Richard Wagner's Literary Journey to the Ring

About the Book

This book traces Richard Wagner's literary activities as he prepared for, and then created, the libretti of his monumental music drama Der Ring des Nibelungen. The book opens with a review of Wagner's creative work prior to 1848, the year in which he wrote the composition that would serve as a guide-plan for the lengthy Ring. Special focus is made on this guide-plan, a comparison of the two available English translations, a new English translation, and the original document in German. Detailed attention is given the two distinct endings of the Ring and the numerous textual changes that Wagner made within the final scene of the work.

About the Author

Dr. William O. Cord retired from the California University System in 1988 where he served in numerous administrative assignments and as Professor of Spanish. During this period he published three books on the prose and poetry of one of Mexico’s celebrated writers, José Rubén Romero. After retirement, Dr. Cord devoted his study and writings to the prose and musical works of Germany’s famed Richard Wagner, focusing on the composer’s epical mythical work, Der Ring des Nibelung.