Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods) : English National Opera Guide 31

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780714544328
• ISBN10: 0714544329
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2011-02-01
• Publisher: Oneworld Classics

Summary

English National Opera Guides are ideal companions to the opera. They provide stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text of each opera in English and the original. Richard Wagner's fifteen-hour operatic cycle The Ring of the Nibelung ends with this great music drama. Michael Tanner's essay tackles the scale and meaning not just of this work but of Wagner's whole undertaking, showing that Gotterdammerung is - for all its length - his fastest-moving drama. Composer Robin Holloway brings the focus of creative genius to his discussion of the score, while Christopher Winkle's article analyses Brunnhilde's concluding monologue. The ninety numbered musical themes of the Thematic Guide are cross-referenced to the other Ring guides.

Author Biography

Nicholas John (Editor) : Richard Wagner (Author) : Richard Wagner (1813-83) was a composer who drew inspiration from Christian and Nordic mythology, as well as the philosophy of Schopenhauer, to pioneer dramatically new forms of music. His concept of the "Total Artwork" led to the construction of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, an opera house he designed specifically for productions of his own operas. He also wrote widely on music and art. His operas include Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the four parts of Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. vi
An Introduction to the End	p. 7
Motif, Memory and Meaning in 'Twilight of the Gods'	p. 13
The Questionable Lightness of Being: Brünnhilde's Peroration to 'The Ring'	p. 39
Thematic Guide	p. 49
'Götterdämmerung' poem	p. 63
Prelude	p. 65
	p. 72
	p. 89
	p. 109
Discography Cathy Peterson	p. 125
Bibliography	p. 127
Contributors	p. 128
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