Richard Wagner: Die Walküre, Translation and Commentary - Softcover

Sabor, Dr Rudolph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0714836524 ISBN 13: 9780714836522

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 1997

Synopsis

Richard Wagner's vast Ring cycle, comprising four full-length operas, is arguably the most extraordinary achievement in the history of opera. His libretto to the work is more than a literary work of art: its intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors, ample use of alliteration - together with its singability - combine to create something unique, so that the music is embedded in the text.

This volume presents Rudolph Sabor's translation of the libretto to the second of the tetralogy, Die Walküre. This new translation, which runs side-by-side with the German text, preserves the original metre and elucidates the complexities of Wagner's intricate libretto. It is unprecedented in presenting next to the translation not only a running commentary on the drama but also the names of the leitmotifs as they occur. The translation is supplemented by scene-by-scene synopses, short discussions of each leitmotif new to each scene, a discography, videography, and full bibliography. Lists of all motifs in the opera and all motifs in the Ring cycle conclude the volume.

Rudolph Sabor has also translated the librettos to the other three operas of the cycle, and a companion volume of essays relating to Wagner's Ring completes the series. Ranging from a discussion of Wagner's Literary sources to a review of the Ring's performance history, the essays provide a prodigious treasury of information for the Wagner enthusiast.

The books can be enjoyed individually or as a series; either way they will equip the Wagner enthusiast with a fund of information to make the Ring journey more rewarding.

About this title

Review

'Best of the music books was Rudolph Sabor's idiosyncratic, cheeky and incisive Translation and Commentaries on Wagner's Ring.' (Observer)

'This is Sabor at his best. An indispensable part of the Wagner lover's library. And for those new to the Ring cycle - what better place to start!' (Opera Now)

'It has been brilliantly done by Rudolph Sabor, whose achievement is magnificent. The clarity, detail, comprehensiveness and sheer usefulness of the volumes cannot be praised too highly. I sincerely hope this will be a model for further companions to other opera composers and their work.' (Financial Times)

Synopsis

Richard Wagner's vast "Der Ring des Nibelungen" cycle comprises four full-length operas ("Das Rheingold", "Die Walkure", "Siegfried" and "Gotterdammerung") and is arguably the most extraordinary achievement in the history of opera. His own libretto to the operas is an intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors and alliteration, combining to produce the music in text. This text provides a line-by-line translation of the second of the opera librettos - "Die Walkure" - a running commentary on the action and signals as to when each leitmotif appears. Each leitmotif is a musical theme or motif which denotes a character, emotion, object or event, and these musical themes were used by Wagner as a unifying force within his dramas. The listener following the opera with the libretto is able to pinpoint the various themes (in the Ring cycle there are 81 leitmotifs) and so increase understanding of the drama. Sabor's translation seeks to preserve the original metre and elucidate the complexities of Wagner's intricate libretto. The volume is supplemented with scene-by-scene synopses, short discussions of each leitmotif, a discography, videography and bibliography.

Translations of the other three operas and a companion volume are available, both separately and in a boxed set. The companion volume offers essays on the meaning of the Ring, on Wagner's turbulent and fascinating life, his varied literary sources from the world of myth, the genesis of the cycle and its performance history over the last 120 years.

Edition details

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0714836524
• ISBN 13: 9780714836522
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 200