Wagner's Ring Cycle, Quarantined
In honor of our illustrious neighbor in Chicago and the Met Wagner week, our next opera exploration will be Wagner’s Ring Cycle! Let’s tame the fear these tunes inspire in many an opera fan. “For Wagner, music is drama — a drama of extremes. He created a new, multidimensional form of expression through a mix of music, drama and poetry that changed forever how the world thought about and experienced opera.” (Marin Alsop)
Required Reading
Anna Russell breaks down the Ring, in her decades-famous humorous take on the subject.
The Self-Help Guide to Wagner from NPR - an exploration of the man and his music, simplified
Musical Secrets of Die Walkure from the Royal Opera House
Need to Know
The Ring kind of works like The Hobbit, where the first show is a prequel (Das Rheingold) to the trilogy of operas subtitled as First, Second, and Third Days (Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung). It begins with a dwarf’s obsession over a ring of power (sound familiar?) that starts as a hunk of gold that sets the gods to war. It also focuses heavily on the interaction of man and the gods. Modeled after the classic Greek dramas, this is Wagner’s riff on Norse mythology. The ring grants world domination, and the drama and intrigue carry through three generations throughout the course of the operas.
Listen for chromatic chords, a huge orchestra with heavy brass, theme tunes (leitmotifs) that fit major characters and plot changes, and rare but fabulous chorus music. Also, the Ride of the Valkyries!
PG-13: Violence
Synopses (from Alan Blyth's Wagner's Ring: An introduction)
1. Das Rheingold: "Rhinegold"
The first act of this first opera begins with a scene in which a dwarf named Alberich seizes the gold of the Rhinemaidens. Alberich denounces love in order to gain possession of the magic ring which gives its wearer ultimate power. This scene sets up the Ring as the most desireable object in the world, and thus it establishes the fundamental intrigue that lasts throughout the entire cycle of the Ring. Rhinegold is the story of the gods, possibly more so than the rest of the operas. One learns of the suffering of Wotan and the problems the gods have in repaying Fafner and Fasolt, the giants who built Valhalla. Since Wagner created Rhinegold to be the "Prelude" to the Ring, this opera perhaps is not as "free-standing" as the other works. Nevertheless, Rhinegold introduces "the main lines of The Ring's dramatic conflict" and "many of the cycle's main musical ideas" (Blyth, 29).
2. Die Walkure: "The Valkyries"
Brunnhilde and her father Wotan respectively struggle with their pride in order to decide the ultimate destiny of mortals. The Valkyries deals with the deep, but difficult relationship between gods and mortals. These gods also play games with one another, picking favorites and taking sides. Nobleness, especially in love, seems to come second to oaths--the divine promises--of the gods. Siegmund, the mortal hero, essentially dies because his father, Wotan, is under obligation to obey his lawful wife, Fricka.
3. Siegfried
"Siegfried is often called the Scherzo of The Ring, suggesting that it is the lightest of the four dramas..." (Blyth, 83). It is the story of a hero, Siegfried, and how he grows into manhood to discover fear and love. Raised by the Nibelung Mime, Siegfried is young, innocent and cocky. With the help of a mysterious Wanderer (who is really Wotan in disguise), Siegfried finds the pieces of his father's sword, Notung, reforges them and uses the instrument to kill the dragon Fafner who guards the hoard of Nibelung gold that formerly belonged to the Rhinemaidens. As a result of his killing of Fafner, Siegfried comes into possession of Alberich's cursed ring. But, Siegfried faces his ultimate challenge when he follows a birdsong to find the sleeping Brunnhilde whom fate has destined Siegfried to awaken and fall in love with. At the end of the opera, Siegfried gives the Ring to Brunnhilde to prove and symbolize his oath of love and fidelity to her.
4. Gotterdammerung: "The Twilight of the Gods"
An ambiance of doom overabides The Twilight of the Gods. Wotan and the rest of the cycle's characters face the consequences of the choices they made throughout the stories of the first three operas. As predicted by the three Norns in the "Prelude" to this opera, the Nibelung Alberich's curse upon the Ring proves to be prophetic. Everyone who comes into possession of it is ultimately destroyed. Although Wotan's disempowerment was foreshadowed in Siegfried by the breaking of his spear by Siegfried, the doomed fate of the gods and their All-Father Wotan is sealed when Alberich's evil son, Hagen dupes and cruelly murders the brave mortal hero Siegfried. Thus, The Twilight of the Gods , which is "a panorama of love and betrayal, good and evil, subconscious and overt events, grand, pictorial and private, intimate scenes" is "the climax of the whole Ring cycle" and "shows Wagner at zenith of his powers" (Blyth, 115).
Exploring the Ring in all its Flavors
John shares his recipe for Nectar of the Gods. Watch him whip that up here.
Ingredients:
4 oz. Sparkling Wine or Champagne
1 oz. Rasberry Liqueur (Framboise)
1 bar spoon (tsp) Agave Nectar (sub honey)
1 Lemon Peel for garnish
Directions:
Add rasberry liqueur and agave nectar to a champange flute and stir. Top off with sparkling wine and stir to incorporate (careful, drink will fizz up quickly!). Finish by garnishing with a lemon peel. Enjoy!
Enjoy the Shows!
Das Rheingold - Thielemann at Bayreuth (audio only)
Das Rheingold - Bayreuth with Boulez (with English subtitles)
Die Walkure - Met On Demand, to rent
Die Walkure - Valencia with Zubin Mehta
Siegfried - an overview and production with Sawallisch at Bayerische Staatsoper
Siegfried - Met On Demand, to rent (Le Page’s version)
Siegfried - Valencia with Zubin Mehta
Gotterdammerung - Met On Demand, to rent
Gotterdammerung - an overview and production with Sawallisch at Bayerische Staatsoper
Gotterdammerung - Bayreuth with Boulez (with English subtitles)
Dig a Little Deeper
So Wagner and King Ludwig II became buddies, so the crazy king funded the opera theater of Wagner’s dreams. Check it out! Wagner specifically designed a pit that allowed all of the brass and full orchestra color but with less volume so the singers didn’t have to work so hard - it’s pretty much under the stage. For the long version, read about Bayreuth’s official history, or Myths about Wagner and Bayreuth. All they perform there these days are Wagner’s opera - not even all of them!
Have you ever heard of a Wagner tuba? Not only did he love big orchestra sound, he was very particular about specific colors, and modified or developed instruments to meet his needs.
The Lyric Opera of Chicago was preparing their audience for a new Ring Cycle. Check out their Beginner’s Guide.
Politics and music often go together. Here’s a take on how Wagner’s music and politics fit together.
How serious are you? Watch the entire Ring Cycle conducted at Opera North!
Wagner, Less Seriously
And in the “you already know Wagner, you just don’t know you know Wagner” category…Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd!
Classics Explained takes on the Ring, cartoon style
Wagner’s 15-hour ring cycle in under 3 minutes, drawn out thanks to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra