Richard Wagner

Die Walkuere: Act III, Sc. 3: Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Scene

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) drew from several Norse and Germanic legends as plot material for the second opera in his Ring cycle. DIE WALKÜRE, completed in March 1856, premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on August 14, 1876. It follows the incestuous Volsung twins Siegmund and Sieglinde as they escape together from the house of her husband Hunding, Siegmund having miraculously pulled the sword Nothung out of a tree. The god Wotan, bound by his promise to his wife Fricka to punish them, orders his daughter Brünnhilde to carry out the deed. She decides instead to save the couple, but when Wotan discovers her rebellious deed, he bids her a wistful farewell in WOTANS ABSCHIED UND FEUERZAUBER (WOTAN'S FAREWELL AND MAGIC FIRE MUSIC) and casts her into an eternal sleep on the top of a fire-ringed mountain. This concert arrangement was completed by Wouter Hutschenruyter. Instrumentation: 2(2nd dPicc).2.2.2: 4.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(3): Hp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).