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Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung: A Companion Paperback – October 1, 2010

by Stewart Spencer (Author), Barry Millington (Author), Richard Wagner (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 130 ratings
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"An important work for Wagnerites and musical scholars."―Choice

There had long been a need for a modern English translation of Wagner’s Ring―a version that would be reliable and readable yet at the same time be a true reflection of the literary quality of the German libretto. First published in 1993, this acclaimed translation, which follows the verse form of the original exactly, filled that niche. It reads smoothly and idiomatically, yet is the result of prolonged thought and deep back- ground knowledge.

The translation is accompanied by Stewart Spencer’s introductory essay on the libretto and a series of specially commissioned texts by Barry Millington, Roger Hollinrake, Elizabeth Magee, and Warren Darcy that discuss the cycle’s musical structure, philosophical implications, medieval sources, and Wagner’s own changing attitude to its meaning. With a glossary of names, a review of audio and video recordings, and a select bibliography, this book is an essential complement to Wagner’s great epic. 16 black-and-white illustrations
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Thames & Hudson
  4. Publication date
    October 1, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6.2 x 1.5 x 9.1 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0500281947
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0500281949
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

An important work. -- Choice

Superb new translation. -- Wagner Notes

About the Author

Stewart Spencer is a noted translator. He lives in England.

Barry Millington is the editor of The Wagner Journal. He lives in England.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thames & Hudson; Revised edition (October 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0500281947
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0500281949
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.41 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.2 x 1.5 x 9.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 130 ratings

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Richard Wagner

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
130 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

jaypee
5.0 out of 5 stars Companion for Wagners Ring
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
A great companion for Wagners Ring cycle. English and German text side by side, so non German speakers can follow the story easily. High quality paperback.
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blind_homer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Profound Work of Art in its Best English Translation
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2007
Verified Purchase
**Update: I recently contacted the publishers, who wrote they are scheduling a late summer 2010 reprint.**

I teach the Ring Cycle, and I recommend the Spencer/Millington English translation over all others, including the Porter. As an English teacher, I am primarily concerned in a translation's literary value, and I confidently aver this translation as the best in English (I also have a background in German language and literature study). In his poetry, Wagner proves himself a literary genius. Like other masters of language, he deftly balances storytelling, emotion, and philosophy. There are also musicological benefits to this publication, such as notations for motifs where they occur in the text.

Wagner draws from the major medieval versions of the legend, including the Saga of the Volsungs, the Prose Edda, and the Nibelungenlied. Studying these works is crucial to a literary appreciation of the libretti, much as appreciation of Plutarch biographies informs the reading of Shakespeare's plays of antiquity.

Wagner's ambitious work was composed under the nationalistic fervor of 19th Century Germany. He believed "The Nibelungenlied" to be for Germany what "The Iliad" is for Greece or "The Aeneid" is for Rome. Wagner populates his German forests and rivers with mythological gods and faeries, and his human heroes are imbued with heroic courage and strength reminiscent of Achilles and Beowulf.

I highly recommend this translation. There are seldom times a book will inspire aesthetic chills, and it happened several times when reading these libretti. And if you are interested in contextualizing the Siegfried literary tradition, your first stops should be the Nibelungenlied, the Saga of the Volsungs, and the Prose Edda. See also Wagner's libretto for "Tristan and Isolde," another brilliantly written libretto based on a medieval German text, Gottfried von Straussberg's Tristan.
60 people found this helpful
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Jack Barnhart
5.0 out of 5 stars Arrived VERY Quickly!
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2022
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Item arrived fast and in wonderful condition, I'm absolutely loving the book so far. Thank you very much for getting this to me so quickly!
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Daniel
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guide
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2022
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It is awesome to finally have this guide in addition to the operas. Now I will be able to follow along and better understand the meaning of what is being sung.
One person found this helpful
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Delta D.
4.0 out of 5 stars Good in its own terms: my fault for expecting something rather different.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is principally Spencer's translation of the Ring poems, accompanied by some supplemental essays and a theme guide. Spencer's credentials as a translator are of the highest rank, but I wasn't looking for this, since I know the Porter translation virtually off pat and I admire it greatly.

Similarly, I wasn't looking for a theme guide, since Deryck Cooke's magnificent recorded version does that trick for me.

So, there were fewer essays than I had expected, although I (generally) liked the quality of them. For me the best part was the presentation of the drafts which Wagner chose to reject. I suspect the book deserves 5*, but to be truthful to my personal reaction, I'm only giving 4*.
7 people found this helpful
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NGC 1300
5.0 out of 5 stars Sewn binding a major plus
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2013
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I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that this sturdy paperback reprint edition (2010; printed in Slovenia) has a sewn binding. I heartily commend the publisher for eschewing the subtracted value of a "Perfect" or otherwise non-sewn binding. (The annoying crumbly gummy labels that US-ified the UK-specific info on the back cover came off tidily with a couple of sparing cotton swab applications of lighter fluid.)
In his introductory note on the text and his translation, Stewart Spencer writes: "Whether or not there is any truth in the anecdote that Wieland Wagner used to insist that his singers translate the text of the Ring into German before beginning work on the stage production, the story has a certain poetic truth to it." In addition to being a delight in itself, Spencer's translation is helping me immensely in deepening my understanding of Wagner's German.
10 people found this helpful
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phillip crisler
3.0 out of 5 stars Great way to understand the 4 rings.
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2019
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I liked the background information on Wagner and the synopsys before each opera.
The dialog was a little difficult to follow as it was in German on one side of the page and translated to English on the other side of the same page. But, if you were trying to learn German this would be perfect.
6 people found this helpful
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George J
5.0 out of 5 stars To appreciate the Ring fully, the libretto is essential.
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2021
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Without the libretto, much will be lost to listeners of the Ring. Not only is there much that is subtle but profound, but Wagner’s words are poetic. The English translation is excellent for those who cannot read the original German, which appears side by side.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Arrived early in perfect condition. Delightfully surprised.
5.0 out of 5 stars All very good.
Reviewed in France on September 22, 2023
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Arrived early in perfect condition. Delightfully surprised.
5.0 out of 5 stars All very good.
Reviewed in France on September 22, 2023
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Howard Kaplan
3.0 out of 5 stars Good text, badly produced
Reviewed in Canada on September 21, 2020
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I bought this Kindle book to prepare for and to have on-screen while streaming a production of the Ring cycle, a work which I'd never seen in its entirety. For that purpose, the book was very useful, especially since one of the other reviewers' complaints turned out not to be true: the German and English versions of the text were side-by-side on the page on my desktop computer, where the page image was large enough to allow that -- they were not on separate pages.

I was satisfied with the content of the book. The translation was readable and useful, the introductory essays were usually interesting (though I got lost in some of the discussion of German 19th century philosophers), and I was able to develop some opinions about what I did and did not like about Wagner's writing. I once knew a little German, not enough to read the text without assistance, but enough to appreciate much of it with the help of the translation. I do not regret either buying the book or watching the operas with it.

However, there are some really horrible things about the way the book was produced.

First, the text of the operas (not the essays) was full of typos in English. It might have been equally full in German, but I can't be sure, as my knowledge of the language is not good enough, though I can say that I did notice some. Some of the typos were very strange, such as the substitution of "d" for "cl", as one might expect if someone were trying to read a handwritten original. I think I know what's going on. The translation, without the essays, was originally published in 1993, and apparently no one saved the original tapes or disks. Instead, for the republication in 2010, it appears that someone OCR'd the previous version and did not arrange for a proper proofreading. The result was quite horrible -- not unusably horrible, but shoddy and annoying. I've attached an image of two of these typos -- one of them is the wrong English word, and the other isn't even a word as far as I know. I assume these errors would also occur in the hardcopy version.

The other problem occurred only on my cellphone screen, not on my desktop. The screen was not wide enough to reliably show the two parallel text columns, and the display algorithm kept changing its rule about how to display the text as I went from page to page. Sometimes there would be two parallel columns in a medium font, sometimes two parallel columns in a smaller font, and sometimes alternating German and English lines with the latter indented. Whatever process was used to encode the text as an ebook was not tested on a wide enough range of devices.

So, in summary, the words were useful, but the process of reading them was too often annoying.
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Howard Kaplan
3.0 out of 5 stars Good text, badly produced
Reviewed in Canada on September 21, 2020
I bought this Kindle book to prepare for and to have on-screen while streaming a production of the Ring cycle, a work which I'd never seen in its entirety. For that purpose, the book was very useful, especially since one of the other reviewers' complaints turned out not to be true: the German and English versions of the text were side-by-side on the page on my desktop computer, where the page image was large enough to allow that -- they were not on separate pages.

I was satisfied with the content of the book. The translation was readable and useful, the introductory essays were usually interesting (though I got lost in some of the discussion of German 19th century philosophers), and I was able to develop some opinions about what I did and did not like about Wagner's writing. I once knew a little German, not enough to read the text without assistance, but enough to appreciate much of it with the help of the translation. I do not regret either buying the book or watching the operas with it.

However, there are some really horrible things about the way the book was produced.

First, the text of the operas (not the essays) was full of typos in English. It might have been equally full in German, but I can't be sure, as my knowledge of the language is not good enough, though I can say that I did notice some. Some of the typos were very strange, such as the substitution of "d" for "cl", as one might expect if someone were trying to read a handwritten original. I think I know what's going on. The translation, without the essays, was originally published in 1993, and apparently no one saved the original tapes or disks. Instead, for the republication in 2010, it appears that someone OCR'd the previous version and did not arrange for a proper proofreading. The result was quite horrible -- not unusably horrible, but shoddy and annoying. I've attached an image of two of these typos -- one of them is the wrong English word, and the other isn't even a word as far as I know. I assume these errors would also occur in the hardcopy version.

The other problem occurred only on my cellphone screen, not on my desktop. The screen was not wide enough to reliably show the two parallel text columns, and the display algorithm kept changing its rule about how to display the text as I went from page to page. Sometimes there would be two parallel columns in a medium font, sometimes two parallel columns in a smaller font, and sometimes alternating German and English lines with the latter indented. Whatever process was used to encode the text as an ebook was not tested on a wide enough range of devices.

So, in summary, the words were useful, but the process of reading them was too often annoying.
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Eve
5.0 out of 5 stars これ一冊で指環全曲の歌詞がわかる。
Reviewed in Japan on September 14, 2013
Verified Purchase
いろいろなDVDで指環を鑑賞した後、より深くその音楽に浸りたいと、ワーグナーオペラのCD box set　を購入し、意気込みも新たに聞き始めたのですが、輸入盤のため対訳がありません。内容はDVDの訳や、ブックレットの解説でわかりますが、このオペラは特に神の「契約」とか、哲学的な思想がもとにあって、やはり今何を言っているのか知りたい、という欲求にかられます。で、見つけたのがこの本です。私個人の意見としては、もし英語が堪能な方だったら、ヨーロッパの言語のオペラは、日本語より英語で読んだほうが文法、語順等の観点から、よりオリジナルに近く、わかりやすいと思います。
この大版のしっかりしたペーパーバックには,指環全曲のドイツ語テキストと、明解で格調高いすばらしい英訳が収められています。CDを聞きながら読むつもりだったのが、読み物として非常におもしろく、音楽なしで読み進んでしまいました。いけない、いけない。でも、ワーグナーの世界は深いので、この本を強い味方に、時間をかけてじっくりと旅して行こうと思います。
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Mr. & Mrs G. C. Stone
5.0 out of 5 stars A Genuine Companion
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2008
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The Ring is simply a giant masterwork. Tackling it is like attempting to scale a mountain. And if you're going to do it properly and get the very best out of the experience (and make the massive investment in your time worthwhile), you will want someone with you along the way. And this is where this Companion is a real must.

The introductory essays and the other material are useful primers and help put everything into context (but they are far from exhaustive - more a primer and an aid for further reading). But the real value is the libretto. My recordings come with a libretto, but straining your eyes through a cd booklet is distracting. And then there's the quality of the translation itself - and believe me it makes a real difference to your enjoyment and understanding.

Wagner's language and versifying is deliberately archaic - even in German, so any translation is at first going to appear odd and almost difficult. But follow each line with this companion and you will see that the translation somehow not only captures the meaning, it follows the sense, rhythm, cadences and line length of the original - so as you listen, the english translation flows along seamlessly with the sung lines. After while you are not conscious of translating, but are in the action and going with the flow. And my, when you get caught up the flow of Wagner (with the volume turned right up of course) it is a totally absorbing and genuinely thrilling experience.

What's great too is that there are are references you can look back to later or read ahead and look up, and just enough stage directions added. Too much direction and you can't keep up. Without any you miss vital pieces of information and action - here you can 'see' as well as hear just enough not to miss anything.

A thoroughly recommended piece of work, and really glad I got hold of it before plunging in.
46 people found this helpful
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F. Ch Papageorgiou
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to the Ring
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2013
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Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington have done their best to collect within a single volume not only the full libretti of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung sided with the best English translation available (a translation equally vibrant and informed), but also introductory essays highlighting key aspects of Wagner's composition of both text and music. Moreover, the volume contains a guide through most figures and name-places featured at the cycle and a series of endnotes gathering minimal albeit essential literary analysis and scholarship. Of particular mention is the listing of all leitmotifs within a numbered index, backed by careful indications of the leitmotifs' use along the libretti.

Overall, Spencer and Millington have managed to bring out a very helpful companion that gathers all the information an amateur lover of the Ring would hope to obtain. I particularly liked the fact that the volume avoids overstatements and thrill, focusing instead on the elements that really make the Ring so important -and, at times, so problematic. I would only wish for a more analytic deployment and commentary on Wagner's particular use of leitmotifs. This would probably require more musicological analysis than the editors were willing to include. Finally, the guide to the discography is too elliptic -if not somewhat clumsy.

Despite these drawbacks I wholeheartedly give the book a full five-stars ranking. For my part, I don't expect I' ll buy another companion to the Ring for years to come.
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