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The Ring of the Nibelung
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[[#39]] Alberich’s unbearable anguish: he has found there is no love in the world

(#39 based on #25 but ultimately on the vocal line of Alberich's despair at being rejected by the Rhinedaughters: "(#39 Embryo Voc) The third, so true, betrayed me as well?"; basis of #40, #64b, #80b, #133, #140 and perhaps #145)

[Wotan has decided, with the aid of Loge’s cunning, to descend into the realm of the Nibelungs, Nibelheim, to steal Alberich’s Ring and Hoard so he can redeem Freia from the Giants. The following interlude is a musical and scenic description of their descent.]

 

Interlude: (The sulphurous mists darken in colour to form a completely black cloud, which moves from below to above; this is then transformed into a solid, rocky chasm that continues moving upwards, thus giving the impression that the stage is sinking deeper and deeper into the earth [Erde, i.e., Erda]. #33b?; #37; #5; #12; #19; #25>[[ #39 ]]>[[ #40 ]]; [[ #41 ]]; a dark red light begins to glow at various points in the distance: a noise as though of people forging can be heard on all sides. The ringing of the anvils dies away. A subterranean cavern, stretching away endlessly into the distance, can be made out, apparently opening into narrow shafts on every side.)


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[[#40]] “Love” under threat from Alberich's curse on love

Sometimes known as “Tragic Love”

(#40 based on #25 and #39; basis of #64b, #80b, #133, #140, and perhaps #145)

[see #39 for #40’s dramatic context]


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[[#41]] Nibelungs as Slaves of Labor

Commonly known as the “Nibelung Forging Motif” – This motif represents Wagner’s notion that labor which is the product of consciously ulterior motives, whose sole purpose is the satisfaction of vulgar physical need and the quest for profit, prompted by the lust for power or by the fear of others’ power, has no value, while the labor which one undertakes spontaneously, as the product of one’s own nature, such as unconscious artistic inspiration, is joyous.

(#41 based on #5ab, #10, and especially #13; related to #45ab and #161ab)

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