Die Walkure Act 3 Scene 4 Flashcards
What larger work is this part of?
Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), an opera cycle by Wagner
What year did this work premiere and what was significant about its performance 6 years later?
The first ever performance of this Die Walkure was in 1870 in Munich. However, In 1876 the opera cycle was premiered as a whole; as a “three day festival with a preliminary evening” for the Bayreuth festival, in the festival theatre. Both the theatre and the festival were established in honor of Wagner’s works, a long-held ambition of his.
What is the plot of the entire opera cycle in a nutshell, and what are the names of the other works? What was the inspiration behind this work?
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a complex story involving gods and mortals that was based on the plot of an epic medieval poem called the Nibelungenlied (song of the Nibelungs), and a fusion of Norse mythology. The other operas, in order, are Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung.
What elements of Wagner’s signature style can be found in this work?
use of leitmotifs, expanded orchestration, long dialogues between central characters, endless melody, and chromatic harmony.
Please answer the following: Language English translation of the title Librettist Structure (of this particular opera)
opera (music drama), The Valkyrie, Wagner himself was the librettist, and it was in three acts.
Please describe the principal characters and their voice type.
Wotan (baritone) - ruler of the gods
Fricka (mezzo soprano) - wife of Wotan, goddess of marriage
Valkyries (soprano and mezzo) - Brünnhilde and her 8 sisters who are all warrior daughters of Wotan
Siegmund (heldentenor) - mortal son of Wotan
Sieglinde (soprano) - mortal daughter of Wotan
*NOTE Siegmund and Sieglinde are twins
Hunding (bass) - Sieglinde’s husband/ Siegmund’s enemy
Brünnhilde (soprano) - the main Valkyrie, favorite daughter of Wotan
Summarize the plot that occured before Die Walkure.
in Das Rheingold, Alberich, A Nibelung dwarf, steals gold from the bottom of the Rine river. He fashions it into an all-powerful ring. Wotan steals the ring from Alberich but is forced to relinquish it to Fafner (a giant) in payment for the construction of Valhalla (the fortress of the gods). Wotan fathers twins- Siegmund and Sieglinde- in order that Siegmund may one day regain possession of the ring on Wotan’s behalf, thereby securing Wotan’s power over his enemies.
What happens in Act one of Die Walkure?
Siegmund arrives exhausted at an unknown person’s home. Sieglinde, wife of the home, gets him water and takes care of him. He soon finds out that the home he has arrived in is the home of his arch enemy Hunding, who is married lovelessly to Sieglinde. Siegmund and Sieglinde plot to run away together and drug Hunding into a deep sleep. Siegmund extracts a sword from the trunk of an ash tree on the grounds that Wotan had embeded there years earlier. The lovers flee into the night to consummate their love, unaware that they are siblings.
What happens in act Two?
Wotan assigns Brunnhilde to assist Siegmund in his battle against Hunding. Fricka however, as the goddess of marriage, feels compelled to have the twins punished for incest and adultery. She convinces Wotan that Siegmund ought to die in battle. Brunnhilde is ordered by Wotan to abandon Siegmund. She defies her father’s command, but anyways Siegmund loses the battle and dies. Brunnhilde flees along with the devastated Sieglinde, hoping to escape Wotan’s wrath. Wotan feels bitter about Siegmund’s death and kills Hunding with one glance. He seeks out Brunnhilde.
What happens in Act Three?
The Valkyries are doing their work of gathering the bodies of dead heroes. Brunnhilde arrives late with Sieglinde and predicts that Sieglinde is pregnant with Siegmund’s child. Sieglinde escapes into the forest to hide from WOtan. Wotan arrives intending to punish Brunnhilde for her defiance. Moved by her compassion for the twins and by his own paternal love, he softens his punishment and instead puts her into a deep sleep and lowers her status to a human. He encircles her resting place with a spell that only a fearless hero could cross through.
What happens after Die Walkure?
Siegfried is grown up and slays Fafner (the giant who is in posession of the ring- now in the form of a dragon) and assumes posession of the ring. Siegfried awakens Brunnhilde and they fall in love, but the quest must continue. They encounter a series of challenges and Siegfried is killed. Brunnhilde realizes the only way to restore the world order if the ring is returned to nature. She immolates herself on Siegfried’s funeral pyre. The flames burn out of control and torch the heavenly kingdom Valhalla along with the gods. The ring is restored once again at the bottom of the Rhine river. The quest for power has ended and a new world can begin.
How does act three scene four end musically and dramatically?
Wotan leaves the sleeping form of the now human Brunnhilde and the Slumber Motive and Magic Fire Motives co-mingle gently. The curtain falls.
