× Board & Staff Make a Donation Giving Support Education Upcoming Events Past Events
Home Board & Staff Make a Donation Giving Support Education Upcoming Events
Entry of the Gods into Valhalla (Einzug der Götter), from Das Rheingold

Entry of the Gods into Valhalla (Einzug der Götter), from Das Rheingold
Richard Wagner
(b. May 22, 1813 in Leipzig; d. February 13, 1883 in Venice)

Entry of the Gods to Valhalla is a testament to Wagner's unparalleled ability to create musical landscapes. An unnamed writer for the NY Phil archives sets the scene and tells the story. The stage is ”set for tragedy. Valhalla, the new home of the gods, has been completed. From this castle, Wotan, the king of the gods, plans to rule the world. But his power has been bought at a terrible price: the king of the gods himself has stooped to deception and theft. Wotan is filled with fears reflected in the dark storm clouds that conceal the castle from view. But Donner, the god of thunder, clears the air with a tremendous lightning bolt. As the thunder dies away, storm clouds vanish and Valhalla is revealed shimmering in the glow of sunset.

“A rainbow bridge soars across the entire Rhine valley from where the gods stand to the castle gate. The music of the rainbow gleams and glitters in the orchestra and its melodic arch seems to reach higher and higher until it touches the castle walls. With the soft majesty of tubas and trombones the Valhalla theme invites the gods to their new home.”

Today it is obvious and timely to acknowledge that Richard Wagner had deep streaks of antisemitism and racism inside him that crept into his music. Some context is essential. The Germany Wagner was born into was a patchwork of hundreds of political entities. Michael Steinberg explains how Wagner taught his audiences “how to feel German.” Among cultural and religious faultlines Wagner knew “that to be successful, to create something that would unite Germans, he needed a message that would overcome other forms of cultural division. Unfortunately, that message was xenophobia and anti-Semitism — which he spread not only through his operas but also through books and essays.” Steinberg is a Jew and his parents fled Hitler, so I give him the stage to cut the Gordian knot: “Wagner was a genius in music and drama; he made entertainment that really grabs the emotions, and there’s enormous pleasure in getting lost in it. It’s very moving and very rich, but also very disturbing. Pleasures are complex.”

© 2010, 2015, 2023 by Steven Hollingsworth, Creative Commons Public Attribution 3.0 United States

 

Entry of the Gods into Valhalla (Einzug der Götter), from Das Rheingold

Entry of the Gods into Valhalla (Einzug der Götter), from Das Rheingold
Richard Wagner
(b. May 22, 1813 in Leipzig; d. February 13, 1883 in Venice)

Entry of the Gods to Valhalla is a testament to Wagner's unparalleled ability to create musical landscapes. An unnamed writer for the NY Phil archives sets the scene and tells the story. The stage is ”set for tragedy. Valhalla, the new home of the gods, has been completed. From this castle, Wotan, the king of the gods, plans to rule the world. But his power has been bought at a terrible price: the king of the gods himself has stooped to deception and theft. Wotan is filled with fears reflected in the dark storm clouds that conceal the castle from view. But Donner, the god of thunder, clears the air with a tremendous lightning bolt. As the thunder dies away, storm clouds vanish and Valhalla is revealed shimmering in the glow of sunset.

“A rainbow bridge soars across the entire Rhine valley from where the gods stand to the castle gate. The music of the rainbow gleams and glitters in the orchestra and its melodic arch seems to reach higher and higher until it touches the castle walls. With the soft majesty of tubas and trombones the Valhalla theme invites the gods to their new home.”

Today it is obvious and timely to acknowledge that Richard Wagner had deep streaks of antisemitism and racism inside him that crept into his music. Some context is essential. The Germany Wagner was born into was a patchwork of hundreds of political entities. Michael Steinberg explains how Wagner taught his audiences “how to feel German.” Among cultural and religious faultlines Wagner knew “that to be successful, to create something that would unite Germans, he needed a message that would overcome other forms of cultural division. Unfortunately, that message was xenophobia and anti-Semitism — which he spread not only through his operas but also through books and essays.” Steinberg is a Jew and his parents fled Hitler, so I give him the stage to cut the Gordian knot: “Wagner was a genius in music and drama; he made entertainment that really grabs the emotions, and there’s enormous pleasure in getting lost in it. It’s very moving and very rich, but also very disturbing. Pleasures are complex.”

© 2010, 2015, 2023 by Steven Hollingsworth, Creative Commons Public Attribution 3.0 United States