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 first of the opera librettos - "Das Rheingold" - 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.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Das Rheingold is the shortest opera Richard Wagner wrote. It comprises just one act, and it's technically just the curtain raiser for the main event: the sordid family history of Wotan's children, the Walsungs, as it coincides with the end of the world by fire and flood. Das Rheingold sets things in motion, as the dwarf Alberich steals the Rhine gold from its watery home, renounces love, and forges the gold into a ring of power. The chief god, Wotan, covets the ring and schemes to get it, but the Nibelung puts a curse on it; it is quickly covered with the blood of the giant Fasolt, coldly slain by his brother Fafner, who prefers gold to love. The gods move into Valhalla, the home built for them by the giants and paid for with the Nibelung's gold, but their doom is now ordained.
In this translation, Rudolph Sabor does for Wagner's epic libretto what John Ciardi did for Dante's visions of hell, purgatory, and heaven: he turns it into readable, understandable English while maintaining most of the original's meter and alliterations. Sabor's version would be admirable for this alone, but he has done his readers the additional favor of noting where leitmotifs occur and offering sidebars on the music and action.
Language Notes
Text: English, German (translation)
Original Language: German
Original Language: German
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
