Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is a set of four operas written by the German composer Richard Wagner. The operas are popularly referred to as "The Ring Cycle".
Richard Wagner is known for his harsh personality and anti-Semitic views, being the favorite composer of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Many would say that Wagner was a liar, a cheat, and even a betrayer of friends. He was known to make not only anti-Semitic, but anti-Catholic and anti-French remarks. There have been controversies surrounding the works of Wagner, specifically dealing with possible racist motives in the story lines of his operas, which he personally wrote himself. Wagner is also known for having written (under a pseudonym) an essay entitled "Das Judenthum in der Musik" ("Judaism in Music") that attacked Jews in general, but particularly Jewish composers such as Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer. But, whether or not one agrees with Wagner's personal views on politics, race, or lifestyle, it's hard to dispute the notion that he wrote some very powerful music that spoke to many Germans and people of the world alike. In his lifetime he amassed 14 operas (or "music dramas", as he referred to them), which were the bulk of his oeuvre, as well as a small amount of non-vocal works. His operas were ground-breaking in the field of musical drama, so much so that they called for the construction of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus (Bayreuth Festival Theatre), Wagner's own opera house designed for the express purpose of best staging his operas. Notably, the orchestra pit is built under the stage, covered by a hood, as to direct the audience's attention more-so to the drama than the instrumentalists. Another unique feature of the theatre is that it is designed to balance the volume of the orchestra and the singers. The Bayreuth Festspielhaus opened to premiere the complete Ring Cycle from August 13th to the 17th of 1876.
The Ring Cycle consists of the operas Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods). The story lines of the operas are connected, so although each opera can be performed as a single work in itself, the story of the cycle is best understood by attending all four operas. It took Wagner about twenty-six years to complete the librettos and the music, from 1848 to 1874, and a complete performance of the Ring Cycle takes about 15 hours and over four nights at the opera house. The works are loosely based on characters from Norse mythology, such as the gods Wotan, Fricka, Donner, and others. The structure of the cycle is formatted in the style of an ancient Greek drama, which consists of three tragedies and one satyr play. Das Rheingold, subtitled "Preliminary Evening", is technically a prelude to the following three operas, which are subtitled in order of performance as "First Day", "Second Day", and "Third Day". The story of Der Ring des Nibelungen revolves around a magic ring that was made by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich from gold stolen from the Rhine river, and whoever possesses this magic ring has the power to rule the world. Many mythical figures compete to claim the Ring, including Wotan (Odin), the head god himself, who has created a plan that spans generations to overcome his limitations and gain the Ring. As Wotan wishes, the hero Siegfried captures the Ring, but is later betrayed and killed. In the end Brünnhilde, a Valkyrie who was Siegfried's lover and Wotan's estranged daughter, returns the Ring to the Rhine, destroying the gods in the process.
These works are very grand and massive in scale, and I highly recommend them to anyone who is a fan of German opera and who can immerse themselves in complex stories. I recently acquired a recording of the cycle with Sir Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic, which I enjoyed and would recommend.
