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Informationen zum Autor Rudolph Sabor is a writer and lecturer whose books include The Real Wagner. He frequently gives lectures on Wagner and reviews the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth for the major broadsheets and music periodicals. Klappentext Richard Wagner's vast Ring cycle! comprising four full-length operas! is arguably the most extraordinary achievement in the history of opera. The libretto to the work is more than a literary work of art; its intricate system of metric patterns! imaginative metaphors! ample use of alliteration and its singability combine to create something unique -- the music is in the text. This series provides not only a new translation of the libretto but also a guide through the labyrinth of the Ring! clarifying its literary and musical idiom and significance. The fundamental element of Wagner's music is the leitmotif! a short theme or motif associated with a particular person! object! event or idea. Each opera presents a panoply of these 'musical labels'! which act as a unifying device! both dramatically and musically. The author clarifies Wagner's complex use of the leitmotif in the Ring and his translations of the libretto! uniquely! signal the appearance of each leitmotif in the margin running alongside the libretto. The books can be enjoyed individually or as a series; either way they will equip the Wagner enthusiast with a fund of information to make the Ring journey more rewarding. Each libretto volume offers scene-by-scene synopses! introductions to all the new leitmotifs of that scene! a bibliography and selective discography. The translation runs side-by-side with the German text! the margins identifying the motifs and offering a running commentary on the action. 'Best of the music books was Rudolph Sabor's idiosyncratic, cheeky and incisive Translation and Commentaries on Wagner's Ring.' (Observer) 'This is Sabor at his best. An indispensable part of the Wagner lover's library. And for those new to the Ring cycle - what better place to start!' (Opera Now) 'It has been brilliantly done by Rudolph Sabor, whose achievement is magnificent. The clarity, detail, comprehensiveness and sheer usefulness of the volumes cannot be praised too highly. I sincerely hope this will be a model for further companions to other opera composers and their work.' (Financial Times) Zusammenfassung A companion volume offering essays! surveys and summaries to inform and enlighten. ...
