Showing posts with label Myth of Opera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Myth of Opera. Show all posts

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Alchemy of Love in Lohengrin



The Alchemy of Love 

 “An opera about an archetypal myth presented as a medieval fairy tale,” so describes William Berger the opera Lohengrin in his book Wagner without Fear.  I would prefer to say that both the opera and the German saga are most like a medieval romance. The story does not really fulfill the criteria of a fairy tale, as defined by Grimm, and that is why it is included in the German Saga collection (and not in the Grimm fairy tale collection).
Lohengrin is a hero knight with all the attributes found in medieval romance: his birth and origin are shrouded in mystery, his identity unknown, his actions have a redemptive quality, supernatural elements are employed to heighten plot development, and so on.  Unlike German fairy tales, this story has a psychological dimension that leaps to the fore. These characters are imbued with real emotion and inner life. And yet there is still a certain amount of fairy tale quirkiness. When Lohengrin must depart from his true love, Elsam, he presents her with a gift. It is a little finger, the very same that his mother had given him. No other explanation is provided and the reader is certainly not expecting a little finger as parting memento. Fairy tale meaning is often found in the minutiae. So how is the reader to understand this? In keeping with the religious undertones of the story, I can only imagine that the gift was a relic, or, within a pagan context, it might have been an amulet-bone or charm imparting protection to the owner. 

Jakob Grimm surmises that there were probably many early Frankish, Friesen and Saxon tales circulating in Germany about the swan knight. The details are mostly the same: a strange slumbering hero arrives in a boat pulled by a swan. This often occurs in a moment when the country (or  later, a maiden) is in dire distress. This otherworldly hero is divine, functioning both as a god and as a god-given-gift to mankind. In his role as warrior, he acts as the military leader of a nation. In his role as god, there are certain mysteries and taboos surrounding his earthly intercessions that mortals can’t fully appreciate.  In the earliest versions his real value for the community lay in his martial skills. But it was probably in the Middle Ages when the story mutated into a love story,  examining the nature of love, how one falls in love, its transitory qualities and its destruction by doubt and despair.  

In the opening scene of the saga, the fog separates and a knight emerges. The person he encounters is laden with anguish and overcome with Angst. In this story vulnerability or an altered state are prerequisites for experiencing true love. But once recognized, love has the miraculous power of transformation. Revelation comes like a bolt from the blue but is fleeting.  While the intensity of love is short-lived, its  memory can either sustain or destroy. In Lohengrin , the characters are profoundly altered by their encounter with the hero/god.

The Opera is now playing in Chicago at the Lyric Opera. Go see it if you can!
Also a very good read, especially if you have avoided opera up to now: Wagner without Fear by William Berger, Vintage Books/Random House

Monday, February 14, 2011

A Valentine's Day Fairy Tale




Happy Valentine’s Day! In keeping with the theme of love and courtship, this week FairyTaleChannel is highlighting the romance of the Swan Knight Lohengrin. There are endless ways to interpret this story, but pictures are often worth a thousand words.  Click on the link below to hear the Prelude to Lohengrin, conducted by Otto Klemperer and view many beautiful Pre-Raphaelite illustrations with the same theme. It sets a wistful but romantic tone for Valentine’s Day, which I hope you enjoy!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Grimm's Saga No. 542: Lohengrin at Brabant


 Image from the Bodleian Library, French ca. 1487

Grimm’s Saga No. 542: Lohengrin at Brabant

The Duke of Brabant and Limburg died without leaving any heir except for his young daughter Els or Elsam. On his death bed he commended the girl to one of his courtiers, Friedrich von TelramundFriedrich, who was otherwise a valorous man and had slain a dragon at Stockholm, Sweden, became overly-boisterous and wooed the young duchess under false pretenses. He declared that she had promised herself to him in marriage. Because she honorably denied this, Friedrich complained to the German Kaiser Henry the Fowler, who spoke the verdict: she would have to engage a hero to defend her honor in mortal combat. When no one could be found, the duchesses fervently called on God to save her.  Far away where the grail was kept at Mount Salvatsch, the toll of bells was heard signaling that someone was in dire need. The grail immediately commanded that the son of Parsifal, Lohengrin, would be sent out. When he was just about to place his foot in the stirrup, a swan came floating on the river pulling a ship behind. Lohengrin had barely set his eyes upon it when he called out: ”Bring my steed to manger brimming with clover. I will go out with this bird and follow wherever he leads me.” In complete trust of God, he did not take along any sustenance on the ship. After five days of traveling over the sea, the swan dipped its bill into the water and caught a small fish. He ate half and gave the other half to Lohengrin.

While this was transpiring, Elsam called her dukes and courtiers to a council in Antwerp. On the very day of the meeting, a swan could be seen swimming up the Schelde River pulling a little ship. In it lay Lohengrin, who lay prostrate sleeping on his shield. The swan soon landed on the strand and the young duke was received in joy. The people carried helmet, shield and sword from the ship and then the swan turned around immediately and swam away. Lohengrin now listened to the injustice the young duchess had been forced to bear. He undertook the mission gladly and would become Elsam’s defender. When Elsam heard all this, she called all her relatives and subjects, who readied themselves in large numbers. Even King Gotthart, her grandfather on her mother’s side, came from England through Gundemar, called by the Abbot of Clarbrunn. The procession made its way until meeting and congregating in Mainz. Kaiser Heinrich who was residing in Frankfurt, arrived in Mainz, and in this city his throne was erected, where Lohengrin and Friedrich were to wage battle.  The Grail Hero was triumphant; Friedrich relented and confessed he had lied to the duchess. He was executed by hammer and axe. Elsam now became Lohengrin’s prize and they loved each other dearly. But he secretly stipulated that her mouth should avoid all questions about his origin; otherwise he would leave her in that very moment. 

For a time the married couple lived in undisturbed bliss and Lohengrin ruled the country wisely and mightily. He also served the Kaiser on his crusades against the Huns and heathens. But it happened that while engaging in spear throwing with the Duke of Kleve, the spear pierced the Duke’s arm and shattered it. The Duchess of Kleve now complained jealously to her ladies in waiting “Lohengrin may be bold, and he appears to have adopted the Christian faith; but it’s a shame that his fame is small; because no one knows which land he swam up from!” These words penetrated the heart of the Duchess of Brabant, she blushed and then became pale. At night in bed when her husband held her in his arms, she cried. He said “Dear, what ails you?” She replied “The Kleve Duchess has forced me to these sighs of despair.” But Lohengrin was silent and did not inquire further. The second night she cried once more; he noticed and quieted her again. Only on the third night, Elsam could no longer hold her tongue and said: “My liege, do not scorn me! I would like to know your origin, from whom you were born; my heart says you are of noble birth.” As dawn was breaking, Lohengrin declared openly from where he came. Parsifal was his father and God had sent him from the Grail. He had his two children brought before him, kissed them and commanded that they guard well his horn and sword. To his wife he left the little finger that his mother had once given him. Now his friend the swan hastened toward him pulling the ship. The young duke boarded and sailed against the current and returned to the grail. Elsam sank to the floor unconscious. Her teeth were clenched so tightly they had to be opened with a wedge and water poured inside. The Kaiser and his kingdom accepted the orphan children. One was named Johan and the other Lohengrin. But the widow cried and complained her lifelong about her dear husband, who never returned.

TRANSLATION FairyTaleChannel.org

Friday, March 6, 2009

Grimm's Saga No. 541: The Swan Ship on the Rhine


The Mythology of the Swan Knight: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

In the year 711 the Duchess of Kleve, the only daughter of Beatrix and her father having died, ruled over Kleve and many lands. One day the lady sat in her fortress at Nimwegen. It was a beautiful and clear day. She looked down upon the Rhine and saw a magnificent thing. A white swan swam down the river and round its neck there was a golden chain. A little ship was fastened to the chain and the swan pulled it. A beautiful man sat in the vessel. He had a golden sword in his hand, a hunting horn round his neck and a priceless ring on his finger. This young man landed the ship and disembarked. He exchanged many kind words with the lady and said that he wanted to protect her land and drive away its enemies. The young knight behaved so courteously that she soon grew to love him and took him as husband. But he said to her: “Never ask me about my lineage or origin; for when you inquire about these things, then you shall be rid of me and shall become a single woman once more. You shall never see me again.” He said his name was Helias and he was of large stature, like a giant. They had several children together. After some time Helias lay next to his wife in bed and the Duchess carelessly spoke out loud: “My lord, do you not want to tell your children where you come from?” Upon hearing those words he left his wife immediately. Jumping into the swan ship he sailed away and was never seen again. His wife was overcome with grief and soon died of remorse in the same year. But he left his children three things: the sword, the horn and the ring. His descendants have survived to this day and in the castle at Kleve you can still see a high tower. On its pinnacle there is a swan that turns in the wind. It is called the swan tower and commemorates the events of long ago.


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Sunday, March 1, 2009

Life in the Castle: The Arrival of the Swan Knight


Grimm’s Saga No. 545: Gerhard the Good, Swan Knight

King Charlemagne once stood at his castle window and looked down upon the Rhine River. There he saw a swan swimming on the water. It bore a silk cord round its neck and pulled a slender and magnificent boat. There sat a well-armed knight, round whose neck hung a scroll. When the knight came ashore the swan swam away pulling the ship and was never again seen. Nibelung, one of the king’s men, went out to meet the stranger, gave him his hand and led him to the king. Charlemagne asked him his name, but the knight could not speak. Instead he pointed to the scroll hanging round his neck. The scroll announced the arrival of Gerhard the Good Swan Knight, who had come to serve both land and lady. Nibelung took his weapons and secured them, but Charlemagne gave him a splendid cloak and together they sat down at the king’s table. But when Rolland saw the new stranger he inquired about the fortitude of the man. Charlemagne replied: :”God has sent me this man.” And Rolland replied “He seems to have the courage of a hero.” The king ordered that the strange knight be well-attended. And so it was, Gerhard was a wise man, served the king well and found favor with all who met him. He quickly learned to speak the language. The king treated him very well and soon the knight married Adalis, Charlemagne’s sister (in Danish: Elisa). Afterward the couple went to serve the Count in the Kingdom of Ardenne.


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Saturday, May 31, 2008

The Myth of Opera

Richard Wagner based his opera Tannhauser und der Saengerkrieg auf Wartburg on the two sagas provided below. The opera takes a romantic look at the Middle Ages and features a lively cast of troubadours, saints and even the Goddess Venus. Venus and the Venusberg are first mentioned in German mythology in the 15th century. Before this time the goddess was referred to as Frau Holla and her escort was Getreue Eckart. They both resided in the Horselberg. In the German Saga the character Tannhauser is wracked by longing for his old pagan religion and belief system, the one that was vanishing along with Frau Holla and Eckart. Christianity proved to be too rigid and harsh for Tannhauser and so, he withdrew to the Venusberg to await his Last Judgement.

His pain and longing for a world quickly disappearing is reminiscent of another famous pagan fairy tale personage, Rumpelstiltzchen. See the link Reading Rumpelstiltzchen at the upper right for more.

It is interesting to see how Wagner mixes the two sagas to produce his musical masterpiece. In Wagner's version, Tannhauser and Heinrich von Ofterdingen become one and the same character. The language in these two sagas is particularly dense and difficult to decipher. The first line of the Wartburg Singing Contest announces six virtuous and reasonable men coming together in song to compose hymns. But nothing virtuous or reasonable follows and the story is full of curious plot twists and turns. Luckily for opera-goers, when the plot sags the music usually soars.

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