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Complexity and Duality in the Hero of Wagner's "Ring"

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Complexity and Duality in the Hero of Wagner's University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2016 Man and Idea: Complexity and Duality in the Hero of Wagner's "Ring" Elizabeth Mary Szott University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Szott, Elizabeth Mary, "Man and Idea: Complexity and Duality in the Hero of Wagner's "Ring"" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1162. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1162 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. MAN AND IDEA: COMPLEXITY AND DUALITY IN THE HERO OF WAGNER'S RING __________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts __________ by Elizabeth M. Szott June 2016 Advisor: John Sheinbaum ©Copyright by Elizabeth M. Szott 2016 All Rights Reserved Author: Elizabeth M. Szott Title: MAN AND IDEA: COMPLEXITY AND DUALITY IN THE HERO OF WAGNER'S RING Advisor: John Sheinbaum Degree Date: June 2016 Abstract The character Siegfried, much like the whole of Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung, is open to interpretation by scholars and critics from a variety of different perspectives. Although these interpretations often reflect the historical, political, and cultural circumstances of their times, they nevertheless claim some legitimacy by appealing to the musical and dramatic texts of the Ring for evidence. This thesis examines Wagner's conception of Siegfried and different historical perceptions of the character, discusses ambiguity both in the drama and in the music itself, and suggests a reading of Siegfried as having a dual purpose: that of a concrete, free-willed agent (the Man) and that of an idealized hero serving a necessary role in the larger context of the drama (the Idea). The thesis concludes with a four-part analysis of Siegfried Act III, Scene ii that compares four readings of the character, three supporting different historical readings and one grounded in the Man/Idea duality. ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to my family, who has been unceasingly loving and supportive during my graduate education. To my parents, a sincere thank-you for everything! To Thomas, Francis, Samuel, and Gemma, the same: I could not have gotten here without you. Special thanks to my brother Francis, who got all of us interested in Wagner and the Ring to begin with. A particular acknowledgement must go to my office mates, Brandon and Alison, for putting up with all my anxiety and stress. I also want to recognize my committee members, Gregory Robbins, Jonathan Leathwood, and Scott Bean, who jumped through a number of hoops on my behalf and gave me a tremendous amount of advice and encouragement. Finally, infinite thanks to my thesis advisor, Jack Sheinbaum, without whose guidance, interest, and enthusiasm this project would never have come so far. His support, in addition to that of all the faculty at the Lamont School of Music, has been of immeasurable benefit to me throughout my graduate school experience. iii Table of Contents List of Figures......................................................................................................................v Living in the Operatic Realm...............................................................................................1 Shifting Perspectives on the Character of Siegfried............................................................4 A Shaky Foundation: Wagner's Changing Views....................................................4 Siegfried After Wagner: Early Twentieth Century................................................11 Postwar Rhetoric and Anti-Semitic Undertones....................................................13 Late 20th and Early 21st Century: Gender............................................................17 Reading Siegfried in the Text and Music of the Ring.......................................................22 Siegfried in the Text...............................................................................................23 Siegfried in the Music............................................................................................25 Siegfried Act III, Scene ii: The Encounter with Wotan Read from Four Perspectives.....54 General Summary of Act III, Scene ii...................................................................55 Siegfried as a Purposeful Anarchist: Bernard Shaw..............................................62 Petulance, Ignorance, and Racial Hierarchy: Adorno and Weiner........................68 Siegfried as a Non-Hero: Abbate and Baileyshea..................................................71 Siegfried as a Duality of Man and Idea.................................................................75 Power, Hearing, and Control in the Realm of Opera.........................................................81 References..........................................................................................................................84 iv List of Figures Fig. 1: Götterdämmerung Act III, m. 1-10.........................................................................29 Fig. 2: Siegfried's Mature Horn Call, Götterdämmerung Act I, m. 327-329.....................32 Fig. 3: Siegfried Act I, Scene i, m. 874-882.................…..................................................33 Fig. 4: Das Rheingold, Scene iv.... ....................................................................................35 Fig. 5: Die Walküre, Act III, Scene i m. 509-534..............................................................37 Fig. 6: Idea Motive.............................................................................................................42 Fig. 7: Idea-Hero.................................................................................................................43 Fig. 8: Idea-Redemption/Destruction.................................................................................44 Fig. 9: Idea-Action.............................................................................................................44 Fig. 10: Die Walküre Act III, Scene i m. 489-509 (partial reduction)...............................47 Fig. 11: Siegfried Act II, Scene ii m. 1161-1165 (reduction).............................................48 Fig. 12: Die Walküre Act III, Scene iii m. 1693-1708 (reduction)....................................50 Fig. 13: Siegfried Act II, Scene ii m. 961-1003..................................................................51 Fig. 14: Volsung Sympathy Motive...................................................................................58 Fig. 15: Wotan's Distress Motive.......................................................................................59 Fig. 16: Spear Motive.…....................................................................................................59 Fig. 17: Sequence of the Power Motive, Siegfried Act III, Scene ii m. 667-668...............60 Fig. 18: Conflation of “Spear” and “Distress” motives, Siegfried Act III, Scene ii m. 677-680...............................................................60 Fig. 19: Siegfried Act I, Scene ii m. 1513-1516 (reduction)..............................................64 Fig. 20: Siegfried Act I, Scene ii m. 590-596 (partial reduction).......................................65 Fig. 21: Siegfried Act III, Scene ii m. 608-621..................................................................66 v Fig. 22: Siegfried Act III, Scene ii m. 715-722 (reduction)...............................................80 vi Living in the Operatic Realm The world of opera is a dangerous one. Those who populate it would do well to consider a few ground rules in order to avoid some of its worst disasters. Opera characters should avoid seeing ghosts, for example, or else run the risk of going mad. Trusting the word of a bass-baritone, generally speaking, leads to ruin. Much grief might be spared those who know that one must never drink anything if one happens to live in an opera. The catch, of course, is that very few denizens of the operatic world know where they are, and therefore do not think to be careful. It is difficult for opera characters to uncover conspiracies or foresee trouble. Such difficulties increase when characters have not only the machinations of their colleagues to consider, but the dramatic commentary of an independent orchestral narrator as well. In Richard Wagner's later operas, particularly in his four-opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung, the prominent role of the orchestra, its direct interaction with the text, and its ability to be both at the service of the singers and narrating independently of them make it a force to be reckoned with. Characters in the Ring display varying degrees of awareness of their situation as players in its operatic world. This concept of characters operating on both immediate, physical planes and overarching dramatic planes raises interpretive questions of role, function, and identity. The Ring has stretched its influence across more than a hundred and fifty years, and has acquired in that time an abundance of interpretive tradition. Authors, scholars, journalists, and commentators
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