“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” Bob Dylan, Subterannean Homesick Blues

Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods)

There are so many productions of the Ring some of which, post-WWII, were so spare in scenery as to be almost totally concert versions. These mostly occurred at the Bayreuth Festival, a likely result of WWII and all of its implications for things German. Then there are some Ring productions which are tailor made to an ideology, i.e., Boulez/Chereau’s 1980 Bayreuth production which played on the major conflict between the gods and the humans as one between capitalists and labor. As I have written in a previous posting, the key assumption for any Ring production to be at least plausibly successful is: Struggle for power and greed between two groups, which ends in the destruction of both and the resurrection of the new brought about through individual selfless sacrifice for love.

Having said this, I have provided links below to two quite different but plausible Ring productions, one from Valencia in 2008 and another more recent from Copenhagen, the latter with English subtitles. Because both are only nominally faithful to Wagner’s stage directions, I have listed a Wikipedia link to a more “orthodox” Götterdämmerung synopsis.

Now, given the price of seats for an entire Ring performance, it is possible, albeit unlikely, that someone dragged to the performances spent most of their time “resting their eyes”. After a busy day and an early dinner–perhaps involving alcohol–makes the perfect set-up for a snooze, since most evening performances of the Ring start around 6 p.m., to get them completed before midnight.

Yes, the Ring operas are long, and yes, a meal before the traditional cocktail hour has even entered its busiest phase makes a snooze inviting. But at what price? There is the cost of the Ring tickets, and the cost of missing out on one of the greatest art works Western Culture has ever produced. Sorry to be so melodramatic, but this cycle provides some profound moments related to concepts of love, redemption, greed, legalism, and rebirth to name but a few of the more obvious ones. But still, the eyelids may have drooped just a bit here and there.

Yet there is redemption for errant snoozers in the Prologue of Götterdämmerung! The Prologue features the three Norns, daughters of Erda (earth-mother). They are weaving the rope of Destiny and as they do they sing of the past and present, a sort of recap of events in the first three Ring operas. But they also speak of the future, when Valhalla will be set afire by Wotan thus ending the gods. So, if someone nods off for most of the first three Ring operas, they can catch up with the opening scene of Götterdämmerung.

However, knowing the end is near for the gods may send some back into Erda-like slumber. But as the rope of Destiny suddenly breaks without warning, the Norns are now helpless to foresee the future. So, if someone nods off after the rope of Destiny snaps, all is lost, including the price of the cycle!

The rest of the action in Götterdämmerung can be found at this Wikipedia link: Synopsis. This link offers a good summary, but synopses abound online.

Some of the musical highlights of the opera are listed below with links:
Siegfried’s Rhine Journey : aka “Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt” taken from another excellent Ring production from Valencia, Spain, 2008.

Gibichung’s greeting to Hagen (the only chorus singing in the entire Ring cycle): Greetings Hagen taken from another excellent production at the Bayreuth Festival

Siegfried’s Funeral March: Siegfried’s Funeral March again from the Copenhagen Ring production with English subtitles.

Brünnhilde’s Immolation and Finale: The End is Nigh also from the Copenhagen Ring with English subtitles. (Note: This production has several significant deviations from the synopsis as well as Wagner’s libretto as I wrote above. But, alas, has English subtitles and the deviations are a bit confusing to the story line but seem to work nonetheless. For one thing, Segfried’s body is not on a “stretcher” which would have been carried in by the Gibichung’s. Instead, he dies without one. Brünnhilde’s singing is usually done over the body of Siegfried, not to Wotan, who is sitting in the chair with its back to the audience. Grane, their trusty steed is nowhere to be found, so Brünnhilde figuratively rides into the immolating flames of the library in this production, then moves offstage. The other gods and Valhalla descend in flames, and Alberich, trying to regain the ring, gets “burnt” quite literally and falls into the overflowing Rhine. One of the last moments in the opera is typically staged with the three Rhinemaidens, two of whom are marveling at the Ring restored to them as it is held by their third with a radiant light in the background. But in this production, the emerging radiance is the backdrop for Brünnhilde’s return with the infant, representing the redemption and rebirth of humanity. As this scene progresses, the music portrays the onstage tumult, purification, and restoration of the world, all thanks to Brünnhilde’s selfless act of immolation.)

The final from the Valencia Ring fits the synopsis more closely: Another Burning.

Yet, not matter how the Ring cycle is staged and produced the intended end remains the same: The world has been saved by love and redeemed.