Die Walküre [Paperback]

Rudolph Sabor (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ring Cycle | Publication Date: October 23, 1997

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 is an intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors and alliteration, combining to produce the music in text. This text provides a line-by-line translation of the second of the opera librettos - "Die Walkure" - a running commentary on the action and signals as to when each leitmotif appears. Each leitmotif is a musical theme or motif which denotes a character, emotion, object or event, and these musical themes were used by Wagner as a unifying force within his dramas. The listener following the opera with the libretto is able to pinpoint the various themes (in the Ring cycle there are 81 leitmotifs) and so increase understanding of the drama. Sabor's translation seeks to preserve the original metre and elucidate the complexities of Wagner's intricate libretto. The volume is supplemented with scene-by-scene synopses, short discussions of each leitmotif, a discography, videography and bibliography. Translations of the other three operas and a companion volume are available, both separately and in a boxed set. The companion volume offers essays on the meaning of the Ring, on Wagner's turbulent and fascinating life, his varied literary sources from the world of myth, the genesis of the cycle and its performance history over the last 120 years.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) is the second of the four operas in Richard Wagner's Ring cycle, and the first of the early curtain, late-bedtime-length operas that inspired the term "Wagnerian" as a synonym for "extremely long." In it we meet a large quantity of the known offspring of the philandering head god, Wotan, including the nine Valkyries--warlike maidens who haul dead heroes to feast forever with the gods at Valhalla--and Wotan's twin children by a mortal woman, Siegmund and Sieglinde. The opera opens with Siegmund, defeated in battle, rushing into the first shelter he finds. It turns out to be the unhappy home of Hunding and Sieglinde. Sieglinde is Siegmund's twin sister, but that doesn't stop them from declaring their love and running off together, right after Siegmund pulls out the sword that their father left stuck in the tree that grows in the middle of the great hall. Brunnhilde, the chief Valkyrie, is first ordered by their father to help Siegmund, but he has to change his mind when Fricka, the goddess of marriage, points out the irregularity of the relationship. Brunnhilde admires Siegmund and tries to save him, but has to settle for saving the pregnant Sieglinde; as a reward for Sieglinde's audacity, Wotan puts her to sleep on a rock surrounded by fire that only a man who has never known fear can penetrate.

Rudolph Sabor's version of the libretto does a wonderful job of capturing Wagner's rhythms and idiom and bringing the whole into accessible English. This translation--which also includes suggestions for further study and comments on the action--would be a useful companion to listening to a recording of the Ring, because it points out when the leitmotifs occur.

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (October 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714836524
• ISBN-13: 978-0714836522
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,793,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Concern as to the accuracy of the German translation, September 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Die Walküre (Paperback)

I have been using the Sabor translation of 'The Ring' libretto and,for me,as a German speaker,I have found lots of examples where the English transalation does not appear to reflect the German text and I find that the William Mann and Lionel Salter translations,for me,provide a closer word for word translation of the text.I am surprised that Mr Sabor includes 'accuracy' as one key to his translation - I have found examples where questions become statements with an exclamation mark,different tenses ... the list goes on.This translation is a disappointment.The helpful aspect of the text is the inclusion of 'leitmotiv' by the text and the inclusion of sundry notes,though at times these appear to be fatuous.