Siegfried: English National Opera Guide 28

Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung #3

by Richard Wagner, A.P. Porter (Translator), Andrew Porter

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. Wagner wanted Siegfried, the third music drama in The Ring of the Nibelung , to be the most popular of the cycle. Despite its many beautiful and dramatic scenes and its vital part in the drama, it has not fulfilled its composer's Professor Ulrich Weisstein examines why. Professor Anthony Newcomb contributes a detailed analysis of Wagner's use of leitmotifs, identifying the different purposes they fulfill. Derrick Puffett takes up the extraordinary fact that Wagner composed Tristan and Isolde and The Mastersingers of Nuremberg in the eight-year hiatus between his beginning and completion of Siegfried's second act; Puffett explores the subsequent changes in Wagner's musical imagination that enabled the composer to complete his enormous task. The thematic guide compliments those found in the other Opera Guides to The Ring Cycle .

Genres: Music, German Literature, Fiction, Classics, Mythology, Fantasy, Poetry

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

About the author

Germanic legends often based romantic operas of especially known composer Richard Wagner, who worked Tannhäuser (1845) and the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen (1853-1876).

From 1872, Richard Wagner lived at Bayreuth to 1883 and designed the opera house, used chiefly for performances of his works.

Works of Jacques Martin Barzun include Darwin, Marx, Wagner (1941).

Wilhelm Richard Wagner conducted, directed theater, and authored essays, primarily for his later called "music dramas." Unlike most other greats, Wagner wrote the scenario and libretto.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard...

Reviews

[Michelle Curie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is magic and mysticism packed into an opera full of love, drama and fearlessness. As part of Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung, a cycle of four German-language music dramas, it's loosely based on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied.



Siegfried feels like a fairy tale. It's the most straight-forward and probably the least tragic of Wagner's operas, and yet it's charming and entrancing. We're presented with the story of a Germanic hero, namely Siegfried. He's a man with an astonishing connection to nature, a man who knows no fear, who is out to rescue a queen from captivity.

One particularly captivating aspect of Wagner's work is his use of leitmotifs. Those are recurring musical themes translated as harmonic progressions, taking the storytelling to a whole different level. Instead of telling the viewer the story through text, what's happening on stage is musically often hinted at beforehand. It adds a whole new dimension not only to opera, but to musical storytelling in general.

[Davide Nole · Rating 3 out of 5]

(sempre la stessa edizione di Das Rheingold)

Siegfried è l'opera che mi sento di bocciare a priori. Purtroppo il protagonista è il personaggio meno interessante del mondo, in quanto non ha il minimo spessore. C'è una sorta di tentativo di porre l'accento sulla sua essenza di orfano, ma il tutto è lasciato al vuoto, perché si vuole esaltare la mera forza bruta, unita alla stupidità.
Se solo Brunilde fosse stata un po' meno instupidita dall'amore in quest'opera probabilmente avrei salvato il finale

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Act 3 is mind blowing. Fantastic to read the score and listen, especially just before going to Bayreuth!

[Tyrone_Slothrop (ex-MB) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Held

Seconda notte del Nibelungo, quella in cui entra in scena quello che avrebbe dovuto essere il centro di tutta la grande opera, almeno nelle prime intenzioni di Wagner.
Sigfrido è l'Achille norreno, violento e grezzo, diretto e manipolabile, splendido ed ingenuo - e, in effetti, ad un lettore/spettatore la figura centrale e più affascinante risulta invece quella di Wotan, il viandante disilluso e conscio di essere al crepuscolo e che, comunque, compie il suo destino di inutile opposizione al giovane eroe umano.
Interessante notare l'importanza della parola nella vicenda di Sigfrido - con le parole Mime lo raggira per anni, con le parole Fafner lo mette sull'avviso e la magia del sangue del drago più potente è quella che permette a Sigfrido di capire gli uccelli. E il dialogo finale con Mime è giocato tutto sulla contrapposizione tra le nuove parole "vere" (a cui il nano è costretto dall'incantesimo) e la vecchie parole "false".

Indubbiamente l'atto migliore della tetralogia, così giocato sulla diarchia tra i due "eroi" e permeato dal cupio dissolvi di Wotan di grande epicità e forza espressiva.

[E7boehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good translation. Liked Siegfried less and less. His power with Nieveitaty makes him seem like a fated bumbler more than a hero. He has some ability but it seems more he is fated very two dimensional. I like Wotan breaking of the spear. It is all Wotan and not much Siegfried. It also shows that Siegfried does not contemplate what Wotan is unleashing. He has everything and sadly and unconsciously throws it away. Wotan does the same thing consciously. Brunhilde, seems to embody Wotan who hides in Valhalla, she only has the power to light the pyre as last daughter of Wotan.

[Miss Bookiverse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siegfried der Drachentöter, Brünnhilde, die Walküren und Hagen – viele dieser Namen sind mir ein Begriff, aber die ganze Geschichte dahinter war mir nicht bekannt. Perfekt also, dass Regine Ahrem Wagners Opernzyklus (wiederum basierend auf der skandinavischen Nibelungensage und dem mittelalterlichen Nibelungenlied) für ein heutiges Publikum in moderne Sprache übersetzt und diese Hörspieladaption ins Leben gerufen hat. Die Produktion ist beeindruckend: tolle Sprecher*innen und gewaltiger Sound, inklusive Wagners epischen Kompositionen. Außerdem wurde das ganze mit der sogenannten Kunstkopftechnik aufgenommen, was bedeutet, dass der Sound (zumindest durch Kopfhörer) nicht nur von rechts und links, sondern auch von oben und unten kommt. Ich kann aus Erfahrung sagen, dass das dazu verleitet, sich unterwegs manchmal irritiert über die Geräusche hinter sich umzudrehen. Der Plot selbst schreitet rasant voran und ist voller Spannung, Intrigen und großen Emotionen. Für Tolkien-Fans dürfte außerdem die eindeutige Inspirationsquelle für den Ring-Mythos interessant sein. Inhaltlich haben mir Teil 1 und 4 am besten gefallen. Siegfried selbst finde ich ein bisschen doof. War sicher nicht das letzte Mal, dass ich mir dieses Hörspielkunstwerk angehört habe.

[Bernardo Henríquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siegfried es una ópera muy larga (pero el Wagnerverso también es super largo). Qué bueno que llegué a la parte del Adler sobre cómo acompañar voces, porque estoy viendo cómo controla los matices de la orquesta para que quepa la voz del vocalista sin que se canse.

Resulta que Erda aparece también en Rheingold.

[Menantesss]

A

[Two Readers in Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read libretto in preparation to watching generous free stream on metopera.org - "Tonight’s free Nightly Met Opera Stream: Enjoy the third installment of Wagner’s Ring cycle, Siegfried. Tenor Siegfried Jerusalem takes on the title role in this 1990 telecast, starring alongside soprano Hildegard Behrens as Brünnhilde, mezzo-soprano Birgitta Svendén as Erda, tenor Heinz Zednik as Mime, baritone Ekkehard Wlaschiha as Alberich, and bass-baritone James Morris as the Wanderer. Otto Schenk’s beloved production is available tonight, October 9, beginning at 7:30PM ET until tomorrow, October 10, at 6:30PM ET."

Re-read 21-22 Mar 2021 as part of the San Francisco opera's pandemic stream of Francesca Zambello's 2017-2018 American Ring.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read the Beethoven scores, but it isn't on this website. So this is a placeholder for another book because it drives me crazy when mu book count on Goodreads is different than my actual book count.