Wotan and the Magic Fire
May 3, 2018
ANOTHER example of the beautiful music which I came to appreciate because of my beloved father, who died this week, this is from Act III of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), the second of the four works that form Wagner’s operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), based on Norse mythology.
Wotan, king of the gods, must punish his favorite daughter Brünhild for her disobedience. He reduces her to mortal status and decrees that she marry the first man she meets. She begs him to make it a brave man. He finds a way to answer her request. He puts her into a deep sleep on a mountaintop, surrounding her with a magic ring of fire, through which only a brave man can step. He then says goodbye to his cherished daughter.
