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Wotan
(''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The composer termed the cycle a "" (stage festival play), structured in three days preceded by a ("preliminary evening"). It is often referred to as the ''Ring'' cycle, Wagner's ''Ring'', or simply ''The Ring''. Wagner wrote the libretto and music over the course of about twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. The four parts that constitute the ''Ring'' cycle are, in sequence: * ''Das Rheingold'' (''The Rhinegold'') * ''Die Walküre'' (''The Valkyrie'') * ''Siegfried (opera), Siegfried'' * ''Götterdämmerung'' (''Twilight of the Gods'') Individual works of the sequence are often performed separately, and indeed the operas contain dialogues that mention events in the previous operas, so that a viewer could watch any of them without having watched the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Die Walküre
(; ''The Valkyrie''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86B, is the second of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on 26 June 1870, and received its first performance as part of the ''Ring'' cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 14 August 1876. As the ''Ring'' cycle was conceived by Wagner in reverse order of performance, ''Die Walküre'' was the third of the four texts to be written, although Wagner composed the music in performance sequence. The text was completed by July 1852, and the music by March 1856. Wagner largely followed the principles related to the form of musical drama, which he had set out in his 1851 essay ''Opera and Drama'' under which the music would interpret the text emotionally, reflecting the feelings and moods behind the work, using a system of recurring leitmotifs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Das Rheingold
''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It premiered as a single opera at the National Theatre (Munich), National Theatre of Munich on 22 September 1869, and received its first performance as part of the ''Ring'' cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 13 August 1876. Wagner wrote the ''Ring'' librettos in reverse order, so that ''Das Rheingold'' was the last of the texts to be written; it was, however, the first to be set to music. The score was completed in 1854, but Wagner was unwilling to sanction its performance until the whole cycle was complete; he worked intermittently on this music until 1874. The 1869 Munich premiere of ''Das Rheingold'' was staged, against Wagner's wishes, on the orders of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, his patron. Following its 1876 Bayreuth pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siegfried (opera)
''Siegfried'' (), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86C, is the third of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of ''The Ring'' cycle. The autograph manuscript of the work is preserved in the Richard Wagner Foundation. Background and context The libretto of ''Siegfried'' was drafted by Wagner in November–December 1852, based on an earlier version he had prepared in May–June 1851 and originally entitled ''Jung-Siegfried'' (''Young Siegfried''), later changed to ''Der junge Siegfried''. The musical composition was commenced in 1856, but not finally completed until 1871.Millington, (n.d.) The libretto arose from Wagner's gradual reconception of the project he had initiated with his libretto ''Siegfrieds Tod'' (''Siegfried's Death'') which was eventually t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odin
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Empire's partial occupation of Germania ( BCE), the Migration Period (4th–6th centuries CE) and the Viking Age (8th–11th centuries CE). Consequently, Odin has hundreds of names and titles. Several of these stem from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic theonym ''Wōðanaz'', meaning "lord of frenzy" or "leader of the possessed", which may relate to the god's strong association with poetry. Most mythological stories about Odin survive from the 13th-century ''Prose Edda'' and an earlier collection of Old Norse poems, the ''Poetic Edda'', along with other Old Norse items like '' Ynglinga saga''. The ''Prose Edda'' and other sources depict Odin as the head of the pantheon, sometimes called the Æsir, and bearing a spear and a ring. Wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Götterdämmerung
' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the whole work. The title is a German calque of the Old Norse phrase ', which in Norse mythology refers to a prophesied war among various beings and gods that ultimately results in the burning, immersion in water, and renewal of the world. As with the rest of the ''Ring'', however, Wagner's account diverges significantly from these Old Norse sources. The autograph manuscript of the work is preserved in the Richard Wagner Foundation. Composition Roles Synopsis Prologue Prelude to the Prologue ''Scene 1'' The three Norns, daughters of Jörð, Erda, the goddess of Nature, gather beside Brunhild, Brünnhilde's rock, weaving the W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinemaidens
The Rhinemaidens are the three Nixie (water spirit), water-nymphs (''Rheintöchter'' or "Rhine daughters") who appear in Richard Wagner's opera cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. Their individual names are Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde (Floßhilde), although they are generally treated as a single entity and they act together accordingly. Of the 34 characters in the ''Ring'' cycle, they are the only ones who did not originate in the Old Norse ''Eddas''. Wagner created his Rhinemaidens from other legends and myths, most notably the ''Nibelungenlied'' which contains stories involving water sprites (Neck (water spirit), nixies) or mermaids of the Danube. The key concepts associated with the Rhinemaidens in the ''Ring'' operas—their flawed guardianship of the Rhine River, Rhine gold, and the condition (the renunciation of love) through which the gold could be stolen from them and then transformed into a means of obtaining world power—are wholly Wagner's own invention, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionised opera through his concept of the ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' ("total work of art"), whereby he sought to synthesise the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama. The drama was to be presented as a continuously sung narrative, without conventional operatic structures like Aria, arias and Recitative, recitatives. He described this vision in a List of prose works by Richard Wagner, series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of glory (honor), glory and honor. post-classical history, Post-classical and modern history, modern heroes, on the other hand, perform great deeds or selfless acts for the common good instead of the classical goal of wealth, pride, and fame. The antonym of ''hero'' is ''villain''. Other terms associated with the concept of ''hero'' may include ''good guy'' or ''wikt:white hat, white hat''. In Classics, classical literature, the hero is the main or revered character in Epic poetry, heroic epic poetry celebrated through ancient legends of a people, often striving for military conquest and living by a continually flawed personal honor code. The definition of a hero has changed throughout time. Webster's Dictionary, Merriam We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satyr Play
The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is strong; satyr plays were written by tragedians, and satyr plays were performed in the Dionysian festival following the performance of a group of three tragedies. The satyr play's mythological-heroic stories and the style of language are similar to that of the tragedies. Its connection with comedy is also significant – it has similar plots, titles, themes, characters, and happy endings. The remarkable feature of the satyr play is the chorus of satyrs, with their costumes that focus on the phallus, and with their language, which uses wordplay, sexual innuendos, references to breasts, farting, erections, and other references that do not occur in tragedy. As Mark Griffith points out, the satyr play was "not merely a deeply traditional Dionysi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prelude (music)
A prelude ( or '; ; ; ) is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece. While, during the Baroque era, for example, it may have served as an introduction to succeeding movements of a work that were usually longer and more complex, it may also have been a stand-alone piece of work during the Romantic era. It generally features a small number of rhythmic and melodic motifs that recur through the piece. Stylistically, the prelude is improvisatory in nature. The term may also refer to an overture, particularly to those seen in an opera or an oratorio. History The first preludes to be notated were organ pieces that were played to introduce church music, the earliest surviving examples being five brief ''praeambula'' in the Ileborgh Tablature of 1448. These were closely followed by freely composed preludes in an extemporary style for the lute and other Renaissance string instruments, which were originally used for warming up the fingers and checki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Æsir
Æsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are deities, gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and Nordic mythology, mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods in general or specifically to one of the main families of gods, in contrast to the Vanir, with whom the Æsir Æsir–Vanir War, waged war, ultimately leading to a joining of the families. The term can further be applied to local gods that were believed to live in specific features in the landscape - such as fells. The Old English medical text Wið færstice refers to the Ēse, along with elves, as harmful beings that could cause a stabbing pain, although exactly how they were conceived of by the author of the text is unclear. and its cognate forms feature in many Germanic names, such as Oswald (given name), Oswald and , and in some place-names in Norway and Sweden. The Æsir further likely give their name to the Ansuz (rune), A-rune, atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contrabass Trombone
The contrabass trombone (, ) is the Pitch of brass instruments, lowest-pitched instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. While modern instruments are pitch (music), pitched in Eight-foot pitch, 12-foot () F with a single slide (wind instrument), slide, the first practical contrabass trombones appeared in the mid-19th century built in B♭ an octave below the tenor trombone with a double slide. German opera composer Richard Wagner notably called for this instrument in his ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' opera cycle in the 1870s, and contrabass trombone has since appeared occasionally in large orchestral works without becoming a permanent member of the modern orchestra. Since the late 20th century, the double-slide contrabass has largely been supplanted by the less cumbersome bass-contrabass in F, a perfect fourth, fourth below the B♭ tenor and bass trombones. In the 21st century the contrabass has enjoyed something of a revival, particularly in film score, film and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
