The Ring of the Nibelung: Difference between revisions

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''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' consists of

* Day III: ''Götterdämmerung'' ("Twilight of the Gods")<ref>this is sometimes stated, especially in older references, as '''''Die''''' ''Götterdämmerung'', "'''The''' Twilight of the Gods," but Wagner never used the article in his references to the work.</ref>

 

 

The [[Central Theme|fundamental theme]] of ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' is the opposition of Power to Love. Wagner's original intention in the work was socially progressivist, suggesting that the plutocratic society of 19th century Europe could be fundamentally improved by rejecting the desire for the domination of others <ref> principally through money, which is why the Ring of Power is forged from the '''Gold''' of the Rhine</ref> and embracing instead redemption through universal love; however, as his philosophy developed, Wagner came to reject love as leading to social improvement, and suggested instead that the only possible "redemption" would come through a compassionate rejection of '''all''' personal desires, including the desire for societal amelioration, to achieve a Buddhistic Nirvana -- or what Wagner called the „''wunsch- und wahnlos, heilig Wahlland'', the desire-free, illusion-free, holy chosen Land."

 

Most important, of course, is Wagner's music. In the ''Ring'' Wagner's ''[[Leitmotif|Leitmotiv]]''<ref>Wagner invented neither the use of the ''Leitmotiv'' nor the name; the symbolical use of melodies or melodic phrases can be traced back to [[The Middle Ages]], and the word itself was invented by Wagner's disciple, Hans von Wolzogen, to describe what Wagner himself called "melodic moments of feeling."</ref> method is used in its most developed and sophisticated form. The score is by no means a simple patchwork, with (say) a "Wotan" motive<ref>Note that "motive" is the Anglicization of Wolzogen’s „''Motiv''“ preferred by Wagnerian commentators from [[George Bernard Shaw]] and Ernest Newman up to Deryck Cooke, rather than the Frenchified ''motif''</ref> sounding every time Wotan appears on-stage. Rather, it is a symphonic development of fundamental musical ideas, varied, combined, split, and developed in a complicated psychological counterpoint to the symbolism of the stage action. Frequently the music reveals the unspoken thoughts or feelings of a character; equally frequently, it comments ironically on the action. For the rest, Wagner’s music is characterized by a lush late Romantic nationalism, making rich use of chromaticism in the service of mood-setting and picture painting -- hence his pre-eminence as a dramatic composer, and his influence on later composers, particularly for the cinema, which has lasted to this day.

 

* [[Achievements in Ignorance]]: Siegfried succeeds in reforging Nothung, for the very reason that he ''knows not'' fear. Literally. Never mind that Mime with all manner of skill in smithery can't do it, Siegfried can somehow do it just from having complete ignorance of the concept of fear.

{{quote|„''Weia! Waga! Woge, du Welle! Walle zur Wiege! Wagalaweia! Wallala weiala weia!''"}}

* [[Amazon Brigade]]: The Valkyries.

* [[Ancestral Weapon]]: In ''Walküre'', Brünnhilde gives the fragments of Siegmund's sword to Sieglinde; Siegfried duly forges them anew into a sword in his eponymous opera.

* [[At the Opera Tonight]]: The ''Ring'' operas rank among the favorites for characters to attend, as in Nicholas Meyers' [[Sherlock Holmes]] novel, ''The Seven Per Cent Solution'' (''Siegfried'').

* [[Badass Baritone]]: Or Bass-baritone. Alberich, Wotan, Fasolt, Fafner, Donner, Hunding, Hagen -- Gunther is the only weakling at the deep end of the pool.

* [[Batman Gambit]]: Wotan tries to manipulate Siegmund into killing Fafner and getting the ring to Wotan by his own free will. Doesn't work.

** In fact, it backfires on all the ''Walküre'' cast except Fricka.

** On the other hand, the well-intentioned, if weak, Gunther is a baritone, and on the ''other'' other hand, Mime is a squeaky tenor.

* [[Eyepatch of Power]]: Wotan.

* [[Fanfare]]: Several of Wagner's ''[[Leitmotif|Leitmotive]]'' (''e.g.'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iArAhOIzIRM Siegfried's horncall]) have the character of fanfares. At Bayreuth, certain motifs are [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXup8Aw4CO4 played as fanfares] from the balcony of the ''Festspielhaus'' to announce the beginning of an act.

* [[Fearless Fool]]: Siegfried has never learned what fear is until he meets Brünnhilde. (No, you're ''not'' supposed to laugh.)

* [[Leitmotif]]: The Leitmotif technique, if not invented by Wagner, was certainly perfected by him. In his operas, not only would every character have his/her own motif, but also objects, places, and even abstract ideas, all of which would be woven into a complex symphonic whole, in which the variations of the motifs have a psychological effect far more significant than a mere announcement of a character's presence.

* [[Light Is Not Good]]: Done rather subtly in the ''Ring'', in which often the only difference between Wotan and Alberich is that Wotan somewhat regrets his actions -- but does them anyway. (Wotan actually refers to himself as „''Licht-Alberich''" ("Light-Alberich") and to the dwarf as „''Schwarz-Alberich''" ("Dark-Alberich" (or more literally "Black-Alberich"))).

* [[Love At First Sight]]: Plenty of examples in the ''Ring''.

** Long lost siblings Siegmund and Sieglinde quickly fall in love in Act I of ''Die Walküre.''

* [[The Power of Love]]: In the ''Ring'', though Sieglinde is rescued from Hunding, and Brünnhilde from the [[Johnny Cash|Ring of Fire]], Sieglinde's love does not save Siegmund, and Brünnhilde's actually leads to Siegfried's death, and both the ladies (like everyone except the Rhine-daughters, and possibly the Nibelungs) die under rather unpleasant circumstances. (A monologue in an early version of the text, in which Brünnhilde specifically invoked [[The Power of Love]] before burning herself to death, was deliberately cut by the composer because it no longer represented his philosophical ideas.)

* [[Public Domain Artifact]]: Averted; the Ring (or rather, any of its prototypes) was not a well-known artifact before Wagner.

* [[Ravens and Crows]]: A pair of these are intelligence gatherers for Wotan, bird-watching whom proves fatal to Siegfried.

* [[Reforged Blade]]: Nothung, in ''Siegfried''.

* [[Speaks Fluent Animal]]: Siegfried can do this after tasting the dragon's blood.

* [[Spirit Advisor]]: Alberich seems to fulfill this function for Hagen in ''Götterdämmerung''.

* [[Standard Snippet]]: The "[[Ride of the Valkyries]]".

* [[Star-Crossed Lovers]]: Siegmund is killed by Hunding (after Wotan shatters Siegmund's sword), Sieglinde dies in child-birth; Siegfried is speared in the back, Brünnhilde burns herself to death on his funeral-pyre. Falling in love is generally not a good idea in a Wagner opera.

* [[Wrecked Weapon]]: Happens twice, once when Wotan shatters Siegmund's sword Nothung with his spear, and again when Siegfried symmetrically shatters Wotan's spear with the [[Reforged Blade]] Nothung.

* [[You Are Worth Hell]]: Siegmund rejects eternal glory in Valhalla rather than be separated from wife/sister Sieglinde. See above trope, [[Twincest]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:The Epic]]

[[Category:Opera]]

[[Category:German Media]]