I've been watching various Youtubes of (parts of) the Ring Cycle, and I have to say, the music from Die Walkure (even before it hits the Ride of the Valkyries) is more exciting than I realised.
As for versions to watch, I've been pretty impressed by the (very different) Copenhagen Ring.
I'm pretty sure I'm now going to see it in Brisbane - and the only issue is whether I buy restricted view seats close to the action, or a nosebleed seat on the second balcony. (There are not that many seats left in any category, by the way.)
10 comments:
Important reading. Well, quite amused me as a student anyway.
Tim, I have a question: is there no translation for the, um, exclamation sung by (I think) Brunnhilde at the start of Ride? (She sings it in front of Wotan earlier in the opera too.) Is it just a war cry? I always assumed it was a word, but there was no translation put in front of it.
Missed this question! I'm not particularly an expert in the Ring cycle. Glancing at the lyrics here, yeah, the first two lines are nonsense syllables just for musical effect. If that is the Brünnhilde battle cry you're thinking of.
Wagner developed a theory of musical 'Leitmotifs' - 'leading motifs' - that he used extensively throughout the Ring Cycle to communicate certain concepts and lend musical unity to his vast and sprawling drama, so this battle cry - and many other motifs - do occur again and again through the opera.
Yeah, it would have to be this opening:
Hojotoho! Hojotoho!
Heiaha! Heiaha! Hojotoho! Heiaha!
Seeing it written, it does look like a nonsense exclamation, but I just assuming it was a word.
By the way, I'm pretty sure I saw a line on Youtube somewhere - I thought it was in Ride - about a stallion mounting a mare (something like - look, the stallion is still so excited by battle he's mounting a mare.) But I can't find it in the english lyrics now...
Oh, this would be the scene.
I think the line you're thinking of is 'Tether your stallion next to my mare to graze'.
Though I'm not sure if I can find it here. Odd. It's the start of the third act, anyway - 'Dritter Aufzug'.
You can hear some of the same musical motifs used in that piece I linked above - Wagner's leitmotifs in action.
And let me just say here how disappointing this realisation of the scene is: Wagner's description - which he would have done his best to realise, probably with the clunky scenery at his disposal - is the height of romanticism. 'Auf dem Gipfel eines Felsenberges. Rechts begränzt ein Tannenwald die Scene.... in dem Gewölk bricht Blitzesglanz aus; eine Walküre zu Roß wird in ihm sichtbar: über ihrem Sattel hängt ein erschlagener Krieger.' 'On the peak of a cliff.... bordered on the right by a forests of firs.... in the clouds there is a flash of lightning; a Valkyrie upon her stallion is revealed: over the saddle lies a slain warrior.' In this scene, instead of thunder flashes and warrior women on horses, we just have them arranging dead bodies around on stage, like so many pieces of furniture! Paaaaaaathetic!
Er.... what were we talking about again?
Tim, your links aren't working for me for some reason.
Yeah, I've looked at a few stagings of Ride on Youtube, and none have been awesome (so far.)
Have you looked at (or read anything) about the Copenhagen Ring? From what I can gather, it's the Ring re-interpretted from a modern woman's perspective - sort of Simone de Beauvoir does Wagner :)
I also wonder whether what I saw was the Copenhagen Ring giving a racier interpretation of that line. Or maybe I dreamt it:)
I'm not sure why the links didn't go through. I know I did have trouble publishing those comments.
I'll try again.
Youtube link is here. The libretto is here. Go to the page and do a search for 'Dritter Aufzug' ('Third scene').
Never seen the Copenhagen Ring. Sounds like the sort of woke arty stuff the Danish might get into. :)
Oh yeah, it's further down:
Ortlinde
(starts up) Heiaha! Heiaha!
The horse attacketh my mare!
(She runs to the wood.)
Helm., Ger., Schw.
(laughing)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Gerhilde
The heroes' strife makes foes of the
horses!
Helwige
(call back into the wood)
Quiet, Brownie! break not the peace, now.
And further down, more horse stuff:
Gerhilde
(calling into the wood)
Leave there in the forest your steeds to graze!
Ortlinde
(likewise calling into the wood)
Lead off the mares afar from each other,
till all our heroes' anger is calmed!
Waltraute, Schwertleite
(laughing)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Gerhilde, Siegrune
(laughing)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Helmwige
The grey has paid for the heroes' anger!
Wal., Schw., Helm., Ger.
(laughing)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Actually, it makes me laugh reading it like that - all the ha ha ha-ing makes it read like Wagner was dictating it from a straightjacket.
By the way, you are right about all the body dragging going on in that Youtube clip. It looks all the world like the director couldn't think of anything better they could on stage.
In the Copenhagen Ring, the valkyries are having a lot more fun - they're wearing something like fancy ballroom dresses and drinking a lot from champagne bottles which happen to be near the battlefield (for reasons unknown.)
But I think the singing in the Copenhagen Ring is very strong. Not that I would know - as a complete novice to the world of opera, this is just an uneducated impression.
Go on - disturb the Baron by sitting up tonight and watching all 15 hours of the C Ring. (I have barely scratched it, really.)
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