WAGNER DAS RHEINGOLD Matthias Goerne Michelle DeYoung Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Jaap van Zweden Das Rheingold CD 1 74:45 (The Rhinegold) 1 Vorspiel (Prelude) 5:03 @ Sanft schloß Schlaf dein Aug’! 2:28 (Fasolt, Wotan) Preliminary Evening Scene 1: In the Depths of the Rhine of # Was sagst du? Ha! Sinn’st du Verrath? 5:10 Der Ring des Nibelungen 2 Weia! Waga! Woge, du Welle 1:24 (Fasolt, Fafner, Wotan) (Rhinemaidens) (The Ring of the Nibelung) $ Du da folge uns! 1:44 by 3 Hehe! ihr Nicker 1:29 (Fafner, Freia, Froh, Donner, Wotan, Fricka) Richard Wagner (Alberich, Rhinemaidens) % Endlich Loge! Eiltest du so 3:50 (1813-1883) 4 Garstig glatter glitschriger Glimmer! 8:24 (Wotan, Loge, Froh, Donner) Gods (Alberich, Rhinemaidens) ^ Immer ist Undank Loges Lohn! 7:40 Wotan . Matthias Goerne, Baritone 5 Lugt, Schwestern! Die Weckerin lacht (Loge, Wotan, Fasolt, Fafner, Fricka) Fricka . Michelle DeYoung, Mezzo-soprano in den Grund 4:26 Loge . Kim Begley, Tenor (Rhinemaidens, Alberich) & Ein Runenzauber zwingt das Gold zum Reif 3:28 Donner . Oleksandr Pushniak, Baritone (Loge, Wotan, Froh, Donner, Fricka, Fafner) Froh . Charles Reid, Tenor 6 Nur wer der Minne Macht entsagt 1:51 Freia . Anna Samuil, Soprano (Rhinemaidens, Alberich) * Hör’ Wotan, der Harrenden Wort! 2:04 Erda . Deborah Humble, Mezzo-soprano (Fafner, Wotan, Fasolt, Freia) 7 Der Welt Erbe gewann’ich zu eigen durch dich? 1:47 Nibelungs (Alberich, Rhinemaidens) ( Schwester! Brüder! Rettet! 5:14 Alberich . Peter Sidhom, Baritone (Freia, Froh, Donner, Loge) Mime . David Cangelosi, Tenor 8 Haltet den Räuber! 3:21 (Rhinemaidens) ) Wotan, Gemahl, unsel’ger Mann! 1:49 Giants (Fricka, Wotan, Loge, Donner, Froh) Scene 2: Open Region on the Mountain Peaks Fasolt . Kwangchul Youn, Bass ¡ Verwandlungsmusik 2:36 Fafner . Stephen Milling, Bass 9 Einleitung (Introduction) 1:05 (Music for the Change of Scene) Rhinemaidens 0 Wotan, Gemahl, erwache! 7:05 Scene 3: Nibelheim Woglinde . Eri Nakamura, Soprano (Fricka, Wotan) Wellgunde . Aurhelia Varak, Mezzo-soprano ™ Hehe! Hehe! Hieher! Hieher! Tückischer Zwerg! 0:46 Floßhilde . Hermine Haselböck, Mezzo-soprano ! So schirme sie jetzt 2:01 (Alberich, Mime) (Fricka, Freia, Wotan) Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Jaap van Zweden CD 2 78:50 Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold) 1 Schau, du Schelm! 2:14 @ Lieblichste Schwester süsseste Lust! 2:58 (Alberich, Mime) (Fricka, Fasolt, Wotan) Wagner’s tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of Richter, had, on Wagner’s instructions, withdrawn, after the the Nibelung) was first performed as a whole in August 1876 expected problems with the complicated stage machinery 2 Nibelheim hier: durch bleiche Nebel 6:06 # Gepflanzt sind die Pfähle nach Pfandes Maß 6:18 at the new Festspielhaus in Bayreuth. The complete cycle involved. In the event the work, on the orders of King (Loge, Mime, Wotan) (Fafner, Wotan, Loge, Froh, Fasolt, Fricka, consists of a Prologue, Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Ludwig, who was losing patience, went ahead and was Donner, Freia, Froh) followed the next day by Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), and given a successful performance under another conductor. 3 Nehmt euch in acht! Alberich naht! 5:33 then by Siegfried, leading up to the final Götterdämmerung (Mime, Wotan, Alberich, Loge) $ Weiche, Wotan, weiche! 5:32 (Twilight of the Gods). The texts had been completed by Synopsis (Erda, Wotan) Wagner by 1853 and the completion of the music and 4 Die in linder Lüfte Weh’n da oben ihr lebt 6:52 performance of the whole cycle in a specially created opera- CD 1 (Alberich, Wotan, Loge) % Soll ich sorgen und fürchten 2:25 house of novel design represented a summit of creative (Wotan, Fricka, Froh, Freia) achievement, the apotheosis of German art. Leading motifs 1 Prelude 5 Ohe! Ohe! Schreckliche Schlange 2:23 associated with characters, events and ideas in the drama, (Loge, Wotan, Alberich) ^ Halt, du Gieriger! Gönne mir auch was! 1:13 recur, interwoven to unify the whole conception. Scene 1 (Fasolt, Fafner, Loge) The sources of the drama were found in Icelandic 6 Dort, die Kröte! Greife sie rasch! 4:02 sagas, the thirteenth-century Middle High German Das 2 The opening scene is set at the bottom of the Rhine. A (Loge, Alberich, Wotan) & Nun blinzle nach Freia’s Blick! 4:04 Nibelungenlied and the Old Norse Thidreks Saga af Bern, rising motif suggests the root of all things, while a second (Fafner, Wotan, Loge, Fricka, Donner) but Wagner had recourse to a wide range of other reading, motif represents nature and a third the flowing waters of the Scene 4: Open Region on the Mountain Peaks while the structure of the tetralogy and the underlying river. Three Rhinemaidens sing, as they swim in the water, * Heda! Heda! Hedo! 2:06 theme of the curse owes a strong debt to Aeschylus and careless of the Rhinegold, which they should be guarding, 7 Da, Vetter, sitze du fest! 2:29 (Donner) Greek tragedy. The music of Das Rheingold was as Floßhilde warns them. 3 The dwarf Nibelung Alberich, (Loge, Alberich, Wotan) completed in 1854 and follows the principles Wagner had emerging from a dark cavern, lecherously watches them ( Bruder, hieher! Weise der Brücke den Weg! 2:03 laid down in his treatise of 1851, Opera and Drama, and they tease him, tempting him to catch them. 4 He 8 Wohlan, die Niblungen rief ich mir nah’ 2:27 (Donner, Froh) principles that he was to follow less rigidly in later works. In clumsily stumbles forward on the slippery rocks, but they (Alberich, Wotan) his text he made use of a form of Stabreim, the Old High elude him. 5 As they mock him and play, the Rhinegold ) Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge 1:45 German alliterative verse, familiar to English readers from starts to shine in the rays of the sun and they greet it, telling 9 Gezahlt hab’ ich, nun laß’ mich ziehn! 5:26 (Wotan) early English texts. The orchestration of Das Rheingold of its power: the one who can make a ring from the gold 6 (Alberich, Loge, Wotan) uses quadruple upper woodwind, three bassoons, eight and who renounces love will be master of the world. Motifs ¡ So grüss’ich die Burg 2:04 horns, four tubas, with contra bass tuba, quadruple are heard suggesting the trouble to come, the gold itself 0 Ist er gelöst? 4:44 (Wotan, Fricka, Loge) trumpets and trombones, a percussion section that and the ring, with a motif representing the renunciation of (Loge, Wotan, Alberich) includes an array of anvils for the Nibelungs, six harps, with love. 7 Alberich suddenly climbs up to the rock where the ™ Rheingold! Rheingold! Reines Gold! 3:19 a seventh on stage, and a large string section. The score gold is resting, curses love and makes off with it. 8 The ! Lauschtest du seinem Liebesgruß? 2:47 (Rhinemaidens, Wotan, Loge) was published in 1864, with a fulsome dedication to dem Rhinemaidens are left in darkness and distress. (Loge, Wotan, Froh, Donner, Fricka) königlichen Freunde (the royal friend), King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and the work was first performed at the Court and Scene 2 National Theatre in Munich in 1869. Wagner used the occasion to intrigue, from his villa at Triebschen in 9 The scene changes to open ground on a mountain Switzerland, in order to defeat his Munich opponents in the height, overlooking the Rhine valley. Wotan, ruler of theatre administration, hoping to be recalled to save a heaven and earth, and his wife Fricka, goddess of marital performance from which his protégé, the young Hans happiness, are sleeping on the ground. The music makes use of the renunciation of love motif and the ring motif, Rhinemaidens. The giants have been discussing the bearing heavy loads of gold and silver. Suddenly he sees the ring. ! The giants now draw near with Freia, while indications of Alberich’s unseen activity, forging the ring. 0 matter. * Fafner now declares that they will be willing to Loge and Wotan and calls Mime to him, forcing him back to Donner, Froh and Fricka are now seen hurrying in, anxious Fricka wakes and rouses her husband, as he dreams of accept the gold in payment for their labour, instead of Freia. work and holding the ring out, threatening with its power, as to find out the success of the venture. @ Fricka greets Freia, Valhalla, and they see that the new castle of the gods is Wotan hesitates, since the ring is not yet his, ( but the the Nibelungs disperse in fear. He questions Wotan and as she appears, but Fasolt declares her still theirs, until now finished, shining on the other side of the valley. The giants drag Freia away, to her distress, planning to hold her Loge and the latter reminds Alberich of his debt to him, the Wotan pays her ransom. Wotan offers the gold of the Valhalla motif is heard. Fricka is anxious, however, since as a hostage for the ring until nightfall. Her cries bring her bringer of light and warmth, and, professing friendship, Nibelungs and Fasolt agrees, if gold is heaped up high Wotan has promised her sister Freia, goddess of youth, to brothers Donner, the god of thunder, and Froh to her flatters him. 4 Alberich, however, will force all to forswear enough to hide Freia from view. # Loge calls on Froh to the two giants Fafner and Fasolt in payment for their work rescue. Loge describes their action, as the giants bear their love. He warns of his power to defeat the gods and have his help him. It is only when Loge throws the Tarn-cap onto the in building the fortress. The agreement motif is in the form captive home.