Ride of the Valkyries (1845) - Richard Wagner (1812-1883)

Performed by the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra on September 25, 2021 in Tilson Auditorium on the campus of Indiana State University.

Program Notes by Daniel Powers © 2021

Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre (1845)
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

The late 1840s were a tumultuous time in Wagner’s life. On the one hand, the decade had seen the first of his operatic successes, with Rienzi, The Flying Duchman, and Tannhäuser being produced to great acclaim. Unfortunately, Wagner’s political proclivities got him into trouble when he played a role in the May Uprising in Dresden. Though his role was relatively minor, the German authorities nonetheless issued a warrant for his arrest. He was able to beat a hasty departure but spent the next twelve years in exile in Zürich, isolated from the German musical establishment and any regular income.

It was against this backdrop that he began the work that would define his reputation for all time. Beginning around 1848 and continuing off and on for the next twenty-six years, Wagner worked on a monumental cycle of four Music Dramas (the term he came to prefer over “operas”) collectively titled The Ring Of The Nibelung (or simply “The Ring Cycle” for short). Loosely based on ancient Germanic and Nordic legends, the cast includes Gods, mortals, Rhine Maidens, Valkyries, and so forth, all involved in a struggle over the titular magic ring which grants its wearer dominion over the world.

The Ring Cycle was completed on November 21, 1874. Less than two years later it received its first complete performance, with each of the four operas presented on successive evenings, as Wagner intended. Lasting approximately 15 hours in total, it is the largest operatic project in the regular repertory, and a performance of the complete cycle is considered the ultimate test of any opera company.

One of Wagner’s first musical ideas for The Ring was a group of sketches written down on July 23, 1851, two years before he began working on the cycle in earnest. The sketches were set aside, since they wouldn’t be needed until he got to Act III of Die Walküre, the second opera in the set. These sketches turned out to be the genesis of “Ride of the Valkyries,” which has since become probably the most familiar excerpt from any Wagner opera.

In the opera, the Ride of the Valkyries begins as the curtain rises on the peak of a high mountain. A great storm is brewing. Four of the Valkyries, each bearing the body of a slain warrior, are awaiting the arrival of their sisters, after which they will carry the dead heroes to Valhalla. Soon lightning and thunder announce the entrance of four of the remaining Valkyries, and they greet each other with their distinctive war cry “Hojotoho!”

In adapting the Ride for concert use, Wagner had to make several changes. It was considerably shortened, and a concert ending needed to be written since the operatic version simply merges into the next sequence rather than ending with a bang. But all of the main thematic material is still there, including the “Hojotohos” which are written into the orchestra parts—no Valkyries necessary.