Götterdämmerung
The story and the musical highlights
- Reading time
- 7 min.
The saga of the Ring reaches its overwhelming conclusion... Read the full synopsis of Götterdämmerung and listen to some of the work’s musical highlights, selected and discussed by conductor Alain Altinoglu.
Prior story
The Nibelung dwarf Alberich once stole the Rhinegold to forge a ring that grants its wearer limitless power. Since then, gods, giants, Nibelungs and humans have battled each other to get their hands on the previous jewel. But the curse that Alberich put on the ring continues; the Rhinemaidens still await the return of the gold treasure entrusted to them. Siegfried, the hero who gained possession of the ring and the magical Tarnhelm when he killed the dragon Fafner, is not yet aware of the power of the curse. For now, he remains unaffected by its pernicious effects.
‘Now rend, ye Norns, your rope of runes! Dusk of gods in darkness arise! Night of their downfall dawn in mist!’, sings Brünnhilde at the end of Siegfried, after the hero has awoken her from a deep sleep. The end of the world as we know it is near. Can Siegfried still turn the tide?
Prologue
Alain Altinoglu: There is something profoundly metaphysical about the Prologue, in which past, present and future blend into one another. It begins with the chord that accompanied Brünnhilde’s awakening in Siegfried, but this time in the key of E flat minor – so, less sunny, more dissonant, inducing a kind of diffuse anguish, a sense of uncertainty. Wagner adds to it the Rhine motif, evoking memories of the first notes of Das Rheingold, the fundamental matrix of the Ring. The composer then once again demonstrates his narrative mastery by having the Norns recap the story, like a flashback in a film.
The three Norns, daughters of the primordial mother Erda, spin the threads of fate. They foresee the end of the world, but fail to realize that the threat is now quite imminent. Once, the supreme god Wotan visited them at the World tree. In exchange for one of his eyes, he took a branch of the tree to make his spear from it. The tree then withered, however, and its wood was piled up around Valhalla. The Norns question each other about past and future: How is the world doing? What is about to happen? Then, when the thread of fate (rope of runes) suddenly tears, their eternal knowledge comes to an end. They descend to Erda in the womb of the Earth.
Brünnhilde and Siegfried have chosen to live together. For Siegfried, it is time to perform new heroic deeds. Brünnhilde, who has lost her former divine powers, urges him to leave, on condition that he always keeps their love pact in mind. Siegfried gives Brünnhilde the ring as a token of his love. In exchange, she gives him Grane, her Valkyrie horse.
Siegfried sails down the Rhine towards the Hall of the Gibichungs, where King Gunther rules with his sister Gutrune. They are assisted by their half-brother Hagen, who must reclaim the ring for his father Alberich.
Siegfried’s journey on the Rhine
Alain Altinoglu: Siegfried’s journey on the Rhine is one of the great orchestral moments in Wagner’s Ring cycle, which are often associated with the beauty of nature. Consider, for example, the Forest Murmurs in Siegfried, some motifs of which can be heard here in Act 3 too. In this musical transition from the Prologue to Act 1, however, the colour is quite different. It is a truly extraordinary passage that allows us to explore all that is possible with the orchestra in terms of virtuosity, voyage, imagination. The theme of Siegfried’s Horn Call can be heard in it right from the start.
Act 1
Scene 1
The Hall of the Gibichungs on the Rhine. Gunther doubts he has sufficient standing at court. Hagen advises him to marry in order to improve his status. A certain Brünnhilde would be a good candidate for him: but for this, the fire that surrounds her must be overcome. Gunther can’t do so, but the hero Siegfried can, who in turn would be a good match for Gutrune. Using cunning, they can pull off this double marriage. A magic potion from Hagen will make Siegfried forget Brünnhilde and render him amenable to a new union. Gunther and Gutrune agree to Hagen’s perfidious plan. The sound of horns announces Siegfried’s arrival at the Hall of the Gibichungs.
Scene 2
Siegfried is delighted by the friendship extended to him by his host. But the welcome drink contains the magic potion concocted by Hagen; as soon as Siegfried drinks, he forgets Brünnhilde and falls in love with Gutrune. To win her hand, he promises to get Brünnhilde as a bride for Gunther. Hagen explains how Siegfried can use the magic helmet – until now, the hero was unaware of the use of the object. Before they make their way to Brünnhilde, Siegfried and Gunther swear blood brotherhood.
Scene 3
Waltraute visits her sister Brünnhilde, who has remained alone, and brings ominous news from Valhalla: Wotan has had the World tree cut down for firewood and has piled it up around Valhalla. He now awaits the downfall. Brünnhilde might still avert this fate if she returns the ring to the Rhinemaidens. This is the reason for Waltraute’s visit: she hopes to convince her sister to relinquish the ring. But now that Brünnhilde is mortal and has come to know love through Siegfried, she doesn’t want to part with the token of love he gave her. Waltraute leaves in a state of incomprehension.
The sound of horns announces Siegfried’s arrival. But the man who strides through the fire seems to be a stranger to Brünnhilde: after all, thanks to the magical Tarnhelm, Siegfried has taken on the guise of Gunther. He violently takes the ring from Brünnhilde. She is now Gunther’s bride and Siegfried forces her to spend the night with him while the sword Nothung lies between them.
Act 2
Scene 1
On the banks of the Rhine in front of the Hall of the Gibichungs, Hagen keeps guard, half-asleep. As if in a dream, his father Alberich appears and makes him swear to do everything in his power to get the ring and avenge the injustice done by Wotan. Not that Hagen needs such encouragement: Alberich has ‘bred a tenacious hatred in him’.
Scene 2
At daybreak, Siegfried and Gunther have switched places, unnoticed, at Brünnhilde’s side. With the help of the Tarnhelm, Siegfried has returned to the hall, while Brünnhilde and Gunther follow later. Gutrune questions Siegfried about how he won Brünnhilde for Gunther, and after ascertaining Siegfried’s chastity, she asks Hagen to invite the vassals to the double wedding.
Scene 3
Hagen gathers his men, who are surprised that they have been called, not to battle, but rather to celebrate. Spirits are high and the company welcomes Brünnhilde and Gunther.
Hoiho! Ihr Gibichsmannen
Alain Altinoglu: Act 2 brims with moments of great intensity, but nothing quite beats the scene with Hagen and the male chorus. Three operas and one act have passed since there has been a choral intervention in the Ring. But then, suddenly, Hagen’s thunderous call is heard, followed by this vast mass of male voices. This surprise effect is a most powerful compositional device, very common among the great symphonists.
Scene 4
Among the men, Brünnhilde recognizes Siegfried, who, to her dismay, is introduced as Gutrun’s groom. Siegfried, however, doesn’t appear to recognize her. He wears a ring on his finger: the same ring she once received from Siegfried and which ‘Gunther’ forcibly took from her. She wants to expose the betrayal and Hagen throws oil on the fire. Brünnhilde claims that Siegfried is her husband and that he ‘forced desire and love on her’. Siegfried insists that he didn’t betray the blood brotherhood and that he didn’t touch Brünnhilde: the sword Nothung guarded his honour. Siegfried swears that Hagen may kill him if he is not speaking the truth. But Brünnhilde makes a similar oath. To break the deadlock, Siegfried calls on everyone to put aside discord and surrender to the joy of marriage. He leads Gutrune to the feast.
Scene 5
Gunther and Brünnhilde stay behind with Hagen. He skilfully plays on their hurt feelings and convinces them that Siegfried must die to avenge this betrayal. Afterwards, Gunther will be able to get the ring off Siegfried. Brünnhilde reveals to Hagen that Siegfried has a vulnerable spot on his back: that is where the hero can be struck. The trio decide that Siegfried will die the next day during a hunting party.
Auf Gunther, edler Gibichung
Alain Altinoglu: Wagner rarely superimposes voices. Most of the time, the characters engage in monologues or dialogues. However, at the end of Act 2 of Götterdämmerung, he composed a wonderful trio of a few bars for Hagen, Brünnhilde and Gunther – a rare ensemble in the Ring. During one of our ‘Inside the Music’ lectures, I already mentioned the significant symbolic importance of the number three in the Tetralogy: three Norns, three Rhinemaidens, three riddles, etc. It’s true that this number appears in most of the great universal myths, but to use it so successfully at the very heart of the music testifies to Wagner’s obsessive genius.
Act 3
Scene 1
The three Rhinemaidens amuse themselves in the Rhine and await Siegfried’s arrival. The sound of horns announces the hero. The nymphs first want to persuade him with teasing flattery to give them back the ring. Then they tell him that the ring bears a curse and that Siegfried will suffer the same fate as the dragon Fafner he killed. The nymphs gradually realize, however, that Siegfried is impervious to their pleas: ‘Blindly he rushes towards his doom.’ They leave and now put their hopes in Brünnhilde, who will inherit Siegfried’s possessions that same day.
Scene 2
The entire hunting party joins Siegfried. Gunther is downcast, but Siegfried is in excellent spirits, even if his hunt isn’t very successful. Hagen gives him a new potion that will restore his memory and listens to him talk about his earlier years. Siegfried recounts how he grew up with Mime. Siegfried now also remembers how he kissed and woke Brünnhilde. Gunther jumps up furiously, causing two ravens (Wotan’s ravens) to fly off. Siegfried is distracted by these unique birds and Hagen strikes him in the back. To the horrified hunting party, he explains that he has thus avenged Siegfried’s treachery. Before dying, Siegfried thinks back to his bride: ‘Brünnhilde grants me her greeting!’
Scene 3
Gutrune anxiously awaits the return of the hunting party. Hagen approaches her, with in his wake the procession carrying Siegfried’s corpse. He wants to make Gutrune believe that Siegfried was killed by a boar, but she understands that he was murdered in cold blood. Gunther accuses Hagen of this murder and the half-brothers fight over the ring on Siegfried’s finger. Hagen kills Gunther, but when he wants to take possession of the ring, the hand of the dead Siegfried rises in a threatening gesture. Brünnhilde comes to grasp the reason for Siegfried’s betrayal and swears revenge. On the banks of the Rhine, she has a great pyre erected. She invokes Wotan and the other gods because she now knows everything and understands everything. She is going to take the ring into the fire, so that it can then return to the Rhine, as requested by the Rhinemaidens. Before plunging into the flames on the horse Grane, Brünnhilde sends Wotan’s ravens back to Valhalla, where they will inform the god what has happened on the Rhine. The flames rise as the river bursts its banks. In the waves, the Rhinemaidens appear where the pyre was. Hagen plunges into the water to get hold of the ring and is dragged underwater by two of the nymphs. The third nymph jubilantly retrieves the ring from the fire. When the Rhine has returned to its normal bed, the flames reach Valhalla, where the gods and heroes are surrounded by fire.
Finale
Alain Altinoglu: As in most masterpieces in the history of opera, everything converges towards the end. The immolation of Brünnhilde and the destruction of Valhalla form a mythical scene. Time seems suspended. Nothing seems to exist anymore. The introduction of the Redemption through Love motif, a source of hope in the midst of such an apocalypse which is played by the orchestra amid the flames, provokes a wave of emotion that often brings the audience to tears. And for the singer performing Brünnhilde, it is the last mountain to cross. With Brünnhilde, there are in fact almost three roles in one: a powerful soprano in Die Walküre, a higher range in Siegfried, and a vast vocal range in Götterdämmerung. And then there is the fact that, as the Ring progresses, the orchestra keeps on growing and growing, to the point of becoming overwhelming. In this final work, Brünnhilde – both the character and the performer – has to fight against everyone, within the score itself even.
The Ring cycle ends on a D-flat major chord, like a light piercing the mist. When, after all those hours, you arrive at this point, the overwhelming feeling is not one of fatigue or closure. As Daniel Barenboim once told me: when you finish a Ring, you immediately want to start over. There is something addictive about Wagner’s music, which is so rich that you always discover new ideas in it. This first Ring was a wonderful adventure for me and the orchestra. Performing each episode separately has allowed us to enjoy them independently while maturing in the music. And the fact that we had the same singers from one production to the next created a genuine community around the project. Although I have no regrets whatsoever, I make no secret of my desire to be able to once perform the cycle in the space of a week, since that was Wagner’s intention. Maybe one day …
Translation: Patrick Lennon
