nach dem wunsch - und wahnlos heiligsten Wahlland, der Welt-Wanderung Ziel, von Wiedergeburt erlöst, zieht nun die Wissende hin.
Alles Ew'gen sel'ges Ende, wisst ihr, wie ich's, gewann? Trauernder Liebe tiefstes Leiden schloss die Augen mir auf. Enden sah ich die Welt."

[Were I no more to fare to Valhalla's fortress, do you know whither I fare? I depart from the home of desire, I flee forever the home of delusion; the open gates of eternal becoming I close behind me now: To the holiest chosen land, free from desire and delusion, the goal of the world's migration, redeemed from incarnation, the enlightened woman now goes. The blessed end of all things eternal, do you know how I attained it? Grieving love's profoundest suffering opened my eyes for me: I saw the world end.]

By the end of his composition of Der Ring des Nibelungen in November 1874, Wagner decided that music itself, and not words, should be allowed to deliver the final message of the Ring.

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Recordings of the complete Ring Cycle

The complete Ring Cycle has been performed many times, but relatively few full commercial recordings exist, probably due to financial considerations. The four operas together take about 14 hours, which makes for a lot of records, tapes, or CDs, and a lot of studio time. For this reason, many full Ring recordings are the result of "unofficial" recording of live performances, particularly from Bayreuth where new productions are often broadcast by German radio. Live recordings, especially those in monaural, may have very variable sound but often preserve the excitement of a performance better than a studio recording.

Here are some of the best-known and most appreciated recordings of the complete Ring Cycle:

The Solti recording was the first stereo studio recording of the complete cycle, and it remains popular. First-time buyers looking for a Ring recording are often recommended the Solti CDs, and in a poll on the BBC's long running radio programme "CD Review", this set was voted the greatest recording of the 20th century.

The Ring cycle is also available in a number of video or DVD presentations. These include:

In September 2005, Warner Classics released Die Walküre as the long awaited first instalment of 1991-1992 Ring cycle directed for the stage by Harry Kupfer with Daniel Barenboim conducting the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra.

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Performances

The complete cycle is performed most years in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus: the first staging of a new production becomes a society event attended by many important and popular people like politicians, actors, musicians and sportsmen. Tickets are hard to get and are often reserved years in advance.

The Ring is a major undertaking for any opera company: staging four interlinked operas requires a huge commitment both artistically and financially. In most opera houses, production of a new Ring cycle will happen over a number of years, with one or two operas in the cycle being added each year. Bayreuth is unusual in that a new cycle is almost always created within a single year. The Ring cycle has been staged by opera companies in many different ways. Early productions often stayed close to Wagner's original Bayreuth staging. Following the closure of the Festspielhaus during the Second World War, the 1950s saw productions by Wagner's grandsons Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner which emphasised the human aspects of the drama in a more abstract setting. Famous modern interpretations include the centennial production of 1976 directed by Patrice Chéreau and conducted by Pierre Boulez. Set in the industrial revolution, it replaced the depths of the Rhine with a hydroelectric power dam and featured grimy sets populated by men and gods in business suits. Early performances were booed, but the production is now often regarded as revolutionary. Ring productions tend to fall into two camps: those which try to remain fairly close to Wagner's original stage design and direction, and those which seek to re-interpret the Ring for modern audiences, often inserting stage pictures and action which Wagner himself might not recognise. The production by Peter Hall, conducted by Georg Solti at Bayreuth in 1983 is an example of the former, while the production by Richard Jones at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 1994 - 1996, conducted by Bernard Haitink, is an example of the latter.

Another interesting complete Ring cycle was begun in 2004, performed by the English National Opera at the Coliseum Theatre near London's Trafalgar Square. The production is notable for its use of contemporary minimalist sets and costumes. Many of the scenes look like rooms from Ikea and indeed the production is sponsored by the MFI furniture company.

Certain opera companies, such as the Seattle Opera, produce entirely new Ring cycles every 4 to 6 years. Seattle Opera's next cycle will be performed in August 2009.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago, under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis, performed three complete cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen in the 2004-2005 season to mark the company's 50th anniversary.

In Australia, 2004 saw the first full production of the Ring Cycle, in Adelaide.

The Canadian Opera Company is conducting its first complete Ring Cycle in 2006 upon the opening of the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. This production is notable for the stage direction by prominent, worldwide known Canadian film directors Atom Egoyan and François Girard.

In 2008, San Francisco Opera will be presenting an "American Ring" cycle in a co-production with the Washington National Opera, directed by Francesca Zambello. March 2006 saw the premiere of this cycle's production of Das Rheingold at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

It is possible to perform The Ring with fewer resources than usual. In 1990, the City of Birmingham Touring Opera (now Birmingham Opera Company), presented a two-evening adaptation (by Jonathan Dove) for a limited number of solo singers, each doubling several roles, and 18 orchestral players. This version has subsequently been performed elsewhere in Britain and in the United States.

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Parodies

Image:Anna-Russell-album.jpg

Der Ring des Nibelungen is frequently subject to parody. Two well-known parodies are Anna Russell's "The Ring of the Nibelungs (An Analysis)" and Looney Tunes' What's Opera, Doc?.

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Adaptations

"Der Ring des Nibelungen" has been adapted into comics form by artist P. Craig Russell, known for his comics adaptations of operas. Russell adapts the cycle with a great deal of sophistication, creating (for example) visual parallels to Wagner's leitmotifs with repeated images.

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External links

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