Autograph manuscript prose draft of Richard Wagner's program introduction to his arrangement for the concert performance of Götterdämmerung, 8.25 x 13.75, eight pages on four sheets, headed: "Three fragments from 'Götterdämmerung,' third evening of the stage festival: The Ring of the Nibelung."
The draft begins (translated): "I. Prelude. (For the purpose of communicating the orchestral-symphonic part of this dramatic prelude, it was necessary to make abbreviations that corresponded to the intention of omitting the performance of the vocal parts, which would not be possible without a staged performance. Since the listener's imagination had to be called upon to supplement the staged event, which has only been indicated here, the following attempts to provide an explanatory program for the fragments to be performed, which is intended to present this event in the form of a pantomime.)
Night scene on a rocky hill. The three Norns weave and throw the rope of fate: it breaks; the Norns entwine themselves with the ends of it and sink. Dawn. Daybreak. With the sunrise, Siegfried and Brünnhilde appear: Siegfried in the arms of the Valkyrie, who, as he sets out on new deeds, also gives him her horse. Fiery vows; oaths of loyalty: a heroic farewell. Siegfried leads his horse down the rocky slope: Brünnhilde calls after him, exultant, until he suddenly disappears from her sight, as if behind a rocky outcrop, and she only hears his horn call from the depths; then she sees him again, as he vigorously moves away in the distance; overwhelmed, she waves to him once more. Through the fire surrounding the rock, whose flames seem to dance around him with bright sounds, he now moves away, vigorously blowing his horn, until he reaches the Rhine, where Ahn (the Rhinemaidens) welcome him as their hero and savior for the rest of his journey. They accompany him to where his destiny is to be fulfilled at the court of the Gibichungs through Hagen, the heir to the Nibelung Ring."
The draft then sets the stage for "Siegfried's Tod [Siegfried's Death]": "He dies.—A long silence of deepest shock. The men then raise the corpse on the shield and slowly escort it away in a solemn funeral procession over the rocky heights. The orchestra accompanies this last scenic event in the manner of a funeral choir, which simultaneously celebrates and laments the origin, the glory and the fate of the hero praised as divine."
The work is completed with "Schlus-Scene des Letzten Aktes [Final Scene of the Last Act]," setting the stage for the heroic immolation scene: "This fragment also begins in the middle of a violent action. Hagen has just killed Gunther in a fight over the Nibelung Ring and now, shouting: "Give me the ring!", he grabs the dead Siegfried's hand, which clenches and raises up threateningly. There is general horror and a loud outcry, while Brünnhilde, from the background, strides firmly and solemnly towards the foreground." Wagner's draft contains the text of Brunhilde's songs, with the famous lines "Schweigt eures Jammers jauchzenden Schwall! [Silence the jubilant torrent of your lamentation]" and "Fliegt heim, ihr Raben! [Fly home, you ravens!]."
After a final eulogy to the dead hero, Brünnhilde, willing to be reunited with her love, mounts her horse Grane and as a valkyrie rides into the flames, joining Siegfried in death: "She has stormily swung herself onto the horse and hurled it into the burning pile of wood. The fire immediately rises high, so that the fire fills the entire space in front of the hall and seems to be already engulfing the hall itself. Suddenly the fire collapses, so that only a dark cloud of glowing flames hovers over the place; this rises and completely disperses, while the Rhine has swelled mightily from the bank and its flood rolls over the burning place to the threshold of the hall. Three Rhine maidens have swum up on the waves; Hagen is extremely frightened at the sight of them; and rushes, shouting: 'Back from the ring!,' as if madly into the flood. Woglinde and Wellgunde wrap their arms around his neck and, swimming back, pull him into the depths, while Flosshilde, in front of them, holds the ring up in jubilation. At the same time, a glow similar to the northern lights breaks out from the sky from afar: in it one sees, with increasing clarity, the sky of Valhalla, with the gods in it as if in court: as a huge flame suddenly envelops the picture completely, the curtain fills." Wagner's draft is bound in full brown calf and in fine condition, with some minor edge splitting to folds.
Complete with several printed proof versions of the text, some with corrections and commentary in Wagner's hand: three are annotated and initialed by him on the front, "R.W.," and one includes its accompanying annotated and initialed envelope. Additionally includes an ALS signed "R. Wagner," one page, 5.5 x 8.5, no date, sent to music publisher "C. Giessel, Bayreuth."
Richard Wagner's magnum opus, The Ring of the Nibelung, was first performed in its complete four-opera cycle at the 1876 Bayreuth Festival. These operas, consisting of Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), remain some of Wagner's most famous works. The Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) is the final opera in Wagner's epic cycle and brings the monumental tale of gods, heroes, and the cursed ring to a dramatic conclusion. The opera follows the tragic downfall of Siegfried and Brünnhilde, culminating in the destruction of Valhalla and the end of the gods' reign. Featuring Wagner's signature leitmotifs and richly orchestrated music, Götterdämmerung is a powerful exploration of love, betrayal, and redemption.
