Ring cycle
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Der Ring des Nibelungen, commonly called the Ring Cycle, is a sequence of four music dramas by Richard Wagner. The works are Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung.
Wagner wrote both the texts and music over several decades in the nineteenth century. The story draws on Germanic and Norse mythology and centres on a magical ring, struggles for power, divine conflict, heroism, betrayal, and destruction.
The cycle uses recurring musical ideas known as leitmotifs, associated with characters, objects, emotions, and concepts. These motifs develop and combine across the four dramas, helping unify the very large structure.
A complete performance usually extends across four evenings and requires a large orchestra, demanding vocal roles, and elaborate staging. The first complete cycle was performed at the Bayreuth Festival Theatre in 1876.
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- Source / publisher: Wikipedia
- URL type: WWW
- Credits: Wikipedia
- URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen