Medievalism and Apocalypticism in Richard Wagner’s Der Ring der Nibelungen By Carole Cusack

https://www.academia.edu/128699710/Medievalism_and_Apocalypticism_in_Richard_Wagner_s_Der_Ring_der_Nibelungen Richard Wagner (1813-1883) wrote thirteen complete operas, including the four that comprised Der Ring des Nibelungen (1876). Overwhelmingly, the operas were based on medieval sources (Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, Rienzi), with two dating to the sixteenth century (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Das Liebesverbot), with only two based on later sources (Der Fliegende Holländer and Die Feen). While medievalism infuses Wagner’s oeuvre, only the Ring Cycle and (arguably) Parsifal are apocalyptic. The Ring traces the triumph and downfall of the gods and is an example of “mythic medievalism” (Eichner 2020). Wagner thought history was a narrative of decline and that an apocalyptic event could transform society, but his youthful hopes for revolution were dashed. The Ring’s world is spoiled by Alberich’s theft of the gold, Mime’s creation of the ring and tarnhelm, and Wotan’s theft of the magical objects. In this paper I discuss the varied apocalypses that can be realized in productions of the Ring, and the how the impact or success of the production reduces or enhances the medievalism of Wagner’s operatic cycle. ...