An Introduction to Richard Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen
An Introduction to Richard Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen

Author: William O. Cord

Publisher:

Published: 1983

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

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"Today, more than a century after its first performance, Richard Wagner's The Ring of Nibelung endures as one of the most significant artistic creations in the history of opera. This monumental work not only altered previously accepted concepts of music and drama but also inspired creative and intellectual efforts far beyond the field of opera. Previous studies of the Ring have appealed only to those already acquainted in some way with the Wagnerian art. For the uninitiated, Wagner and his landmark creation have seemed forbidding, and those eager to learn about the masterpiece have faced a vast and frequently esoteric body of commentary. Professor Cord addresses the interests of the non-specialist by taking the reader first into Wagner's unique intent, and then through the complete history of the Ring."--Publisher's description.

An Introduction to Richard Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen
An Introduction to Richard Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen

Author: William O. Cord

Publisher:

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13:

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Today, more than a century after its first performance, Richard Wagner's The Ring of Nibelung endures as one of the most significant artistic creations in the history of opera. This monumental work not only altered previously accepted concepts of music and drama but also inspired creative and intellectual efforts far beyond the field of opera. Previous studies of the Ring have appealed only to those already acquainted in some way with the Wagnerian art. For the uninitiated, Wagner and his landmark creation have seemed forbidding, and those eager to learn about the masterpiece have faced a vast and frequently esoteric body of commentary. Professor Cord addresses the interests of the non-specialist by taking the reader first into Wagner's unique intent, and then through the complete history of the Ring. Cord, who has attended forty performances of the Ring, considers the conception of the poem, its development into a music-drama exemplifying Wagnerian thought, its introduction to the world, and the reactions and interpretation it elicits.

The Ring of the Nibelung
The Ring of the Nibelung

Author: Richard Wagner

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2018-07-26

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 0241305861

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A superb new translation of one of the greatest nineteenth century poems: the libretto to Wagner's Ring cycle The scale and grandeur of Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung has no precedent and no successor. It preoccupied Wagner for much of his adult life and revolutionized the nature of opera, the orchestra, the demands on singers and on the audience itself. The four operas-The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods - are complete worlds, conjuring up extraordinary mythological landscapes through sound as much as staging. Wagner wrote the entire libretto before embarking on the music. Discarding the grand choruses and bravura duets central to most operas, he used the largest musical forces in the context often of only a handful of singers on stage. The words were essential: he was telling a story and making an argument in a way that required absolute attention to what was said. The libretto for The Ring lies at the heart of nineteenth century culture. It is in itself a work of power and grandeur and it had an incalculable effect on European and specifically German culture. John Deathridge's superb new translation, with notes and a fascinating introduction, is essential for anyone who wishes to get to grips with one of the great musical experiences.

Song of the Nibelungs
Song of the Nibelungs

Author:

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2008-01-08

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 9780300125986

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It portrays the existential struggles and downfall of an entire people, the Burgundians, in a military conflict with the Huns and their king."--Jacket.

The Cambridge Companion to Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen
The Cambridge Companion to Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen

Author: Mark Berry

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-09-24

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1108916139

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The Companion is an essential, interdisciplinary tool for those both familiar and unfamiliar with Wagner's Ring. It opens with a concise introduction to both the composer and the Ring, introducing Wagner as a cultural figure, and giving a comprehensive overview of the work. Subsequent chapters, written by leading Wagner experts, focus on musical topics such as 'leitmotif', and structure, and provide a comprehensive set of character portraits, including leading players like Wotan, Brünnhilde, and Siegfried. Further chapters look to the mythological background of the work and the idea of the Bayreuth Festival, as well as critical reception of the Ring, its relationship to Nazism, and its impact on literature and popular culture, in turn offering new approaches to interpretation including gender, race and environmentalism. The volume ends with a history of notable stage productions from the world premiere in 1876 to the most recent stagings in Bayreuth and elsewhere.

Nibelung’s Ring, The
Nibelung’s Ring, The

Author: Peter Bassett

Publisher: Wakefield Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9781862546240

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This accessible text guides novice and seasoned opera listeners alike through Richard Wagner's renowned Ring cycle. To aid in understanding this complex and often contradictory work, a modern-day prose translation of its four component operas is provided, as is an explanation of "The Nibelung's Ring's mythological background, Wagner's creative process, and the ideas conveyed throughout each component. A section reviewing its numerous musical themes and how they bind the cycle together musically is also included. Rarely seen lithographs by artist Hugo Braune illustrate the story.

The Ring of the Nibelung
The Ring of the Nibelung

Author: Richard Wagner

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2010-10-23

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 9781456304133

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"Andrew Porter's utterly natural, often poetic, faithfully rendered English text should be a revelation...The immediacy of instant comprehension gives the entire drama an added dimension."-The New York Times 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, translated by Andrew Porter, is an intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors and alliteration, combining to produce the music in text. Language Notes This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Richard Wagner, Fritz Lang, and the Nibelungen
Richard Wagner, Fritz Lang, and the Nibelungen

Author: David J. Levin

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2014-12-25

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1400866693

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This highly original book draws on narrative and film theory, psychoanalysis, and musicology to explore the relationship between aesthetics and anti-Semitism in two controversial landmarks in German culture. David Levin argues that Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and Fritz Lang's 1920s film Die Nibelungen creatively exploit contrasts between good and bad aesthetics to address the question of what is German and what is not. He shows that each work associates a villainous character, portrayed as non-Germanic and Jewish, with the sometimes dramatically awkward act of narration. For both Wagner and Lang, narration--or, in cinematic terms, visual presentation--possesses a typically Jewish potential for manipulation and control. Consistent with this view, Levin shows, the Germanic hero Siegfried is killed in each work by virtue of his unwitting adoption of a narrative role. Levin begins with an explanation of the book's theoretical foundations and then applies these theories to close readings of, in turn, Wagner's cycle and Lang's film. He concludes by tracing how Germans have dealt with the Nibelungen myths in the wake of the Second World War, paying special attention to Michael Verhoeven's 1989 film The Nasty Girl. His fresh and interdisciplinary approach sheds new light not only on Wagner's Ring and Lang's Die Nibelungen, but also on the ways in which aesthetics can be put to the service of aggression and hatred. The book is an important contribution to scholarship in film and music and also to the broader study of German culture and national identity.