Ride of the Valkyries

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Arthur Rackham's illustration to The Ride of the Valkyries

The Ride of the Valkyries (Template:Langx) is the popular name of the prelude to the first scene of the third and last act of Die Walküre, the second of the four epic music dramas that constitute the operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (English: The Ring of the Nibelung), composed by Richard Wagner. Template:Listen

As a separate piece, the "Ride" is often heard in a purely instrumental version, which may be as short as three minutes. Together with the "Bridal Chorus" from Lohengrin, the "Ride of the Valkyries" is one of Wagner's best-known pieces.

Context

Template:See also The main theme of the "Ride", the leitmotif labelled Template:Lang, was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851. The preliminary draft for the "Ride" was composed in 1854 as part of the composition of the entire opera, which was fully orchestrated by the end of March 1856.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the Walküre opera, the "Ride", which takes around eight minutes, begins in the prelude to the third act, building up successive layers of accompaniment until the curtain rises to reveal a mountain peak where four of the eight Valkyrie sisters of Brünnhilde have gathered in preparation for the transportation of fallen heroes to Valhalla. As they are joined by the other four, the familiar tune is carried by the orchestra, while, above it, the Valkyries greet each other and sing their battle-cry. Apart from the song of the Rhinemaidens in Das Rheingold, it is the only ensemble piece in the first three operas of Wagner's Ring cycle.

Performance history

Template:See also Template:Listen The complete opera Die Walküre was first performed on 26 June 1870 in the National Theatre Munich against the composer's intent. By January of the next year, Wagner was receiving requests for the "Ride" to be performed separately, but wrote that such a performance should be considered "an utter indiscretion" and forbade "any such thing".Template:Sfn However, the piece was still printed and sold in Leipzig, and Wagner wrote a complaint to the publisher Schott.Template:Sfn In the period up to the first performance of the complete Ring cycle, Wagner continued to receive requests for separate performances, his second wife Cosima noting "Unsavoury letters arrive for R. – requests for the Ride of the Valkyries and I don't know what else."Template:Sfn Once the Ring had been performed in Bayreuth in 1876, Wagner lifted the embargo. He himself conducted it in London on 12 May 1877, repeating it as an encore.Template:Sfn

Outside opera

Ride of the Valkyries, Cesare Viazzi

Uses in film include the score for The Birth of a Nation (1915),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> What's Opera, Doc? (1957),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Apocalypse Now (1979).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

Sources

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:IMSLP
• Template:Gutenberg (in MP3 format)
• Kirsten Flagstad, 1938