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Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung: A Companion by Stewart Spencer, Richard Wagner, Barry Millington
ahmedasi's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent translation, presented alongside the original libretti.
msand3's review
5.0
This is the single most Germanic work of art I’ve ever encountered. Wagner draws from Hegel, Schopenhauer, [b:The Nibelungenlied|18261|The Nibelungenlied|Unknown|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1377408982s/18261.jpg|1145339], [b:The Saga of the Volsungs|593109|The Saga of the Volsungs|Anonymous|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425248275s/593109.jpg|180373], [b:The Prose Edda|24658|The Prose Edda|Snorri Sturluson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411896509s/24658.jpg|1198450], Goethe, and the Brothers Grimm. The scenery descriptions, written by Wagner, remind one of the art of Caspar David Friedrich. The libretto is steeped in 19th century Romanticism. And the music is...well, Wagnerian! His patron for [b:Das Rheingold|1330137|Das Rheingold|Richard Wagner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1182795049s/1330137.jpg|15745022] was even King Ludwig II.
You just can’t get more German than this.
The first three dramas in the cycle are exciting, adventurous, and philosophical, linking the myths of old to a burgeoning modernist sensibility. The final opera is more understated, with Wagner fully embracing Schopenhauer and returning to the idea of Wotan as tragic hero, as much as Seigfreid. While this provides nice closure and links back to the first two dramas, it does lead to a bit of an anticlimax. Still, the cycle come full circle: the foolishness of the gods, the break from the gods, the independence of the human spirit, the merging of man/woman (and the individuation of the Self), the power of love to both unify and destroy, the death of the hero that leads to a genesis of the human spirit, and the ultimate destruction the gods. It’s grand, epic, and unforgettable. I watched a staged version as I was reading the libretto to get the full impact, but Wagner’s language is so beautiful that this alone should rank him as one of the great 19th century German poets.
This edition translated by Stewart Spencer with the full German text side-by-side and extensive endnotes is essential. The opening essays and photographs of various stagings throughout the years provide excellent context.
You just can’t get more German than this.
The first three dramas in the cycle are exciting, adventurous, and philosophical, linking the myths of old to a burgeoning modernist sensibility. The final opera is more understated, with Wagner fully embracing Schopenhauer and returning to the idea of Wotan as tragic hero, as much as Seigfreid. While this provides nice closure and links back to the first two dramas, it does lead to a bit of an anticlimax. Still, the cycle come full circle: the foolishness of the gods, the break from the gods, the independence of the human spirit, the merging of man/woman (and the individuation of the Self), the power of love to both unify and destroy, the death of the hero that leads to a genesis of the human spirit, and the ultimate destruction the gods. It’s grand, epic, and unforgettable. I watched a staged version as I was reading the libretto to get the full impact, but Wagner’s language is so beautiful that this alone should rank him as one of the great 19th century German poets.
This edition translated by Stewart Spencer with the full German text side-by-side and extensive endnotes is essential. The opening essays and photographs of various stagings throughout the years provide excellent context.
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