Gotterdämmerung [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 final of the opera librettos - "Gotterdammerung" - 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

Goetterdaemmerung (The Twilight of the Gods) is the fourth and last of Wagner's mighty cycle of operas based on ancient Germanic sagas and myths of gods and heroes. The undauntable and mighty Siegfried awakens the sleeping Valkyrie Brunnhilde, and finally learns the meaning of fear when he falls in love with her. But he soon feels the need to go adventuring, and makes the mistake of landing at the Gibichung hall, where Gunther seeks to gain fame with the aid of his half-brother Hagen (son of the vindictive dwarf Alberich) and their sister Gutrune. Hagen drugs Siegfried, causing him to forget his former life with Brunnhilde and to fall in love with Gutrune. Siegfried, disguised, then brings Brunnhilde to wed Gunther. But Brunnhilde, who is furious, schemes with Hagen to kill the hero. When his bier is brought to the hall after a fatal hunting party, she sets it alight and then rides onto it herself; with this fire, Valhalla itself is turned to flames, and the end of the gods is at hand. Hagen is drowned by the Rhinemaidens, who reclaim the magic gold whose power set this complex saga into motion. The world is reborn, to be inherited by mere men and women.

Rudolph Sabor is a master translator. He does a superb job of recasting Wagner's words into readable English while still retaining all the tricks of meter and alliteration that are so important to Goetterdaemmerung; this could well be used as a singing translation. The book has other help for students, including side comments on the action, drama, and background, and it tells readers where each of the leitmotifs occurs. The bibliography, discography, and other references make this an extremely useful package for anyone who wants to know more about this ne plus ultra of the operatic world.

Language Notes

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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (October 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714836540
• ISBN-13: 978-0714836546
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,581,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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