1910-11 The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie, Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods

Description

Colour Plates, First Edition, Illustrated, Publishers' Original Binding, With Dustwrapper

The first editions, first impression.

Both volumes are in their scarce original unclipped dust wrappers.

Complete in two volumes.

'The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie' illustrated with a tipped-in colour frontispiece, and thirty-three tipped-in colour plates.

'Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods' illustrated with a tipped-in colour frontispiece, and twenty-nine tipped-in colour plates.

'Arthur Rackham Exhibition' advertising slip loosely inserted.

Collated, complete.

These two volumes contain Richard Wagner's four epic music dramas, the series being titled 'Der Ring des Nibelungen', or 'The Ring of the Nibelung', or simply the 'Ring Cycle'. These four are 'Das Rheingold'/'The Rhinegold', 'Die Walkure'/'The Valkyrie', 'Siegfried', and 'Gotterdammerung'/'Twilight of the Gods'. All four dramas are in these two volumes.

The four dramas are loosely based on characters from Norse mythology and the Nibelungenlied.

The plot of the four dramas revolves around a magical ring, that grants the wearer the power to rule the world. It is said that the ring was forged by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich from gold that he stole from the River Rhine's maidens.

Wagner wrote the libretto and music over about twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. He intended them to be performed in a series, and the first performance of the cycle opened at the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876. Many believe that the composition and story of this cycle raised the standards of the art form. It is also considered that to put on the cycle is one of the biggest challenges any opera company can undertake.

Richard Wagner is well remembered today for his operas, which are known for their complex textures, rich harmonies, and for the fact that he wrote both the libretto and music. His 1857-59 work 'Tristan und Isolde' has been considered to lay the groundwork for classical music in the twentieth century, being the start of modern music.

Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Rackham was a book illustrator who illustrated editions of 'The Ingoldsby Legends', 'The Wind in the Willows', 'Grimm's Fairy Tales', and 'Gulliver's Travels', as well as contributing frequently to periodicals. He is considered to be one of the leaders of the 'Golden Age' of book illustrations.

Translated from German to English by Margaret Armour, a Scottish translator, poet, and novelist. She also translated worked by Gustav Legerlotz and Heinrich Heine.