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The real Wagner

Sabor, Rudolph

Biographies & Memoirs

A. Deutsch

Richard Wagner's vast Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle comprises four full-length operas (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung) and is arguably the most extraordinary achievement in the history of opera. His own libretto to the operas is an intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors and alliteration, combining to produce the music in text.

Richard Wagner; Der Ring des Nibelungen

Literature & Fiction

Dramas & Plays

Phaidon Press

Richard Wagner's vast Ringcycle, comprising four full-length operas, is arguably the most extraordinary achievement in the history of opera. His libretto to the work is more than a literary work of art: its intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors, ample use of alliteration - together with its singability - combine to create something unique, so that the music is embedded in the text. This volume presents Rudolph Sabor's translation of the libretto to the first of the tetralogy, Das Rheingold. This new translation, which runs side-by-side with the German text, preserves the original metre and elucidates the complexities of Wagner's intricate libretto. It is unprecedented in presenting next to the translation not only a running commentary on the drama but also the names of the leitmotifs as they occur. The translation is supplemented by scene-by-scene synopses, short discussions of each leitmotif new to each scene, a discography, videography, and full bibliography. Lists of all motifs in the opera and all motifs in the Ring cycle conclude the volume. Rudolph Sabor has also translated the librettos to the other three operas of the cycle, and a companion volume of essays relating to Wagner's Ring completes the series. Ranging from a discussion of Wagner's Literary sources to a review of the Ring's performance history, the essays provide a prodigious treasury of information for the Wagner enthusiast. The books can be enjoyed individually or as a series; either way they will equip the Wagner enthusiast with a fund of information to make the Ringjourney more rewarding.

Richard Wagner; Das Rheingold

Arts & Photography

Music

Die Walk++re (The Valkyrie) is the second of the four operas in Richard Wagner's Ring cycle, and the first of the early curtain, late-bedtime-length operas that inspired the term "Wagnerian" as a synonym for "extremely long." In it we meet a large quantity of the known offspring of the philandering head god, Wotan, including the nine Valkyries--warlike maidens who haul dead heroes to feast forever with the gods at Valhalla--and Wotan's twin children by a mortal woman, Siegmund and Sieglinde. The opera opens with Siegmund, defeated in battle, rushing into the first shelter he finds. It turns out to be the unhappy home of Hunding and Sieglinde. Sieglinde is Siegmund's twin sister, but that doesn't stop them from declaring their love and running off together, right after Siegmund pulls out the sword that their father left stuck in the tree that grows in the middle of the great hall. Brunnhilde, the chief Valkyrie, is first ordered by their father to help Siegmund, but he has to change his mind when Fricka, the goddess of marriage, points out the irregularity of the relationship. Brunnhilde admires Siegmund and tries to save him, but has to settle for saving the pregnant Sieglinde; as a reward for Sieglinde's audacity, Wotan puts her to sleep on a rock surrounded by fire that only a man who has never known fear can penetrate. Rudolph Sabor's version of the libretto does a wonderful job of capturing Wagner's rhythms and idiom and bringing the whole into accessible English. This translation--which also includes suggestions for further study and comments on the action--would be a useful companion to listening to a recording of the Ring, because it points out when the leitmotifs occur.

Die Walküre

Richard Wagner's vast Ringcycle, comprising four full-length operas, is arguably the most extraordinary achievement in the history of opera. His libretto to the work is more than a literary work of art: its intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors, ample use of alliteration - together with its singability - combine to create something unique, so that the music is embedded in the text. This volume presents Rudolph Sabor's translation of the libretto to the third of the tetralogy, Siegfried. This new translation, which runs side-by-side with the German text, preserves the original metre and elucidates the complexities of Wagner's intricate libretto. It is unprecedented in presenting next to the translation not only a running commentary on the drama but also the names of the leitmotifs as they occur. The translation is supplemented by scene-by-scene synopses, short discussions of each leitmotif new to each scene, a discography, videography, and full bibliography. Lists of all motifs in the opera and all motifs in the Ring cycle conclude the volume. Rudolph Sabor has also translated the librettos to the other three operas of the cycle, and a companion volume of essays relating to Wagner's Ring completes the series. Ranging from a discussion of Wagner's Literary sources to a review of the Ring's performance history, the essays provide a prodigious treasury of information for the Wagner enthusiast. The books can be enjoyed individually or as a series; either way they will equip the Wagner enthusiast with a fund of information to make the Ringjourney more rewarding.

Siegfried

Gotterdämmerung

The operatic world is full of guides to the psyche and music (not to mention the politics) of Richard Wagner. Can there possibly be an excuse for publishing another one? Indeed there is, when the insights are as fresh (or as well documented) and thoughtfully assembled as in this new companion to the Ring. Der Ring des Nibelungen: A Companion offers obscure details to lure even the most avid Wagnerite, but is brief and accessible enough to be of use to Wagnerian newcomers as well. Rudolph Sabor's survey of Wagner's life is necessarily brief, but still full of interesting details and insights, while his examination of the sources drawn on by the composer-librettist is extremely helpful. Wagner, who was fond of promoting an image of himself as a Jovian creator--in his mythos, his work supposedly sprang from his head full-blown with no preparation needed, like Athena from the pate of Jupiter--was actually a very careful researcher who used every bit of background he could find in his librettos. Interesting parallels are drawn to other works by Wagner, and there is a short but helpful explanation of what leitmotifs are and how they're used. Der Ring des Nibelungen: A Companion also looks at a number of important productions of the Ring, from the leafy and naturalistic to attempts to force-fit a Marxist interpretation on the mythic work; lists resources for further research; and includes a well-done bibliography and discography with the author's comments on each recording.

Richard Wagner Boxed Set

The Real Wagner

Arts & Literature

Little, Brown Book Group Limited

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