Götterdämmerung

The threads of fate have been severed. The human-born, God-sent hero bearing the precious Ring of the Nibelung dies in the forest near Gibichung Hall. It is treacherous murder. The funeral march which Wagner composed for him seems to suspend the breath of the entire world – a requiem amongst the leitmotifs. Not even Siegfried’s super-human power (the fearless and “noblest hero in the world”) or the strengthening force of Brünnhilde’s love (ever stronger now that she is human) can prevent the tragedy.

The world has come apart at the seams; greed, deception, fear and despair are its rulers. Alberich’s curse has come true and Erda’s warning turned into reality. With Wotan’s speer in tatters, the gods are helplessly left at Alberich’s mercy, while disrespect and theft strip nature of her regulatory powers. The “Ring World” is no more, and there remains no resolution to the godfather’s conflict between utopia and reality.

Wagner drowns all history in a sea of sound – a purifying world fire of sorts. But the utopia will endure nonetheless. As a young Kapellmeister, Wagner himself stood fearlessly on the Revolution barricades in burning Dresden, hand grenades by his side. He depicts Wotan at the end of his life as a tragic figure, incapable of survival. But these contradictions must be endured – before, as it is now, and in the future.

The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden presents four Ring cycles during the 2020/21 season: the first three cycles are distributed across the season (between February and June), while the fourth takes place during the 2021 International May Festival. Tickets are initially only available for the complete cycles, but individual performances will go on sale from 1 October 2020, subject to availability.