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ENIT
← WAGNER
Munich, 1870

The Valkyrie

Gods, heroes, incest and a disobedient daughter condemned to sleep on a rock of fire

Characters
Wotan
Bass-baritone — king of the gods
The father of the Norse gods. Enormously powerful but trapped by his own laws. He loves his daughter Brünnhilde more than anyone — and condemns her himself.
Brünnhilde
Dramatic soprano — the Valkyrie
Wotan's favourite daughter. A divine warrior, courageous. She disobeys her father to follow the justice of her heart. She is the greatest character in all of Wagner's Ring cycle.
Siegmund
Tenor
Wotan's mortal son, raised alone and pursued by fate. On a stormy night he finds a house, a sword embedded in a tree and his sister — whom he does not know is his sister.
Sieglinde
Soprano
Siegmund's twin sister, separated as a child. They recognise each other without knowing it. They fall in love. Wagner does not apologise.
Fricka
Mezzo-soprano — goddess of marriage
Wotan's wife. She demands he respect the divine laws and let Siegmund die. She is right according to the law. She is wrong according to the heart. Wagner gives her both reasons.
The Story
Act I — The Sword and the Twins

A stormy night. Siegmund, wounded and hunted, takes refuge in a hut. The mistress of the house is Sieglinde, the unhappy wife of Hunding, Siegmund's enemy. The two talk, recognise each other without understanding why they feel so close. Siegmund discovers a sword embedded in the trunk of the tree at the centre of the room — no one has ever managed to pull it out. He pulls it out with ease. The two flee together into the night. They are brother and sister. They love each other.

Act II — Wotan's Decision

Wotan orders Brünnhilde to protect Siegmund in battle. Then Fricka arrives: Siegmund has violated the law of marriage. Wotan, trapped, must revoke the order. Brünnhilde meets Siegmund before the battle and announces his death. He refuses to go to Valhalla without Sieglinde. Brünnhilde is moved by his humanity. She disobeys: she protects Siegmund. Wotan intervenes in person, shatters Siegmund's sword; Siegmund is killed. Brünnhilde flees with Sieglinde.

Act III — The Condemnation

The Valkyries ride carrying fallen heroes. Brünnhilde arrives with Sieglinde, who carries Siegmund's child in her womb — the future Siegfried. The Valkyries refuse to help her. Wotan arrives, furious. His sentence: Brünnhilde is no longer a goddess. She will sleep on a rock surrounded by fire, and the first man to wake her will become her master. Wotan lulls her to sleep with a kiss. Then he calls Loge, the god of fire, and surrounds her with flames. Only a hero without fear will be able to pass through them.

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Ride of the Valkyries
Eight divine warrior-maidens ride through the lightning carrying fallen heroes to Valhalla. It is among the most recognisable orchestral passages in music history — and in the opera it lasts far longer than the thirty seconds everyone knows.
The Finale

The Valkyrie is the second part of the Ring of the Nibelung — a cycle of four operas lasting roughly fifteen hours in total. It is also the most beloved: it contains the Ride, but above all Wotan's farewell to his daughter, one of the most moving moments in all music history.

The curtain falls — but the music remains.
Every opera is a world. Choose yours and let yourself be carried away.