old town, and shows us Sachs sitting in his arm-chair at the window
reading his Bible, and now and then expressing his hopes for Walter's
success, as the great contest is soon to take place. At last he leans
back, and after a brief meditation commences a characteristic song
("Wahn! wahn! Ueberall wahn!"). A long dialogue ensues between him and
Walter, and then as Eva, David, Magdalena, and Beckmesser successively
enter, the scene develops into a magnificent quintet, which is one of
the most charming numbers in the opera. The situation then suddenly
changes. The stage-setting represents an open meadow on the banks of
the Pegnitz. The river is crowded with boats. The plain is covered
with tents full of merrymakers. The different guilds are continually
arriving. A livelier or more stirring scene can hardly be imagined
than Wagner has here pictured, with its accompaniment of choruses by
the various handicraftsmen, their pompous marches, and the rural
strains of town pipers. At last the contest begins. Beckmesser
attempts to get through his song and dismally fails. Walter follows
him with the beautiful prize-song, "Morgenlich leuchtend in rosigem
Schein." He wins the day and the hand of Eva. Exultant Sachs trolls
out a lusty lay ("Verachtet mir der Meister nicht"), and the stirring
scene ends with the acclamations of the people ("Heil Sachs! Hans
Sachs! Heil Nürnberg's theurem Sachs!").
THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG.
"Der Ring des Nibelungen," a trilogy, the subject taken from the
Nibelungen Lied and adapted by the composer, was first conceived by
Wagner during the composition of "Lohengrin." The four dramatic poems
which constitute its cyclus were written as early as 1852, which will
correct a very general impression that this colossal work was
projected during the closing years of his life. On the contrary, it
was the product of his prime. Hueffer, in his biographical sketch of
Wagner, says that he hesitated between the historical and mythical
principles as the subjects of his work,--Frederick the First
representing the former, and Siegfried, the hero of Teutonic
mythology, the latter. Siegfried was finally selected. "Wagner began
at once sketching the subject, but gradually the immense breadth and
grandeur of the old types began to expand under his hands, and the
result was a trilogy, or rather tetralogy, of enormous dimensions,
perhaps the most colossal attempt upon which the dramatic muse has
ventured since the times of Æschylus." The trilogy is really in four
parts,--"Das Rheingold" (the Rhinegold); "Die Walküre" (the Valkyrie);
"Siegfried"; and "Die Götterdämmerung" (the Twilight of the Gods),
"The Rhinegold" being in the nature of an introduction to the trilogy
proper, though occupying an evening for its performance. Between the
years 1852 and 1856 the composer wrote the music of the "Rhinegold"
and the whole of "The Valkyrie;" and then, as he says himself, wishing
to keep up his active connection with the stage, he interrupted the
progress of the main scheme, and wrote "Tristan and Isolde," which
occupied him from 1856 to 1859. During its composition, however, he
did not entirely forsake the trilogy. In the autumn of 1856 he began
"Siegfried," the composition of which was not finished until 1869,
owing to many other objects which engaged his attention during this
period, one of which was the composition of "The Mastersingers," which
he wrote at intervals between 1861 and 1867. From the latter year
until 1876, when the trilogy was produced at Baireuth, he gave himself
wholly to the work of completing it and preparing it for the stage.
Prior to the production of the completed work, separate parts of it
were given, though Wagner strongly opposed it. "The Rhinegold," or
introduction, came to a public dress-rehearsal at Munich Aug. 25,
1869, and "The Valkyrie" was performed in a similar manner in the same
city, June 24, 1870, with the following cast:--
WOTAN Herr KINDERMANN.
SIEGMUND Herr VOGL.
HUNDING Herr BAUSERWEIN.
BRÜNNHILDE Frl. STEHLE.
SIEGLINDE Frau VOGL.
FRICKA Frl. KAUFFMANN.
The "Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung," however, were not given until
the entire work was performed in 1876. Upon the completion of his
colossal task Wagner began to look about him for the locality,
theatre, artists, and materials suitable for a successful
representation. In the circular which he issued, narrating the
circumstances which led up to the building of the Baireuth
opera-house, he says: "As early as the spring of 1871 I had, quietly
and unnoticed, had my eye upon Baireuth, the place I had chosen for my
purpose. The idea of using the Margravian Opera-House was abandoned so
soon as I saw its interior construction. But yet the peculiar
character of that kindly town and its site so answered my
requirements, that during the wintry latter part of the autumn of the
same year I repeated my visit,--this time, however, to treat with the
city authorities.... An unsurpassably beautiful and eligible plot of
ground at no great distance from the town was given me on which to
erect the proposed theatre. Having come to an understanding as to its
erection with a man of approved inventive genius, and of rare
experience in the interior arrangement of theatres, we could then
intrust to an architect of equal acquaintance with theatrical building
the further planning and the erection of the provisional structure.
And despite the great difficulties which attended the arrangements for
putting under way so unusual an undertaking, we made such progress
that the laying of the corner-stone could be announced to our patrons
and friends for May 22, 1872." The ceremony took place as announced,
and was made still further memorable by a magnificent performance of
Beethoven's Ninth or Choral Symphony, the chorus of which, set to
Schiller's "Ode to Joy," was sung by hundreds of lusty German throats.
In addition to the other contents of the stone, Wagner deposited the
following mystic verse of his own:
"I bury here a secret deep,
For centuries long to lie concealed;
Yet while this stone its trust shall keep,
To all the secret stands revealed."
He also made an eloquent address, setting forth the details of the
plans and the purposes of the new temple of art. The undertaking was
now fairly inaugurated. The erratic King of Bavaria had from the first
been Wagner's steadfast friend and munificent patron; but not to him
alone belongs the credit of the colossal project and its remarkable
success. When Wagner first made known his views, other friends, among
them Tausig, the eminent pianist, at once devoted themselves to his
cause. In connection with a lady of high rank, Baroness von
Schleinitz, he proposed to raise the sum of three hundred thousand
thalers by the sale of patronage shares at three hundred thalers each,
and had already entered upon the work when his death for the time
dashed Wagner's hopes. Other friends, however, now came forward. An
organization for the promotion of the scheme, called the "Richard
Wagner Society," was started at Mannheim. Notwithstanding the ridicule
which it excited, another society was formed at Vienna. Like societies
began to appear in all the principal cities of Germany, and they found
imitators in Milan, Pesth, Brussels, London, and New York. Shares were
taken so rapidly that the success of the undertaking was no longer
doubtful. Meanwhile the theatre itself was under construction. It
combined several peculiarities, one of the most novel of which was the
concealment of the orchestra by the sinking of the floor, so that the
view of the audience could not be interrupted by the musicians and
their movements. Private boxes were done away with, the arrangement of
the seats being like that of an ancient amphitheatre, all of them
facing the stage. Two prosceniums were constructed which gave an
indefinable sense of distance to the stage-picture. To relieve the
bare side walls, a row of pillars was planned, gradually widening
outward and forming the end of the rows of seats, thus having the
effect of a third proscenium. The stage portion of the theatre was
twice as high as the rest of the building, for all the scenery was
both raised and lowered, the incongruity between the two parts being
concealed by a façade in front. "Whoever has rightly understood me,"
says Wagner, "will readily perceive that architecture itself had to
acquire a new significance under the inspiration of the genius of
Music, and thus that the myth of Amphion building the walls of Thebes
by the notes of his lyre has yet a meaning."
The theatre was completed in 1876, and in the month of August (13-16)
Wagner saw the dream of his life take the form of reality. He had
everything at his command,--a theatre specially constructed for his
purpose; a stage which in size, scenery, mechanical arrangements, and
general equipment, has not its equal in the world; an array of artists
the best that Europe could produce; an orchestra almost literally
composed of virtuosi. The audience which gathered at these
performances--composed of princes, illustrious men in every department
of science and culture, and prominent musicians from all parts of the
world--was one of which any composer might have been proud, while the
representation itself marked an epoch in musical history, and
promulgated a new system of laws destined to affect operatic
composition ever after.
The casts of the various portions of the trilogy upon this memorable
occasion were as follows:
DAS RHEINGOLD. (PRELUDE.)
WOTAN | (Herr BETZ.
DONNER | (Herr GURA.
| Gods
FROH | (Herr UNGER.
LOGE | (Herr VOGL.
FASOLT | (Herr EILERS.
| Giants
FAFNER | (Herr VON REICHENBERG.
ALBERICH | (Herr HILL.
| Nibelungs
MIME | (Herr SCHLOSSER.
FRICKA | (Frau VON GRÜN-SADLER.
FREIA |Goddesses (Frl. HAUPT.
ERDA | (Frau JÄIDA.
Woglinde ) ( Frl. Lilly Lehmann.
Wellgunde ) Rhine daughters ( Frl. Marie Lehmann.
Flosshilde ) ( Frl. Lammert.
DIE WALKÜRE.
SIEGMUND Herr NIEMANN.
HUNDING Herr NIERING.
WOTAN Herr BETZ.
SIEGLINDE Frl. SCHEFZKY.
BRÜNNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA.
FRICKA Frau VON GRÜN-SADLER.
SIEGFRIED.
SIEGFRIED Herr UNGER.
MIME Herr SCHLOSSER.
DER WANDERER Herr BETZ.
ALBERICH Herr HILL.
FAFNER Herr VON REICHENBERG.
ERDA Frau JÄIDA.
BRÜNNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA
DER GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG.
SIEGFRIED Herr UNGER.
GUNTHER Herr GURA.
HAGEN Herr VON REICHENBERG.
ALBERICH Herr HILL.
BRÜNNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA.
GUTRUNE Frl. WECKERLIN.
WALTRAUTE Frau JÄIDA.
The motive of the drama turns upon the possession of a ring of magic
qualities, made of gold stolen from the Rhine daughters by Alberich,
one of the Nibelungen, who dwelt in Nebelheim, the place of mists.
This ring, the symbol of all earthly power, was at the same time to
bring a curse upon all who possessed it. Wotan, of the race of the
gods, covetous of power and heedless of the curse which follows it,
obtained the ring from Alberich by force and cunning, and soon found
himself involved in calamity from which there was no apparent escape.
He himself could not expiate the wrong he had done, nor could he avert
the impending doom, the "twilight" of the gods, which was slowly and
surely approaching. Only a free will, independent of the gods, and
able to take upon itself the fault, could make reparation for the
deed. At last he yields to despair. His will is broken, and instead of
fearing the inevitable doom he courts it. In this sore emergency the
hero appears. He belongs to an heroic race of men, the Volsungs. The
unnatural union of the twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, born of this
race, produces the real hero, Siegfried. The parents pay the penalty
of incest with their lives; but Siegfried remains, and Wotan watches
his growth and magnificent development with eager interest. Siegfried
recovers the ring from the giants, to whom Wotan had given it, by
slaying a dragon which guarded the fatal treasure. Brünnhilde, the
Valkyr, Wotan's daughter, contrary to his instructions, had protected
Siegmund in a quarrel which resulted in his death, and was condemned
by the irate god to fall into a deep sleep upon a rock surrounded by
flames, where she was to remain until a hero should appear bold enough
to break through the wall of fire and awaken her. Siegfried rescues
her. She wakens into the full consciousness of passionate love, and
yields herself to the hero, who presents her with the ring, but not
before it has worked its curse upon him, so that he, faithless even in
his faithfulness, wounds her whom he deeply loves, and drives her from
him. Meanwhile Gunther, Gutrune, and their half-brother Hagen conspire
to obtain the ring from Brünnhilde and to kill Siegfried. Through the
agency of a magic draught he is induced to desert her, after once more
getting the ring. He then marries Gutrune. The curse soon reaches its
consummation. One day, while traversing his favorite forests on a
hunting expedition, he is killed by Hagen, with Gunther's connivance.
The two murderers then quarrel for the possession of the ring, and
Gunther is slain. Hagen attempts to wrest it from the dead hero's
finger, but shrinks back terrified as the hand is raised in warning.
Brünnhilde now appears, takes the ring, and proclaims herself his true
wife. She mounts her steed, and dashes into the funeral pyre of
Siegfried after returning the ring to the Rhine-daughters. This
supreme act of immolation breaks forever the power of the gods, as is
shown by the blazing Walhalla in the sky; but at the same time justice
has been satisfied, reparation has been made for the original wrong,
and the free will of man becomes established as a human principle.
Such are the outlines of this great story, which will be told more in
detail when we come to examine the component parts of the trilogy. Dr.
Ludwig Nohl, in his admirable sketch of the Nibelungen poem, as Wagner
adapted it, gives us a hint of some of its inner meanings in the
following extract: "Temporal power is not the highest destiny of a
civilizing people. That our ancestors were conscious of this is shown
in the fact that the treasure, or gold and its power, was transformed
into the Holy Grail. Worldly aims give place to spiritual desires.
With this interpretation of the Nibelungen myth, Wagner acknowledged
the grand and eternal truth that this life is tragic throughout, and
that the will which would mould a world to accord with one's desires
can finally lead to no greater satisfaction than to break itself in a
noble death.... It is this conquering of the world through the victory
of self which Wagner conveys as the highest interpretation of our
national myths. As Brünnhilde approaches the funeral pyre to sacrifice
her life, the only tie still uniting her with the earth, to Siegfried,
the beloved dead, she says:--
"'To the world I will give now my holiest wisdom;
Not goods, nor gold, nor godlike pomp,
Not house, nor lands, nor lordly state,
Not wicked plottings of crafty men,
Not base deceits of cunning law,--
But, blest in joy and sorrow, let only love remain.'"
We now proceed to the analysis of the four divisions of the work, in
which task, for obvious reasons, it will be hardly possible to do more
than sketch the progress of the action, with allusions to its most
striking musical features. There are no set numbers, as in the Italian
opera; and merely to designate the leading motives and trace their
relation to each other, to the action of the _dramatis personæ_, and
to the progress of the four movements, not alone towards their own
climaxes but towards the ultimate dénouement, would necessitate far
more space than can be had in a work of this kind.
DAS RHEINGOLD.
The orchestral prelude to "The Rhinegold" is based upon a single
figure, the Rhine motive, which in its changing developments pictures
the calm at the bottom of the Rhine and the undulating movement of the
water. The curtain rises and discloses the depths of the river, from
which rise rugged ridges of rock. Around one of these, upon the summit
of which glistens the Rhinegold, Woglinde, a Rhine-daughter, is
swimming. Two others, Wellgunde and Flosshilde, join her; and as they
play about the gleaming gold, Alberich, a dwarf, suddenly appears from
a dark recess and passionately watches them. As they are making sport
of him, his eye falls upon the gold and he determines to possess it.
They make light of his threat, informing him that whoever shall forge
a ring of this gold will have secured universal power, but before he
can obtain that power he will have to renounce love. The disclosure of
the secret follows a most exultant song of the Undines ("Rheingold!
leuchtende Lust! wie lachst du so hell und hehr!"). In the
announcement made by them also occurs the motive of the ring. The
Rhine-daughters, who have fancied that Alberich will never steal the
gold because he is in love with them, are soon undeceived, for he
curses love, and snatches the gold and makes off with it, pursued by
the disconsolate maidens, whose song changes into a sad minor leading
up to the next scene. As they follow him into the dark depths the
stream sinks with them and gives place to an open district with a
mountain in the background, upon which is the glistening Walhalla,
which the giants have just built for the gods. Wotan and Fricka are
discovered awakening from sleep and joyfully contemplating it, the
latter, however, filled with apprehension lest the giants shall claim
Freia, the goddess of love, whom Wotan has promised to them as the
reward for their work. Loge, the god of fire, however, has agreed to
obtain a ransom for her. He has searched the world over, but has been
unable to find anything that can excel in value or attraction the
charm of love. As the gods are contemplating their castle Loge
appears, and in a scene of great power, accompanied by music which
vividly describes the element he dominates ("Immer ist Undank Loge's
Lohn"), he narrates the tidings of his failure. The giants, however,
have heard the story of the Rhinegold, and as they carry off the
weeping Freia agree to release her whenever the gods will give to them
the precious and all-powerful metal. As love departs, the heavens
become dark and sadness overcomes the gods. They grow suddenly old and
decrepit. Fricka totters and Wotan yields to despair. Darkness and
decay settle down upon them. The divine wills are broken, and they are
about to surrender to what seems approaching dissolution, when Wotan
suddenly arouses himself and determines to go in quest of the
all-powerful gold. Loge accompanies him, and the two enter the dark
kingdom of the gnomes, who are constantly at work forging the metals.
By virtue of his gold Alberich has already made himself master of all
the gnomes, but Wotan easily overpowers him and carries him off to the
mountain. The Nibelung, however, clings to his precious gold, and a
struggle ensues for it. In spite of his strength and the power the
ring gives to him it is wrenched from him, and the victorious Wotan
leaves him free to return to his gloomy kingdom. Infuriated with
disappointment over his loss and rage at his defeat, Alberich curses
the ring and invokes misfortune upon him who possesses it. "May he who
has it not, covet it with rage," cries the dwarf, "and may he who has
it, retain it with the anguish of fear;" and with curse upon curse he
disappears. Now that he has the ring, Wotan is unwilling to give it
up. The other gods implore him to do so, and the giants demand their
ransom. He remains inflexible; but at last Erda, the ancient divinity,
to whom all things are known, past, present and future, appears to
Wotan and warns him to surrender the ring. She declares that all which
exists will have an end, and that a night of gloom will come upon the
gods. So long as he retains the ring a curse will follow it. Her
sinister foreboding so alarms him that at last he abandons the gold.
Youth, pride, and strength once more return to the gods.
The grand closing scene of the prelude now begins. Wotan attempts to
enter Walhalla, but all is veiled in oppressive mist and heavy clouds.
The mighty Donner, accompanied by Froh, climbs a high rock in the
valley's slope and brandishes his hammer, summoning the clouds about
him. From out their darkness its blows are heard descending upon the
rock. Lightning leaps from them, and thunder-crashes follow each other
with deafening sounds. The rain falls in heavy drops. Then the clouds
part, and reveal the two in the midst of their storm-spell. In the
distance appears Walhalla bathed in the glow of the setting sun. From
their feet stretches a luminous rainbow across the valley to the
castle, while out from the disappearing storm comes the sweet rainbow
melody. Froh sings, "Though built lightly it looks, fast and fit is
the bridge." The gods are filled with delight, but Wotan gloomily
contemplates the castle as the curse of the ring recurs to him. At
last a new thought comes in his mind. The hero who will make
reparation is to come from the new race of mortals of his own
begetting. The thought appears in the sword motive, and as its stately
melody dies away, Wotan rouses from his contemplation and hails
Walhalla with joy as "a shelter from shame and harm." He takes Fricka
by the hand, and leading the way, followed by Froh, Freia, Donner, and
Loge, the last somewhat reluctantly, the gods pass over the rainbow
bridge and enter Walhalla bathed in the light of the setting sun and
accompanied by the strains of a majestic march. During their passage
the plaintive song of the Rhine-daughters mourning their gold comes up
from the depths. Wotan pauses a moment and inquires the meaning of the
sounds, and bids Loge send a message to them that the treasure shall
"gleam no more for the maids." Then they pass laughingly and mockingly
on through the splendor to Walhalla. The sad song still rises from the
depths of the Rhine, but it is overpowered by the strains of the
march, and pealing music from the castle. The curtain falls upon their
laments, and the triumphant entrance of the gods into their new home.
DIE WALKÜRE.