The Ring of the Nibelung

by Richard Wagner, Andrew Porter

Overview

"Andrew Porter's utterly natural, often poetic, faithfully rendered English text should be a revelation...The immediacy of instant comprehension gives the entire drama an added dimension."—The New York Times

Richard Wagner's vast Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle comprises four full-length operas (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung) and is arguably the most extraordinary achievement in the history of opera. His own libretto to the operas, translated by Andrew Porter, is an intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors and alliteration, combining to produce the music in text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393008678
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	08/17/1977
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Richard Wagner (1813–83) redefined opera and had an overwhelming impact on German and western culture. His major works include Lohengrin, Tannhauser, Tristan and Isolde, Parzival and the four parts of The Ring of the Nibelung: The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried, and Twilight of the Gods.

John Deathridge is one of the world’s most respected experts on the life and work of Richard Wagner. He is Emeritus King Edward Professor of Music at King’s College London. In a long career he has taught music both in the United States and United Kingdom and been active as a conductor, organist, and piano accompanist, as well as making innumerable radio and television appearances to discuss music. He is a specialist in 19th and 20th century German music and the work of Theodor Adorno.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	ix
	The Ring of the Nibelung
	The Rhinegold
Scene 1	On the Bed of the Rhine	3
Scene 2	An Open Space on Mountain Heights	18
Scene 3	The Subterranean Caverns of Nibelheim	38
Scene 4	An Open Space on Mountain Heights	52
	The Valkyrie
Act 1	Inside a Dwelling	75
Act 2	A Wild, Craggy Place	96
Act 3	On the Summit of a Rocky Mountain (the Valkyrie Rock)	126
	Siegfried
Act 1	A Rocky Cave in the Forest	155
Act 2	In the Depths of the Forest	191
Act 3	A Wild Place at the Foot of a Rocky Mountain; then, On the Valkyrie Rock	220
	Twilight of the Gods
	Prelude: On the Valkyrie Rock	247
Act 1	The Gibichung Hall on the Rhine; then, On the Valkyrie Rock	257
Act 2	In front of the Gibichung Hall	281
Act 3	A Wild, Wooded and Rocky Valley on the Rhine; then, the Gibichung Hall	306

Editorial Reviews

For the past decade, Penguin has been producing handsome hardcover versions of their classics (…) both elegant and quirky in shocks of bright color” 
–The New York Times

From the Publisher