Siegfried in Full Score

Siegfried in Full Score

<div><P>Richard Wagner put his supreme effort, as well as his earnings, into constructing the perfect festival theater in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth where his masterpiece, the four-opera cycle <I>Der Ring des Nibelungen</I>, could be performed in a manner which would conform to his vision of how the drama should unfold. Wagner's own perception was that the unique and revolutionary character of his monumental tetralogy necessitated a special theater — one where the difficulties of staging an expansive drama could be surmounted, where changes of scene could be effected without halting the performance for vast lengths of time.<BR><I>Der Ring des Nibelungen</I>, which is based on a medieval German epic, the <I>Nibelungenlied</I>, and Norse mythology, enlarged the expressive powers of German Romantic opera; today it also gives testimony to Wagner's willingness to venture into new areas for inspirational material.<BR>The third opera of the cycle, <I>Siegfried</I>, reproduced here in full score, presents the story of a youthful Germanic hero of legendary proportions, a young man without experience of fear, who slays the reptilian hoarder of ill-gotten, powerful golden treasures and rescues a banished goddess from fiery captivity. Performed during the heyday of Bismarck's <I>Realpolitik</I>, following decades of revolutionary and anarchic fervor, Siegfried is reputed to have social and political implications. In <I>The Perfect Wagnerite</I>, George Bernard Shaw discusses the opera in allegorical terms, and describes the heroic Siegfried as "a born anarchist, the ideal of Bakoonin, an anticipation of the 'overman' of Nietzsche."<BR>Whether or not the political import of Richard Wagner's alleged revolutionary thought is of concern to the music lover of modern times, the influence and power of the operas of <I>Der Ring des Nibelungen </I>are indisputable. The crowning achievement of German music of the Romantic era, the <I>Ring</I> forged a new synthesis of music and drama on the largest scale, drawing on rich literary and philosophical resources to expand the dramatic possibilities of the opera as a musical form.<BR>Reproduced from the first edition (1876), which received Wagner's final approval, this full-size full score brings <I>Siegfried,</I> an important opera in the <I>Ring</I> and one of the most performed, recorded, studied, and admired operas of the Romantic era, to Wagner enthusiasts, opera lovers, and musicians at a moderate, affordable price.</div></P>