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Great Moments In Opera, Wagner's "Ride Of The Walkyries"

 

In Wagner's opera "Die Walkure" (the second in "The Ring"), the chief all the god's Wotan, at first orders Brunhilde (the leader of his Walkryies) to assist Siegmund so that he might emerge triumphant in battle over Hunding and win the love of Sieglinde; who also happens to be his sister. It is however after Wotan gives these orders that he is forced to retract himself when his wife, Fricka (goddess of marriage and conventionality) convinces him that he should defend Hunding's rights, who is Sieglinde's husband and not Siegmunde; who according to her is merely trying to steal another man's wife. It is then with great reluctance that Wotan tells Brunhilde that he has changed his mind and now wishes that she fight along side Hunding so that he might emerge triumphant.

 

Brunhilde being the obedient soldier that she is, heeds Wotan's request however is less than enthusiastic in wanting to help Hunding, whom she sees as an evil man; who has taken Sieglinde to wife by force. Brunhilde however despite her unwillingness to follow Wotan's orders intends to assist Hunding yet is convinced by Siegmunde to do the opposite of what she has been instructed. This being precisely what Brunhilde does and it is just as Siegmunde is about to emerge victories that Wotan interferes in Hunding's favor; killing Siegmunde.

 

Wotan however is all too aware that Brunhilde has done the complete opposite of what he has instructed her to. As she has used the power he gave her against not only his wishes but him as well. Brunhilde, then immediately seeing that she has been caught in an act of insubordination, flees knowing that Wotan's rage will soon be about her and it is in her desperate flight that we hear "Ride Of The Walkyries".

 

"Ride Of The Walkyries" in fact being the piece which starts act three, as Wotan with all of his fury chases his once beloved, Brunhilde and it is the music which allows us to feel his anger and rage; as both soar through the heavens. One in an almost vain attempt to escape while the other intent on establishing his law. The music is heavy, making use of brass and percussion in a way which makes this piece as heavy for its time as heavy metal was for the 80s. The music showing purpose as a hurricane blowing through a town with full destruction or an invading army which brings about it an irresistible force or such do the harmonies of "Ride Of The Walkryies" dictate to those who have felt its influence.

 

"Ride Of The Walkryies" has lyrics yet they are completely unrelated to the actions which are taking place, as we hear Brunhilde's fellow Walkryies taking merriment and singing about how they should keep a male horse away from a mare, for he shows that his desires go beyond being friendly. Wotan, naturally catches up to Brunhilde and severely castigates her for her actions yet it is this piece which has left a long lasting impression on not only the history of opera but music as a whole. "Ride Of The Walkryies" influencing not only heavy metal but also many of today's film music composers such as John Williams along with several others.

 

For my part, I would say that "Ride Of The Walkryies" is not only a great piece despite its having been perhaps played out, as it captures not only the essence of Wagner but what became to be known as German opera. I would also like to add that it is my friend, Małgorzata's love for this piece which in part inspired me to write this article.

 

About the Author

My name is Gianni Truvianni, I am an author who writes with the simple aim of sharing his ideas, thoughts and so much more of what I am with those who are interested in perhaps reading something new. I also am the author of the book entitled "New York's Opera Society" which is now available on Amazon.

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Helen Wagner $74.88 Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Helen Wagner (September 3, 1918 May 1, 2010) was an American actress. Born in Lubbock, Texas, she is best known for her long running role as Nancy Hughes McClosky on the soap opera As the World Turns. Wagner also played the role of Trudy Bauer during the initial TV years of Guiding Light in the early 1950s. She also appeared on the early soap Valiant Lady, as well as on 1950s primetime programs including The World of Mr. Sweeney, Mister Peepers, Inner Sanctum, and the Philco Goodyear Playhouse. Wagner died on May 1, 2010, at the age of 91. The cause of her death was cancer. Author: Miller, Frederic P./ Vandome, Agnes F./ McBrewster, John Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 96 Publication Date: 2011/02/25 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.02 x 0.23 inches

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Wagner: Race and Revolution $29.99 It has long been acknowledged that Richard Wagner was a virulent anti-Semite, yet the composer has also been characterized as an idealistic revolutionary. In this fascinating book, Paul Lawrence Rose argues that for Wagner, as for many other Germans, the idea of revolution always contained a racial and antisemitic core. He offers fresh and stimulating interpretations of Wagner's music based on an analysis of their revolutionary and anti-Semitic elements. "An epoch-making study of Wagner's antisemitism-the most important work on the subject now available."-Barry Millington, New Statesman "A pioneering and realistic study."-Conor Cruise O'Brien, Sunday Telegraph

Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung: A Companion $28.11 There has long been a need for a modern English translation of Wagner's Ring -- a version that is reliable and readable yet at the same time is a true reflection of the literary quality of the German libretto. Stewart Spencer's well-reviewed translation, which follows the verse form of the original exactly, has filled that niche. It reads smoothly and idiomatically yet is the result of prolonged thought and deep background knowledge. The translation is accompanied by Spencer's introductory essay on the libretto and a series of specially commissioned texts by Barry Millington, Roger Hollinrake, Elizabeth Magee, and Warren Darcy that discuss the cycle's musical structure, philosophical implications, medieval sources, and Wagner's own changing attitude to its meaning. With a glossary of names, a review of audio and video recordings, and a select bibliography, the book serves as an essential complement to Wagner's great epic.

Nietzsche, Wagner and the Philosophy of Pessimism $130 Nietzsche's relationship with Wagner has long been a source of controversy and has given rise to a number of important studies, including this major breakthrough in Nietzsche scholarship, first published in 1982. In this work Hollinrake contends that the nature and extent of the anti-Wagnerian pastiche and polemic in Thus Spake Zarathustra is arguably the most important factor in the association between the two. Thus Wagner, as the purveyor of a particular brand of Schopenhauerian pessimism, is here revealed as one of the principle sources and targets of Zarathustra . Whilst addressed primarily to students of German Literature, this book will also be of interest to musicians, philosophers and students of the history of culture and ideas.

A Wagner Matinee $1.99 Willa Cather is considered to be one of the best chroniclers of pioneer life in the 20th century. She had a long and distinguished career writing essays, poems, short stories, and novels. This story is a powerful example of a frequent theme: the haunting, sometimes painful, contrast between city and country life.

A Companion to Wagner's Parsifal $40.27 Richard Wagner's Parsifal remains an inexhaustible yet highly controversial work. This "stage consecration festival play," as the composer described it, represents the culmination of his efforts to bring medieval myth and modern music together in a dynamic relationship. Wagner's engagement with religion--Buddhist as well as Christian--reaches a climax here, as he seeks through artistic means "to rescue the essence of religion by perceiving its mythical symbols . . . according to their figurative value, enabling us to see their profound, hidden truth through idealized representation." The contributors to this collection break fresh ground in exploring the text, the music, and the reception history of Parsifal. Wagner's borrowings-and departures-from the medieval sources of the Grail legend, Wolfram's Parzival and ChrA(c)tien's Perceval, are considered in detail, and the tensional relation of the work to Christianity is probed. New perspectives emerge that bear on the long genesis of the text and music, its affinities to Wagner's earlier works, particularly Tristan und Isolde, and the precise way in which the music was composed. Essays address the work's bold, modernistic musical language and its unprecedented soundscape involving hidden choruses and other unseen sources of sound. The turbulent, astonishing, and sometimes disturbing history of Parsifal performances from 1882 until 2004 is traced in vivid detail for the first time, demonstrating the abiding fascination exerted by this uniquely challenging work of art. Contributors: Mary A. Cicora, James M. McGlathery, Ulrike Kienzle, Warren Darcy, Roger Allen. William Kinderman and Katherine Syer teach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and often lead study seminars during the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.

Personal Recollections of Wagner $18.39 Personal Re QOllections of Wagner BY ANGELO NEUMANN Translated from the Fourth German Edition BY EDITH LIVERMORE CONTENTS PART I ABROAD CHAPTER PAGE I. VIENNA 3 II. LEIPSIC 15 III-BAYREUTH, 1876 19 IV. AH ATTEMPT AND A FAILURE 24 PART II THE RING IN LEIPSIO V-A NEW CONNECTION 5 VL RlIINEGOLD AND THE VALKYRE 68 VIL SIEGFRIED AND 4 G5TTERDAMMERUNG ... 81 VIII. PREPARATIONS FOR TRISTAN 101 PART III BERLIN IX. RICHARD WAGNER AND BOTHO VON Htx. 8EN . 109 X. ORGANISATION AND REORGANISATION . . . 123 XI. THE NlBELtTNGBN IN BERLIN 188 XII. THB NIBELTJNGEN IN BERLIN OONTINTDBJD, . 166 ill iv CONTENTS PART IV HOPES AND PLAK8 CHAPTER XIII. FRIENDS AGAIN PAGK 177 XIV. PARIS AND LITTLE PARIS ... XV. LONDON . ... 210 XVI. PARSIFAL . PART V THE RICHARD WAGNER THEATRE XVII. GERMANY, HOLLAND AND BELGIUM Oi1 XVIII. ITALY - - l TTTV A 280 A. IA. AUSTRIA XX. RUSSIA, 309 ILLUSTEATIONS RICHARD WAGNER . . . frontispiece Bust by Anton zur Strassen in the foyer of the Leipsic Stadttheater. ANGELO NEUMANN ... 54 Prom a picture in the Ktlnstlerzimmer of the Leipsic Stadttheater. ANTON SEIDL ...... 104 Bas-relief by Winifred Holt of New York. Replica commissioned by Herr Direktor Neumann. HEDWIG REXCHER-KINDERMANN . . .206 FACSIMILE OF LETTER FROM WAGNER TO NEU MANN, RECEIVED AFTER THE NEWS OF NERS DEATH ..... 269 PART I ABROAD PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF WAGNER CHAPTER I IT was the celebrated singing teacher of those days, Therese Stilke-Sessi of Vienna, who gave me my first introduction to the genius of Richard Wagner and fired me with an early enthusiasm for his new and wonderful style. This remarkable woman was training nae for the stage and taught me among other things the part of Wol fram von Eschenbach inTannhauser. I mention this particularly as in those years the early forties it was rare indeed to find a singer with this rOle in his reper toire, and managers then found it most difficult to cast this important part. Being young and impressionable, I soon became an ardent disciple of the Master, yet even I at this time, in spite of my devotion to the cause, found it utterly im possible one night to sit through an entire performance of The Flying Dutchman given at the Royal Opera in Vienna under exceptionally favourable circumstances, I frankly confess that I left, thoroughly bored with that long duet, at the close of the second act. I was then a mere boy of nineteen, however, and my judgment could hardly have been considered quite sound. The cast that evening was a memorable one and worthy to be recorded Senta, Louise Dustmann Mary, . 4 ABROAD Caroline Bettelheim Daland, Karl Mayerhofer Erik, Gustav Walter. John Nepomuk Beck sang the Plying Dutchman, and the conductor was Heinrich Esser. In the yea 1862, after engagements in Pressburg and Dantzic, I myself became a member of the Royal Opera Company in Vienna, and this very year Richard Wagner began his career in that city. He was presenting his Tristan, which after forty-seven preliminary rehearsals was finally set as

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