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leonard_gaya's review against another edition
5.0
A hundred years before [a:Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1648968349p2/656983.jpg], Richard Wagner was (and in a way still is) the undisputed “Lord of the Rings”. Long before [b:The Hobbit|5907|The Hobbit (The Lord of the Rings, #0)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546071216l/5907._SY75_.jpg|1540236], but indeed sometime after [a:Jacob Grimm|2938140|Jacob Grimm|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1242997930p2/2938140.jpg], Wagner went on to dust and shake up the medieval poems of Scandinavia and Germany: the [b:Poetic Edda|381112|The Poetic Edda Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes|Anonymous|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632521232l/381112._SY75_.jpg|370900], [b:Snorri’s Edda|24658|The Prose Edda|Snorri Sturluson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632521075l/24658._SY75_.jpg|1198450], the [b:Völsunga saga|35546041|The Saga of the Volsungs with The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok|Unknown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498979300l/35546041._SY75_.jpg|56968745], the [b:Þiðreks saga|15983587|Thidrek's Saga Die nordische Dietrich- und Nibelungensage|Unknown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669611l/15983587._SY75_.jpg|3021276], the [b:Nibelungenlied|36764552|The Nibelungenlied with The Klage|Unknown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519637163l/36764552._SY75_.jpg|58551825]… On top of this Nordic / Germanic revival, he added some [a:Aeschylusian|990|Aeschylus|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1231954271p2/990.jpg] dramatic structure, a dash of [a:Shakespearean|947|William Shakespeare|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1654446514p2/947.jpg] oomph, and a generous drizzle of [a:Schopenhauerian|11682|Arthur Schopenhauer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1651440776p2/11682.jpg] aesthetics.
The result is undoubtedly the single most massive drama in the history of Western music. It is also a ghastly take on human nature, full of sexual frenzy, ambition, deception, hypocrisy, obsession, incest, violence, murder and destruction. Love is supposed to redeem everything at the eleventh hour, but that’s more like wishful thinking than anything real: ultimately, the whole work is a tragedy of universal proportions.
The Ring is meant to be a music-poetic-dramatic synthesis. Still, the libretto alone, published in this bilingual edition, alongside John Deathridge’s English translation, is a fascinating read in and of itself. In sync with his source material, Wagner uses archaic words and turns of phrases whenever possible, giving his poem a sort of mythic patina. Although intended as expressive and wild, some parts of the text sound silly nonetheless. Notably, all the different forms of yodelling left, right, and centre: Heiajaheia (the Rheintöchter), Hehe! Hehe! (Alberich), Ohe! Ohe! (Mime), Heda! Hedo! (Donner), Hojotoho! Heiaha! (the Valkyries), Hoho! Hahei! (Siegfried), Hoihohoho! (Hagen), so on and so forth. Added to this, the plot, more than once bogged down with lengthy expositions and recaps – probably to assist (or increase) the absent-mindedness or drowsiness of the audience… Worth noting as well: the stage instructions Wagner committed to paper with freakish fastidiousness.
There would also be much to say about the characters (much more than this short note could ever encompass). Let’s just say that, while the last scene of Die Walküre, with Wotan and Brünnhilde, is one of the highest summits of the whole Ring (and of the entire musical repertoire), the transition to the beginning of Siegfried is rather steep, and not in a good way. Indeed, Siegfried himself, the hero, the chosen one, and possibly the central figure of the cycle, comes across as an insufferable baboon and stays that way until the end. In fact, by the conclusion of Götterdämmerung, there is a secret yet clear feeling of relief underneath the general expression of outrage, when evil Hagen drives his spear in-between Siegfried’s shoulder blades, and purges the stage of this Aryan nincompoop!
In any case, Wagner was not as good a poet and playwright as he was a composer. Some of his musical inventions were to some extent borrowed from his German forebears: compare, for instance, the stripped-down overture of Das Rheingold with the first few bars of Beethoven’s 9th. But as far as operas go, Wagner kicked all the structural rules of aria vs recitative vs ensembles vs choruses. Instead, he introduced his famous leitmotiv device, a series of melodic themes expanding or bending the meaning of the text – a technique now widely in use in Hollywood film scores – see, for instance, John Williams or Hans Zimmer.
Most of all, Wagner managed to elevate the orchestration to an incredible level of richness and expression, contrasting the chatoyant smoothness of the Rhine music with the sweeping storm of the Valkyries, the guttural earthiness of Hagen’s call to battle, the blazing heartbreak of Wotan’s farewell, and the shimmering velvet of Siegmund and Sieglinde’s midnight blooming passion – nearly as magnificent as the almost unbearably sublime encounter in act 2 of [b:Tristan und Isolde|19098581|Tristan und Isolde|Richard Wagner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385992876l/19098581._SY75_.jpg|1204833]. In short, the music alone hits you in the gut like an infection. And when Nietzsche asked, “Is Wagner a human being at all? Is he not rather a disease?” ([b:The Case of Wagner|12324441|The Case of Wagner|Friedrich Nietzsche|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348096096l/12324441._SX50_.jpg|16684400]), Stravinsky aptly replied that Wagner’s music was indeed a headache, “but a headache with aspirin.”
Last note: I have personally been lucky enough to attend three live performances of the Ring over the years, namely: Haenchen / Audi (Amsterdam, 1997), Mehta / La Fura dels Baus (Valencia, 2009), and Jordan / Krämer (Paris Bastille, 2013). Each had its specific flavour, and all were unforgettable. I would also highly recommend the Jahrhundertring’s DVD recording (Boulez / Chéreau, Bayreuth, 1976), possibly one of the best. More recently, though, I have seen The Valkyrie, the first instalment of yet another full Ring, currently in production by the English National Opera in New York and London. This performance is based on John Deathridge’s translation into English (available in this bilingual Penguin edition). The old Richard is now probably rolling in his grave, but Deathridge’s translation fits the prosody of the original poem almost to a T and works wonderfully with Wagner’s orchestration. In short, Brünnhilde lives on every which way. Hojotoho, indeed!
In case you are interested, I also wrote a separate note on Die Walküre.
Edit: I recently watched the latest Ring cycle performance (available on ARTE, early 2023) at the Staatsoper Berlin. The orchestra, conducted by Christian Thielemann (replacing Daniel Barenboim), is lively and muscular, as it should be, and the singers are stunning for the most part—Rolando Villazón, as Loge, plays convincingly, but his voice is a bit wheezy; Mika Kares as Fasolt/Hunding/Hagen is terrific and terrifying. But the most surprising aspect of this Ring is probably Dmitri Tcherniakov's unconventional, anti-poetic, stage design and direction: everything is set as a contemporary family saga with a sort of corporate mafia vibe that is both unexpected, refreshing, and often quite dramatic.
The result is undoubtedly the single most massive drama in the history of Western music. It is also a ghastly take on human nature, full of sexual frenzy, ambition, deception, hypocrisy, obsession, incest, violence, murder and destruction. Love is supposed to redeem everything at the eleventh hour, but that’s more like wishful thinking than anything real: ultimately, the whole work is a tragedy of universal proportions.
The Ring is meant to be a music-poetic-dramatic synthesis. Still, the libretto alone, published in this bilingual edition, alongside John Deathridge’s English translation, is a fascinating read in and of itself. In sync with his source material, Wagner uses archaic words and turns of phrases whenever possible, giving his poem a sort of mythic patina. Although intended as expressive and wild, some parts of the text sound silly nonetheless. Notably, all the different forms of yodelling left, right, and centre: Heiajaheia (the Rheintöchter), Hehe! Hehe! (Alberich), Ohe! Ohe! (Mime), Heda! Hedo! (Donner), Hojotoho! Heiaha! (the Valkyries), Hoho! Hahei! (Siegfried), Hoihohoho! (Hagen), so on and so forth. Added to this, the plot, more than once bogged down with lengthy expositions and recaps – probably to assist (or increase) the absent-mindedness or drowsiness of the audience… Worth noting as well: the stage instructions Wagner committed to paper with freakish fastidiousness.
There would also be much to say about the characters (much more than this short note could ever encompass). Let’s just say that, while the last scene of Die Walküre, with Wotan and Brünnhilde, is one of the highest summits of the whole Ring (and of the entire musical repertoire), the transition to the beginning of Siegfried is rather steep, and not in a good way. Indeed, Siegfried himself, the hero, the chosen one, and possibly the central figure of the cycle, comes across as an insufferable baboon and stays that way until the end. In fact, by the conclusion of Götterdämmerung, there is a secret yet clear feeling of relief underneath the general expression of outrage, when evil Hagen drives his spear in-between Siegfried’s shoulder blades, and purges the stage of this Aryan nincompoop!
In any case, Wagner was not as good a poet and playwright as he was a composer. Some of his musical inventions were to some extent borrowed from his German forebears: compare, for instance, the stripped-down overture of Das Rheingold with the first few bars of Beethoven’s 9th. But as far as operas go, Wagner kicked all the structural rules of aria vs recitative vs ensembles vs choruses. Instead, he introduced his famous leitmotiv device, a series of melodic themes expanding or bending the meaning of the text – a technique now widely in use in Hollywood film scores – see, for instance, John Williams or Hans Zimmer.
Most of all, Wagner managed to elevate the orchestration to an incredible level of richness and expression, contrasting the chatoyant smoothness of the Rhine music with the sweeping storm of the Valkyries, the guttural earthiness of Hagen’s call to battle, the blazing heartbreak of Wotan’s farewell, and the shimmering velvet of Siegmund and Sieglinde’s midnight blooming passion – nearly as magnificent as the almost unbearably sublime encounter in act 2 of [b:Tristan und Isolde|19098581|Tristan und Isolde|Richard Wagner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385992876l/19098581._SY75_.jpg|1204833]. In short, the music alone hits you in the gut like an infection. And when Nietzsche asked, “Is Wagner a human being at all? Is he not rather a disease?” ([b:The Case of Wagner|12324441|The Case of Wagner|Friedrich Nietzsche|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348096096l/12324441._SX50_.jpg|16684400]), Stravinsky aptly replied that Wagner’s music was indeed a headache, “but a headache with aspirin.”
Last note: I have personally been lucky enough to attend three live performances of the Ring over the years, namely: Haenchen / Audi (Amsterdam, 1997), Mehta / La Fura dels Baus (Valencia, 2009), and Jordan / Krämer (Paris Bastille, 2013). Each had its specific flavour, and all were unforgettable. I would also highly recommend the Jahrhundertring’s DVD recording (Boulez / Chéreau, Bayreuth, 1976), possibly one of the best. More recently, though, I have seen The Valkyrie, the first instalment of yet another full Ring, currently in production by the English National Opera in New York and London. This performance is based on John Deathridge’s translation into English (available in this bilingual Penguin edition). The old Richard is now probably rolling in his grave, but Deathridge’s translation fits the prosody of the original poem almost to a T and works wonderfully with Wagner’s orchestration. In short, Brünnhilde lives on every which way. Hojotoho, indeed!
In case you are interested, I also wrote a separate note on Die Walküre.
Edit: I recently watched the latest Ring cycle performance (available on ARTE, early 2023) at the Staatsoper Berlin. The orchestra, conducted by Christian Thielemann (replacing Daniel Barenboim), is lively and muscular, as it should be, and the singers are stunning for the most part—Rolando Villazón, as Loge, plays convincingly, but his voice is a bit wheezy; Mika Kares as Fasolt/Hunding/Hagen is terrific and terrifying. But the most surprising aspect of this Ring is probably Dmitri Tcherniakov's unconventional, anti-poetic, stage design and direction: everything is set as a contemporary family saga with a sort of corporate mafia vibe that is both unexpected, refreshing, and often quite dramatic.
adamkor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
innerlines's review against another edition
This was... not entirely what I expected.
I absolutely loved the first two plays (Rhinegold and Valkyrie) but the latter two were quite disappointing from a gender equality perspective. For example, there was one scene where Brunnhilde stated that now that she lost her virginity, all of her power was lost, and I... I just balked. Seriously? Just, why?!
I should have known that an operatic masterpiece from the mid-1800s wouldn’t be progressive for it’s time, but I had some hope.
Overall a solid masterpiece of work that I don’t regret reading, and provided the background I’ve always wanted to know from reading the graphic novel series by Alex Alice (Siegfried - would highly recommend) from a while back.
P.S. I look forward to seeing the allusions in LOTR to this book and Beowulf when I read it in the near future.
I absolutely loved the first two plays (Rhinegold and Valkyrie) but the latter two were quite disappointing from a gender equality perspective. For example, there was one scene where Brunnhilde stated that now that she lost her virginity, all of her power was lost, and I... I just balked. Seriously? Just, why?!
I should have known that an operatic masterpiece from the mid-1800s wouldn’t be progressive for it’s time, but I had some hope.
Overall a solid masterpiece of work that I don’t regret reading, and provided the background I’ve always wanted to know from reading the graphic novel series by Alex Alice (Siegfried - would highly recommend) from a while back.
P.S. I look forward to seeing the allusions in LOTR to this book and Beowulf when I read it in the near future.