Richard Wagner, Ring of the Nibelung

1. THE ENJOYMENT OF MUSIC
ESSENTIAL LISTENING
EDITION
by
Kristine Forney
Andrew Dell’Antonio
Joseph Machlis
THIRD EDITION
Lecture Slides

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpOr3vZpQK

3. Chapter 41
Total Art: Wagner and
German Romantic Opera

4. German Opera: Characteristics
• German composers began to compose
in German: Mozart (The Magic Flute),
von Weber--Der Freischütz (The
Freeshooter).
• Librettos involved magic, mysticism, the
supernatural, distant and exotic lands
and cultures, love, and heroes.
• Rejected the stories of court intrigues
and farces.

5. German Opera
• Very different from Italian
• Language more guttural, music
heavier, less light-hearted
• Nordic gods instead of Greeks
• Carl Maria von Weber-Der Freischutz
– Based on German folklore
– Offers mysticism, rustic scenes,
etc.

6. Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)
• The most controversial composer who ever
lived--some love him; some hate him.
• Controversial figure--had very questionable
character to achieve goals; an anti-Semite
who may have influenced Hitler
• Operas are full of social and political ideas.
• Rienzi-1st
success
• Born in Leipzig, son of police officer.
• Studied music of Beethoven.
• Held a series of positions as conductor.
• Career in Dresden

7. Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)
• Fled Germany in 1848; first to house of Liszt, then to
Switzerland; lived there for 10 years.
• Failed revolution in 1849
• Second wife: Cosima Liszt
• King Ludwig II of Bavaria supported him and his art.
• Built a large opera house in Bayreuth--called
Festspielhaus (“a festival drama house”).
• 1876-1st
Bayreuth Festival, continues today
• Oversaw the building of the opera house and all the
performances there
• Died at age 70, buried at opera house

8. Richard Wagner
Other Operas
• The Flying Dutchman
• Tannhäuser
• Lohengrin (Wedding Recessional)
• Tristan und Isolde
• Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
• Parsifal

9. Wagner’s Music Dramas
R o m a n ti c O p e r a i n T h e E x t r e m e
G e s a m t k u n s t w e r k
E l a b o r a t e S t a g i n g ,
S e t s , C o s t u m e s
E x t r e m e l y L o n g ,
C o m p l e x
L i e t m o t i f
M u s i c D r a m a
 Unification of drama & music
 Musical theme represents person,
place, idea
 As long as 5 hours-intermissions
long enough to go to dinner and
return
 Expensive and sometimes garish
 The idea: a total asthetic
experience in one

10. Wagner
• Created “Grand Opera”, or
Music Drama
• Wrote own libretto
• Mythological topics, appealed
best to emotions
• Philosophical overtones: good
vs. evil, contest between
physical & spiritual,
redemption through love
• Characters pawns of
uncontrollable forces

11. Wagner
• Grand Opera
– Longer, more instruments, more
characters
– Doubled winds, added percussion
– Not accepted at time, more after
Wagner’s death
– Full of emotion
– Eliminated recitative, aria, chorus
to achieve unending melody
– More chromatic harmony, no idea
for tonic
– Orchestra more important, bigger
and louder

12. Der Ring des Nibelungen
• Greatest musical achievement
• Opera Cycle
• An opera with outstanding
orchestration and blending of
the voices with the orchestra
• Ring of the Nibelungs
– Das Rhiengold
– Die Walküre
– Siegfried
– Götterdammerung
• “It ain’t over till the fat lady
sings.”

13. Richard Wagner
The Leitmotif
• Leitmotif--a brief musical
phrase or idea that is
connected dramatically to
some person, event, or
idea in the drama
– When the leitmotif is
heard, it causes the
audience to recognize
the person, event or
idea.
– Similar to the “shark
theme” in Jaws.

14. Wagner and Tolkien:
The Ring and Lord of the Rings
• Both contain 4 works; the first is a prelude to the rest of the
story; based on Nordic myths.
• Both emphasize the power of the ring and the grief it brings
the owner who covets the power.
• The plots center on people’s efforts to own and control the
ring.
• Both start with a state of purity that is corrupted later and
then restored.
• Both feature giants, dragons, dwarves, a riddling match, and a
shattered sword recast to be more powerful.

15. Anna Russell
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN5dAQLYYr

16. Die Walküre
“Ride of the Valkyries”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeRwBiu4wfQ&

17. Richard Wagner The Valkyrie, Act
III
• Story: In The Valkyrie, the main characters are Wotan
(chief of the gods), his daughter Brünnhilde (a
warrior-like Valkyrie). Brünnhilde has intervened on
behalf of a human couple, and Wotan condemns her
to death. She pleads for a lesser sentence and is
stripped of her godlike powers, put into a deep sleep,
and surrounded with a ring of fire that can be
crossed only by someone who isn’t afraid of Wotan’s
spear. In this scene Wotan is saying goodbye to his
beloved daughter and summons Loge to create the
circle of fire.

18. Richard Wagner The Valkyrie, Act
III
• Texture--Wagner’s composition uses the voice very
differently than it is used in Verdi’s La Traviata. In Verdi’s
opera, the singer stands out above the orchestra. In
Wagner’s opera, the singer and the orchestra have more
equal parts.
• Wagner wanted the music and the drama to have equal
importance.
• Vocal writing is more syllabic than in Italian opera with little
repetition of the text.
• Melodies are fluid and avoid periodic phrase structure.

19. Act III (Finale) of
Die Walküre
• Leitmotifs:
– slumber
– magic sleep
– magic fire
– Siegfried
Wagner: Die Walküre
(Listening Guide)

23. by
Kristine Forney
Andrew Dell’Antonio
Joseph Machlis
Lecture Slides
THIRD EDITION
THE ENJOYMENT OF MUSIC
ESSENTIAL LISTENING EDITION
http://wwnorton.com/web/enjoyess2