wagner's ring - deciphering the music (v025fx)
TRANSCRIPT
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Deciphering the Music
Pete Kellockpetekellockgmailcom
-- Edgar Wilson ldquoBillrdquo Nye quoted in Mark Twainrsquos autobiography 1924
ldquoWagnerrsquos music is better than it soundsrdquo
Die Walkuumlre Act 1 Sc 1
Siegmund and
Sieglinde
Metropolitan Opera 2011
Washington National Opera 2007
2014
Blues
3657151
Outline
A brief intro to the history drama amp philosophy of the Ring
Then to the musichellip
bull The opening of the work
bull How do you construct a 15-hour ldquosymphonyrdquo
bull Wrsquos Answer Leitmotifsbull Getting familiar with some of the Leitmotifs examples amp quiz
bull Examples of how some evolve and cross-polinate
bull Puzzles amp problems of Leitmotif analysishellip
bull Wagnerrsquos use of the orchestra
bull A favorite moment (Lebrsquo Wohl)
bull The End of the World
The Ring
ldquoIt is a work to which we are all indebted and from which none of us can escapeldquo
TS Eliot about James Joyces Ulysses (slightly paraphrased)
As a composer I feel like this about the Ring
Composers Mahler Bruckner Strauss Franck Massenet Schoenberg Debussy etc (many both influenced and rebelling against)
Writersdramatistspoets Baudelaire Mallarmeacute Verlaine Proust Mann Eliot Shaw Auden D H Lawrence Beardsley Rilkehellip
Others Pierre-Auguste Renoir Aubrey Beardsley Arthur Rackham Fritz Lang
Wagner is ldquothe father of heavy metalrdquo - Joey DeMaio of heavy metal band Manowar
Georg Groddeck (pioneer in psychosomatic medicine) considered the Ring to be the first manual of psychoanalysis
Influence of the Ring (and Wagnerrsquos other works)
Seattle Opera 1975
GER Der Ring des Nibelungen ENG The Ring of the Nibelung (ie Alberich)
Preliminary Evening GER Das Rheingold | ENG The Rhinegold
First DayGER Die Walkuumlre | ENG The Valkyrie
(ie Bruumlnnhilde)
Second DayGER Siegfried | ENG Siegfried
Third DayGER Goumltterdaumlmmerung | ENG Twilight of the Gods
But really the central character is
WotanKing of the Gods
Wagner drew on many legendshellipbut didnrsquot stick closely to any
Scandinavian sources bull the Saga of the Volsungs lt--- the principal onebull the Poetic (or Elder) Eddabull the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturlusons
German sourcesbull Thidriks Saga of Bern bull the Nibelungenlied
and a number of other minor sources
The myth some elements
bull Characters nymphs dwarfs gods amp demi-gods giants a dragon humans
bull Forces nature water air earth fire
bull Settings the Rhine river mountaintops (~heaven) Nibelheim (~hell) forests and huts in forests castles
bull ldquoGame Assetsrdquo gold ring sword spear Tarnhelm a magic potion
Influence of the Oresteia
ldquoI could actually see the Oresteia with my minds eye as though it were actually being performed and its
effect on me was indescribable hellip My ideas about the significance of drama and of the theatre were without
a doubt moulded by these impressions helliprdquoWagner about reading the Oresteian trilogy in 1847
The Ring How it all came togetherCONCEPTION AND LIBRETTO 5 years
1848-1853 5 years
FIRST PHASE OF MUSIC COMPOSITION 4 years1853-54 Das Rheingold1854-56 Die Walkuumlre1856-57 Siegfried Acts 1 amp 2
HIATUS 12 years 1857-59 Tristan and Isolde1862-1867 Die Meistersinger von Nuumlrnberg
FINAL PHASE OF MUSIC COMPOSITION 5 years1869-1871 Siegfried Act 31869-1874 Goumltterdaumlmmerung
TOTAL TIME FROM START TO FINISH 26 years Wagner aged 35 to 61
I have determined finally to give up my headstrong design of completing the
Nibelungen I have led my young Siegfried to a beautiful forest solitude and there have left him under a linden tree and taken leave of
him with heartfelt tearsrdquo- Wagner in a letter to Liszt 28 May 1857
The Story(in 25 minutes)
See httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=AgzZ_nLOJJE
What does The Ring really mean
Dresden 1849
Wagner and Revolution
Burnt-out remains of the Dresden opera house where Wagnerrsquos Rienzi was premiered in 1842
Wagnerrsquos politicsphilosophy
14-Jun-1848Wagner delivers an impassioned speech to the Vaterslandsverein (a political organization) arguing that only by destroying ldquothe demonic
concept of moneyrdquo was it possible to achieve ldquothe total emancipation of the human race
In Mein Leben Wagner describes how as a student her participated in wrecking
a brothel
The ostensible reason was the ldquograve menace to public moralityrdquo
But Wagner honestly admits ldquoIt was the pure devilish fury of these popular
outbursts that drew me into their vortexrdquo
Some insightshellip
hellipcont Wagnerrsquos politicsphilosophy
hellipdiary of Eduard Devrient 31-Mar-1849
ldquoMet Kapellmeister Wagner on the Terrace another discussion about his theories for changing the world He still thinks that only by destroying [the concept of] property is it possible to civilize mankind I maintain that nothing can be achieved by such a superficial arrangement but only through a religious rebirth in Europe by means of which selfishness ndash the source of all our social evils ndash will be reduced
hellip
Finally he had to agree with me that only moral amelioration can put an end to our misery and that this would produce the right types of state based on the law of loverdquo
ldquohellipvisit from Kapellmeister Wagner we often argued over politics in the most barbarous way He wants to destroy to rebuild I want to transform what already exists in order to create a new worldrdquo
hellipfrom the diary of Wagnerrsquos friend Eduard Devrient1-Jun-1848
Eduard Devrient
hellipcont Wagnerrsquos politicsphilosophy
1854 Wagner reads Schopenhauer for the first time
bull Schopenhauer influenced by Nietzsche and Eastern philosophybull From the latter
bull Hindu Upanishads the world as we see it is illusion (māyā )bull ldquo[The Upanishads] is the most satisfying and elevating reading
which is possible in the world it has been the solace of my life and will be the solace of my deathrdquo
bull Buddhism life is full of suffering suffering is caused by desire freedom is achieved by the extinction of desire
bull We are driven by ldquowillrdquo a powerful dark force beyond our control (the Selfish Gene)
bull It can be terminated by asceticism and chastity achieving a state where one can no longer separate the perceiver from the perception
bull Music is a timeless universal language the embodies the will itself
bull Wagner after reading Schopenhauer ldquoOnly now did I understand my own Wotanrdquobull He also re-wrote the ending of the text (at least 6 times) Schopenhauer Eastern
ideas such asbull Self-overcoming bull Transcending the illusionary nature of the world bull Entering Nirvana (Bruumlnnhilde)
Arthur Schopenhauer
Wagner in a letter to his composerconductor friend August Roumlckel 23-Aug-1856
ldquoI meant in the presentation of the whole Nibelung myth to show how from the first
wrongdoing a whole world of injustice arose and subsequently fell to pieces in order to teach us the lesson that we must recognize injustice and
tear it up by the roots and raise in its stead a righteous worldrdquo
from another letter to August Roumlckel 1854
ldquoI believe it was a true instinct that led me to guard against an excessive eagerness to make things plain for I
have learned to feel that to make onersquos intentions too
obvious risks impairing a proper understandingrdquo
The music of Der Ring
bull Music is ldquothe constituent that was everything at the beginningrdquo
bull My works are ldquomusical deeds become visiblerdquo
Wagner essay On the Term ldquoMusic-Dramardquo 1872
How do you start 15 hours of music
Opening of the Ring )
null
Blues
18155048
How the Cycle (Das Rheingold) really starts
Das Rheingold Prelude - Opening
DR Opening Part1
null
Classical
6692443
Das Rheingold Prelude ndash next bit
And then Frequency ratios in horn part (1) 2 3 4 5 6 8 10
null
Blues
4558329
Helmholtz and the Harmonic Series
OK but how do you actually construct 15 hours of music
Wagnerrsquos answer thematic development ---gt Leitmotifs)
Motivic Development
hellipthe most famous example ever
Transposition (diatonic)one note lowerMain motif
Strong Variant
Inversion of Variant
New motif Main motif different instrumentation
Transposition minor variation
null
Blues
24581318
Motivic development ndash typical techniquesbull Transposition (exact or diatonic)bull Inversionbull Alteration of some of the pitchesbull Change in instrumentation
And others (not in above example)hellipbull Augmentation Diminution (ie slow down speed up)bull Alteration of rhythm or meterbull Re-harmonizationbull Re-voicing bull Retrograde (mostly in Baroque and 20th Century)
hellip and combinations of all the above
Leitmotifs
Some of the major Leitmotifs
Source of the score excerpts on following pages
John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
Many of the images
Arthur Rackham 1867-1939
hellipgetting to know them
Arthur RackhamJohn Weinstock
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Nature
Scale Arpeggio
14680747
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Rhinemaidens
First Bayreuth production of the Ring 1876
Note dotted rhythm
Arthur Rackham
11859564
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Alberich
By the wayhellipDmitri ShostakoviCH
Notes Eb D (Db) C B
eg Shostakovich 10th Symphony ndash 4th movement
Metropolitan Opera 2012
Alberich trying to grasp hold of the slippery Rhinemaidens
11363244
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Gold
17528095
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Ring
12721592
Harmony of the RingThe harmony of the Ring uses many chords but itrsquos dominated by 5 main typesbull Majorbull Minorbull Dominant 7th Augmented 6thbull Diminished 7th
bull ldquoTristan Chordrdquo almost as important in the Ring as it is in Tristan amp Isolde
Diminished 7thbull Dark dramatic chordbull Pivot chord allows sudden swings to remote keys (eg Beethoven) bull Why Because of its symmetry ndash a ldquomode of limited transpositionrdquo
bull Most chords are made up of unequal intervals eg Maj3rd+Min3rd+Perfect4thbull The Dim7th has 4 equal intervals 4 x Min3rdbull This means there are only 3 of them
If we take one of these and drop one of its notes by a semitone we get a Dominant 7 th
bull Which lets us go immediately to any of 4 keys ndash because the Dom7th leads strongly to the tonicbull (Or actually 8 keys because we can go to the tonic in major minor)bull For example taking the first of the abovehellip
Dim7th gt B7 gt E maj
Dim7th gt Ab7 gt Db maj
eg drop bottom note a semitone hellipor drop top note a semitone
Note 4 possibilities for each of 3 Dim7ths so can go to 3x4 = 12 keys (24 including minor)
Harmony of the Ring
But what if we start from a Dim7th and raise one of the notes a semitone
---gt ldquoTristan Chordrdquo
A highly enigmatic chamelion chord From intensely dramatic to ethereal hellipdepending on previous chords orchestration dynamics etc
Note Wagner didnrsquot invent this chord ndash you can even find it in Bach (as VII7)But he reinvented its use and made it a central chord of his musical language
Eg raise bottom note a semitone
hellipor raise 2nd note a semitone
Dim7th gt Tristan A
Dim7th gt Tristan B
hellipor raise 3rd note a semitone
Dim7th gt Tristan C
hellipor raise top note a semitone
Dim7th gt Tristan C
Again 4 possibilities for each of 3 Dim7ths so there are 3x4 = 12 Tristan chords
The chord of Ring motif
Itrsquos a combination of Tristan and Dim 7th
Tristan
Diminished 7th
Tristan
Diminished 7th
Trdim
7
The Ring
12721592
9534699
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
ldquoRenunciation of Loverdquo ldquoLove-Curserdquo
Woglinde ldquoOnly he who forswears loves power only he who forfeits loves delightrdquo
[etc hellipcan forge the Ring]
Beware the names This is the most enigmatic Leitmotif of them all
17214619
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Rhinemaidensrsquo Joy in the Gold(Two Leitmotifs)
A
Melbourne Ring 2013B
Note that dotted rhythm again
8881647
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Power of the Ring
Seattle Opera 2009
A B
Wotan mesmerized by the ring
14602381
Some of the Leitmotifshellip Freia Love
Kirov Opera 2007
Freia-A Freia-B
Bangkok Opera 2006
64000173
6687365
38112656
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Giants ndash Fasolt and Fafner
Seattle Opera 2013
San Francisco Opera 2009
Arthur Rackham
134268875
Leitmotif Quiz 1
14680747
11859564
11363244
17528095
12721592
17214619
8881647
14602381
6687365
38112656
134268875
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Spear
Wotan (to Donner) ldquoHold hothead
Violence avails naughtrdquo
Metropolitan Opera 2010Andre Kosslick
131395445
Some of the LeitmotifshellipLoge Fire
Metropolitan Opera 2013
Loge ndash rising chromatic
Magic Fire
Loge ndash descending chromatic
5799198
16378681
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Nibelungs Forging
Wotan descending to Nibelheim
That dotted rhythm again
Alberich tyranninzing the
Nibelungs as they work the gold
13688108
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Tarnhelm
Alberich puts on the Tarnhelm and becomes invisible to
Mimersquos horror
2100246
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Dragon
26592793
Some of the LeitmotifshellipThe Curse
Alberich curses the ring
The Ring - inverted
SF Opera 2011
16666035
Some of the LeitmotifshellipThe Sword - Nothung
Metropolitan Opera 2011 Print Stephen-de-Hospodar
Wood Engraving Simon Brett
Caricature C v Grimm
Siegmund ldquoWalserdquo
Siegmund ldquoNothungrdquo
9430211
2923122
17084003
Some of the LeitmotifshellipSiegmund amp Sieglinde
17554218
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
The Valkyries
9508577
Leitmotif Quiz 2
131395445
5799198
16378681
13688108
2100246
26592793
16666035
9430211
2923122
17084003
17554218
9508577
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Fate
Triplet pattern on timpani
3-note Fate motif
Siegfriedrsquos Trauermarsch by LivingHorus
36179695
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Siegfried
In Mimersquos hut - original sketch for Bayreuth
scenery
Siegfried Jerusalem as SiegfriedMetropolitan Opera 1990
Siegfried amp GutruneFritz Lang 1924
Siegfried and BrunnhildeMetropolitan Opera 2012
14132184
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Siegfriedrsquos Horn Call
Ernst Kraus as Siegfried circa 1900
Kevin Rivard SF Opera 2011
Florence Akin 1915
Metropolitan Opera 1990
87249155
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Immortal Beloved
Metropolitan Opera 2011
Bayreuth 1980
13661986
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Bruumlnnhilde as Mortal Woman
Bayreuth 1980
Metropolitan Opera 2012
Metropolitan Opera 2009
13740353
San Francisco Opera 2011
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Hagen
Metropolitan Opera 1990
Hagen tells Brunnhilde he will avenge her
betrayal by Siegfried
COMPARE Siegfriedrsquos horn call
1585624
87249155
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Murder (Conspiracy)
Hagen and Alberich plotting to kill Siegfried for the Ring
Wermland Opera (Sweden) 2011
Fritz Lang 1924
9613066
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Siegfriedrsquos Funeral March
Howard Pile
62535877
Some of the Leitmotifshellip
Redemption
Bayreuth 1980
Sieglinde ldquoSublimest wonderhelliprdquo
Hildegard Behrens amp Jessye NormanMetropolitan Opera 1990
17710957
Leitmotif Quiz 3
36179695
14132184
87249155
13661986
13740353
1585624
9613066
62535877
17710957
Leitmotif Quiz - ALL
36179695
14132184
87249155
13661986
13740353
1585624
9613066
62535877
17710957
14680747
11859564
11363244
17528095
12721592
17214619
8881647
14602381
6687365
38112656
134268875
131395445
5799198
16378681
13688108
2100246
26592793
16666035
9430211
17084003
17554218
9508577
LeitmotifshellipHow Wagner uses them
Leitmotifs Nature familyEmbryonic form
Nature arpeggio[Das Rheingold prelude]
Nature ndash definitive[Das Rheingold prelude]
The Rhine[Das Rheingold prelude]
Erda (earth goddess)[Das Rheingold Sc 4]
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
ScaleArpeggio
ScaleArpeggio
Rhythm long short long short long short long
13061179
14680747
7366552
15934607
cont Nature family
Erda Twilight of the Gods[Das Rheingold Sc 4]
Erda ldquoAll that is shall end A dark day dawns for the godsrdquo
Twilight of the Gods[ Goumltterdammerung Act 3]
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
Scale Arpeggio
Scale
Arpeggio
38060413
1987917
cont Nature family
Forest Murmurs - embryonic[Siegfried Act 2]
Forest Murmurs - intermediate[Siegfried Act 2]
Forest Murmurs - definitive[Siegfried Act 2]
Look how far wersquove come from thisNature Arpeggio again
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
Scale
Arpeggio
Scale amp Arpeggio are gone ndash only the undulating pattern left
11702831
11389366
10501216
13061179
Are these also Nature family
The Gold[Das Rheingold Sc 1]
The Sword[Das Rheingold Sc 4]
Donner (god of thunder) [Das Rheingold Sc 4]
Donner ldquoHeda Heda Hedo Come to me mists
Vapours to me Donner your master
summons you to his hostrdquo
The Rainbow Bridge[Das Rheingold Sc 4]
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
17528095
2502541
23013935
9430211
Leitmotifs the Ring family
The Ring - definitive[Das Rheingold Sc 1]
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
The Ring - embryonic[Das Rheingold Sc 1]
Wellgunde ldquoThe worldrsquos wealth and limitless power would be won by he who
forged the ring from the Rhinegoldrdquo
The Ring
The Ring ndash first glimpse[Das Rheingold Sc 1]
Flosshilde to the other Rhinemaidens ldquoBadly you guard the sleeping goldrdquo Pay better
heed or ldquoyoursquoll both repent your sportrdquo
12460371
12721592
61910367
cont the Ring family
Scheming (by Mime)[Siegfried Act 1]
The Ring as a chord[Special illustration]
Alberichrsquos Curse on the ring[Das Rheingold Sc 4]
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
Note this is unrelated to Alberichrsquos curse on Love at least musically
17972187
10710193
16666035
Leitmotifs the Ring -gt Valhalla
REMINDERThe Ring (definitive)
[Das Rheingold Sc 1]
Valhalla (1st Segment)[Das Rheingold Sc 2]
From The Ring to Valhalla[Das Rheingold Sc 1 into Sc 2]
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
Das Rheingold Sc16 Der Welt Erbe gewaumlnn ich zu eigen (Alberich)
Vienna Philharmonic Georg Solti
Wagner - Der Ring 1 Das Rheingold
Blues
11455031
XXX - 0
8698793
12721592
Leitmotifs Wotanrsquos Spear
Spear - definitive[Das Rheingold Sc 2]
Wotan ldquoHold you hothead Violence avails naughtrdquo
Bruumlnnhildersquos Reproach[Die Walkuumlre Act 3]
Bruumlnnhilde ldquoWas it so shameful what I did that you punish my misdeed so
shamefully
Bruumlnnhildersquos Compassionate Love[Die Walkuumlre Act 3]
Bruumlnnhilde ldquoOne mans love breathed this into my heartrdquo
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
Horn amp Clar
131395445
30746357
53785313
Leitmotifs Freia (Love)Freia (Goddess of Love)
- theme isolated
Freia theme first appearance- In context
[Das Rheingold Sc 2]
Fricka ldquoThen protect her [Freia] now defenseless and frightened
she is hurrying here for helprdquo
Freia - definitive [Das Rheingold Sc 2]
Fasolt ldquohellipto win a woman who fair and meek would dwell with us poor
creaturesrdquo
Freia representing the love of Siegmund and Sieglinde
[Die Walkuumlre Act 1]
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
A
B
Freia-A Freia-B
A A B
B
B
12146906
64000173
38112656
20845722
cont Freia (Love)
Freia-B varianthellipfrom the Descent to Nibelheim
[Das Rheingold Sc 2]
Loversquos Greeting[Siegfried Act 3]
Siegfried ldquoHail to my mother that bore meHail to the earth that nourished me
that I can see those eyes whose light now delights merdquo
Bruumlnnhilde ldquoHail to the mother that bore yourdquo etc
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
More excerpts from the ldquoFreia-Brdquo segmenthellip
Loversquos Resolution[Siegfried near end of Act 3]
Bruumlnnhilde ldquohelliplaughing let us perishldquo
hellipwhich is derived from this variantas Siegmund and Sieglinde rush off madly in love
[Die Walkuumlre end of Act 1]
1180732
2528664
1893874
68963456
More motif techniqueshellip Cross-Fertilization Power of the Gold
Power of the Ring (Hagen version)
[ Goumltterdammerung Act 1]
Joy in Gold[Das Rheingold Sc 1]
ReminderThe Ring motif
Power of the Ring[Das Rheingold Sc 3]
Alberichrsquos Lament (aka ldquoWoerdquo)[Das Rheingold Sc 1]
Alberich ldquoWoe GriefHas the third so beloved betrayed me toordquo
hellipand played as a chord
null
Blues
41796
null
Blues
62171593
null
Blues
9874286
14393404
12721592
10710193
Leitmotif Cross-Fertilization Annunciation of Death
Annunciation of Death[Die Walkuumlre Act 2 Sc 4]
Q Where does the ldquoAnunciation of Deathrdquo motif come from
25652363
Leitmotif Cross-Fertilization Annunciation of Death
Annunciation of Death[Die Walkuumlre Act 2 Sc 4]
Deryck Cookersquos AnswerhellipErda [Das Rheingold Sc 4]
Letrsquos put in contexthellipWhatrsquos the motif in the lead-up
Three notes of the shape are congruenthellipbut only threeAnd dramatically why would this be derived from Erda No obvious relationship
Bayreuth 1992
15934607
25652363
Leitmotif Cross-Fertilization Annunciation of Death
Annunciation of Death[Die Walkuumlre Act 2 Sc 4]
Q So part of the answer ishellipFate3-note Fate motif
25652363
36179695
Leitmotif Cross-Fertilization Annunciation of Death
Annunciation of Death[Die Walkuumlre Act 2 Sc 4]
Q My theoryhellip
The Valkyries
Fate3-note Fate motif
Fusion of Brunnhilde (Valkyrie) + Fate
Dramatic meaning (roughly)Brunnhilde in her role as a Valkyrie is the
messenger and executor of Seigmundrsquos fate
25652363
9508577
36179695
Leitmotif combinations
Deryck Cooke 1919-1976Musicologist and BBC Broadcaster
Expert on Mahler and WagnerTrack from the double CD album
An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
In the final scene of Goumltterdaumlmmerung (Ex181-3)
Deryck Cooke
An Intro to Der Ring - CD2 track 1720 disc 22
2005
Classical
16510217
eng - iTunPGAP0
eng - iTunNORM 000001AE 0000011F 00001EC5 0000148A 0000AE97 0000ACC1 000057E6 0000572E 0000B314 0000AAD0
eng - iTunSMPB 00000000 00000210 00000738 00000000006F0EB8 00000000 003C61F6 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
eng - iTunes_CDDB_IDs20++
Source John Weinstock University of Texashttpwwwutexaseducourseswagnerhomehtml
Leitmotif Puzzle 1ldquoRenunciation of Loverdquo
First (and definitive) appearance[Das Rheingold Sc 1]
Woglinde ldquoOnly he who forswears loves power only he who forfeits loves delightrdquo hellipcan forge the Ring
Fricka chiding Wotan[Das Rheingold Sc 2]
Fricka Would you with ungodly contempt gamble awayhellip ldquolove and a womans worthrdquo
Siegmund about to pull sword from tree[Die Walkuumlre Act 1]
Siegmund ldquoHoliest loves deepest distress yearning loves scorching desire hellipburn bright in my breast urge
me to deeds and to deathrdquo
Logersquos fruitless search[Das Rheingold Sc 2]
Loge In the whole world nothing will substitute forhellip ldquowomanrsquos delights and worthrdquo
Definitive version complete amp almost unaltered
17214619
11337122
20871845
11023657