[D]on't be afraid: Walter is neither dumbing down nor "making relevant" Wagner's complex masterwork. His English translations of Wagner's libretti and stage directions are crisp and modern, his annotations and asides as perspicacious as they are breezy and entertaining. His hope is that 'newcomers and old-timers will each find that these volumes add pleasure and value' to their enjoyment of The Ring.
Lively and vivid, Frederick Paul Walter's new translation will delight those familiar with the opera, while providing an inviting entry point for those who know the tale only through its role as a foundation work that has influenced everything from Bugs Bunny to The Lord of the Rings. The annotations are often wry and humorous, without in any way ceasing to be informative.
The main element of Walter's project, the translation of Wagner's poem, succeeds in its principal aim, which is "to provide a clear rendering of Wagner's libretto in modern English" and to give some idea of its alliteration, colloquialism, and humor. This is a tricky undertaking.
This book will provide such a valuable tool for all, whether artist, student, or just a passionate Wagner fan wanting to dig a little deeper. I chased the insight and information held herein for years, and here it is now in one volume.
This is a striking publication: in four large-format softbacks with vivid full-color covers, it is the work of Frederick Paul Walter, an American scriptwriter, fine-arts broad-caster and translator of several Jules Verne novels.
This is a tremendous piece of work, enabling the uninitiated and the initiated alike to see with crystal clarity what's really going on in the murky depths of human life Wagner is intent on exploring. It's an easily followed map to the vast and deceptive terrain. The translated texts are also of exemplary clarity and reveal the libretto's relationship to the Greek plays that were his inspiration and ideal. Altogether, an indispensable vademecum to any engagement with The Ring.
This new, annotated Götterdämmerung is a wonderful addition to the literature, filled with wonderful references to leitmotives, illustrations and the text in excellent translation. This is one you will want to add to your collection, for performers and enthusiasts alike.
Walter's Ring Cycle series is written for a general audience and, given the publisher's cover designs and illustrations by Cliff Mott, will please readers of graphic novels as well.
With the completion of Frederick Paul Walter's annotated translation, we have, in wittily entertaining English, the story and characters of Wagner's mighty tetralogy as their creator fashioned them. In a time when that is seldom the case with the cycle as performed, that's a godsend.
