Learn how and why Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance

624 pages,
446 illustrations




Decoding Wagner's Ring



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Meet the Characters
  • Rheingold

  • Walkure

  • Siegfried

  • Twilight of the Gods
  • Wotan
  • Rhinemaidens

  • Froh

  • Loge

  • Siegfried

  • Brünnhilde

  • Mime the dwarf

  • The giants
  • Fricka :

    The wife of Wotan does not have a very good reputation. The first words are rough: " Wotan, husband, wake up! ". Beyond the already indicated symbolism she appears as a " trouble maker ". She misses no occasion to harass and make her husband feel guilty, as if she herself had not contributed to the first malpractice: the trade with the Giants.

    She pretends not to know the price of the ransom, Freia, but when comes a question of freeing her, she urges Wotan to keep some gold, knowing pertinently well that she damages the chances of her own sister.

    Some people claim that Wagner found his source of inspiration for to description of the goddess in his own wife Minna. However, the portrait is not totally negative. Beyond the aridity of the retorts, many musical motives, which accompany them, are really attractive.

    The wife of the God is capable certainly of nobility, dignity, logical intelligence and common sense. But she is not divested of charm. Patrice Chéreau characterized her admirably. He makes us understand why Wotan chose her and why he eventually succumbed to her influence.

    Shinoda Bolen considers Fricka as a victim of the inconstancy of her macho man of husband. If she is sterile and vindictive, deprived, the fault does not fall to her. It is Wotan who deprived her of her femininity.

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