The Ring of the Nibelung

The Ring of the Nibelung
by Richard Wagner

The Ring of the Nibelung
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Book Summary Information

Author: Richard Wagner
Illustrator: Ul de Rico
Foreword: Sir Georg Solti
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); German (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1980-10
ISBN: 0500233241
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Book Reviews of The Ring of the Nibelung

Book Review: magnificent in every way
Summary: 5 Stars

I had the pleasure to acquire a copy of this book in the summer of 1981 in Seattle during the annual Ring festival. Almost 20 years later it remains a treasured part of my library. This large and heavy coffee table book is devoted to reproductions of Ul de Rico's numerous paintings of various scenes from the Ring. The original paintings were rendered in oil on solid wooden panels, and were rendered in a highly realistic manner with very bold and dramatic color saturation. Compared to the works of Arthur Rackham, Ul de Rico in my view is the more effective and powerful illustrator. These images come as close as one could imagine to ideal, producing visual effects one is never likely to see in Bayreuth or anywhere else. The photographs are printed on high gloss paper, and are accompanied simply by a few lines each, in English, of the applicable libretti. Interestingly, all of the images from the first three operas have the Three Norns exchanging the thread of fate around the perimeter, which is a very interesting effect. This continues early in Gotterdammerung until the moment in the Prologue where the thread breaks, upon which the Norns have a dramatic descent. This very image was used as the cover of the Ring highlights recording that Solti made with the VPO in 1983, just prior to his conducting in Bayreuth of the centenary Ring. Incidentally, the book also includes a very high compliment, in the Preface, by George Solti himself.

This book is well worth seeking out and will provide years of lasting enjoyment. I can't speak highly enough for it.

Summary of The Ring of the Nibelung

"Andrew Porter's utterly natural, often poetic, faithfully rendered English text should be a revelation...The immediacy of instant comprehension gives the entire drama an added dimension."?The New York Times

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, translated by Andrew Porter, is an intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors and alliteration, combining to produce the music in text.

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