Richard Wagner, who turned 200 yesterday, wrote one of the great epic stories ever in his Ring of the Nibelung. It’s four operas and over 15 hours long in performance, which usually happens over six days. Like lots of fans, I was introduced to this tale of magic, family tragedy, and the natural world, through the selections that are often excerpted by orchestras to play. (Wagner was one of the greatest orchestral composers ever, even though he wrote operas.) This slim-and-trim version of the Ring doesn’t take in the whole story, but it's a good primer. Prepare to be astonished.
- Prelude, Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), Vienna Philharmonic, Sir Georg Solti.
The Ring begins near the bottom of the Rhine river, where three water sprites guard a chunk of gold that they find beautiful, but has magic powers. Soon after this opening, the gold is stolen by Alberich. - “Entry of the Gods Into Valhalla,” Das Rheingold, Vienna Philharmonic, Sir Georg Solti.
Meanwhile, Wotan, king of the gods, has made a bad deal with a pair of giants to build a fine castle, Valhalla. To get out of the bargain, he’s forced to steal the gold, which Alberich (the Nibelung of the title) has by now forged into a powerful magic ring. How does that work out? Soon enough one of the giants is dead, and the other is headed into the dark forest in possession of the gold and ring. Never mind, says Wotan, who orders the thunder god Donner (Thor) to summon a rainbow bridge. The gods cross into their new home, while the water sprites (Rhine Maidens) lament the loss of the gold. - “Ride of the Valkyries,” from Die Walküre, Act 3 (The Valkyrie), New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein.
Brünnhilde is Wagner’s favorite daughter out of the nine he fathered with Erda, the earth goddess. How and why she disobeys him at a critical point is the story of this second opera in the Ring. At the opening of the third act, her sisters are gathering on a mountain top, riding horses that fly through the air. She’s late, and pursued by her angry father. - “Wotan’s Farewell and Magic Fire Music,” from Die Walküre, Act 3, Vienna Philharmonic, Sir Georg Solti.
Because she has chosen to follow a human desire rather than his godly command, Wotan decrees that Brünnhilde must become human and give up being a goddess and his daughter. He plans to leave her unprotected on the mountaintop, but she convinces him to protect her with a magic fire. In this excerpt, he sings a loving, passionate farewell to her, then kisses her eyelids and puts her to sleep. After he arranges her on a flat rock and takes a last look, he calls up Loge (Loki) the fire god to surround the rock with flames only a hero will dare to pass through. - “Forest Murmurs,” from Siegfried, Act 2, Vienna Philharmonic, Sir Georg Solti.
Siegfried is the son of the mortal who Brünnhilde helped in Die Walküre, and this opera is his growing up story. He reforges the sword that was broken in his father’s last battle and, guided by Mime, the former henchman of Alberich, he heads into the forest to find the giant who took the treasure hoard, and who has turned himself magically into a dragon. He stops at midday in a pleasant spot, thinking about the mother he has never known. Cut to the next scene, after he’s killed the dragon and Mime, and retrieved the ring and the Tarnhelm (which allows the wearer to shape shift). He suddenly finds he can understand the bird in the tree, who tells him about Brünnhilde and joyfully sets off to find her. - “Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey” from Die Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods), Prologue, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy.
From Brünnhilde, Siegfried learns that he is the son of the hero who Brünnhilde chose to protect, and also Wotan’s grandson (!) It is time for him to go on his own adventures. He takes leave of Brünnhilde, giving her the Ring. She gives him her horse. He sets off down the Rhine. - “Siegfried’s Funeral March” and final scene from Die Götterdämmerung, Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell.
From the title of this excerpt, you know that Siegfried’s adventures come to grief. Poisoned and confused by a potion, he betrays Brünnhilde who, in a moment of very human weakness, agrees to show Alberich’s son, Hagen, how to kill Siegfried, which he does on a boar hunt. The other hunters bring the body back to the palace on the Rhine, where Brünnhilde has, meanwhile, discovered from the Rhine maidens how to purify the natural world and humanity from Wotan’s misdeeds and Alberich’s curse. She commands a funeral pyre to be built on the shores of the Rhine, takes up the ring, and rides her horse into the flames. The Rhine maidens reclaim the gold, Valhalla is instantly destroyed in fire, and the orchestra sings the redemption theme, bringing the whole story to a close.