Stories from Wagner

From Introduction: "It would be a longer story than all the Stories from Wagner put together, to tell where these tales began and how they grew, Centuries before they were set to music in the soul of Richard Wagner, some of them had been chanted around rude camp-fires by savage-looking men clad in the skins of animals. They were repeated by word of mouth long before even the rudest art of writing was learned and in various lands they were known, though the stories often differed. Fox in those days men believed in spirits, good and bad, and in giants, dwarfs, gods and goddesses. They told these stories to their children, just as real history is taught to-day and later the legends were treasured not only for their deep interest but also because they showed how people lived arid thought, long ago while the world was in the making. When Wagner, the great music-dramatist of Get many, was writing his wonderful operas, he found much of this rich material lying ready at his hand. Other parts he adapted to suit his needs. And it is the form in which he used the tales that has been followed in the simple retelling in the present volume hence the justice of the title- Stories from Wagner. Let us pause a moment to see who this author was, and how he came to collect his themes." Stories From Wagner . . . . . . . . . . Page 9 Contents . . . . . . . . . . Page 11 List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . Page 13 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . Page 15 Part I — The Rhine-Gold . . . . . . . . . . Page 21 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 23 Part II — The War-Maidens . . . . . . . . . . Page 44 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 51 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 55 Part III — Siegfried The Fearless . . . . . . . . . . Page 65 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 77 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 85 Part IV — The Downfall of The Gods . . . . . . . . . . Page 89 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 109 Parsifal the Pure . . . . . . . . . . Page 112 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 123 Lohengrin the Swan Knight . . . . . . . . . . Page 135 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 141 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 153 Tannhäuser the Knight of Song . . . . . . . . . . Page 160 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 163 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 175 The Master Singers (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) . . . . . . . . . . Page 184 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 205 Rienzi the Last of the Tribunes . . . . . . . . . . Page 212 The Flying Dutchman (Der Fliegende Holländer) . . . . . . . . . . Page 232 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 247 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 255 Tristan and Isolde (Tristan und Isolde) . . . . . . . . . . Page 258 Illustration . . . . . . . . . . Page 263 Stories From Wagner 9 Contents 11 List of Illustrations 13 Introduction 15 The Ring of the Curse (Der Ring des Nibelungen) 21 Part I — The Rhine-Gold 21 Illustration 23 Part II — The War-Maidens 44 Illustration 51 Illustration 55 Part III — Siegfried The Fearless 65 Illustration 77 Illustration 85 Part IV — The Downfall of The Gods 89 Illustration 109 Parsifal the Pure 112 Illustration 123 Lohengrin the Swan Knight 135 Illustration 141 Illustration 153 Tannhäuser the Knight of Song 160 Illustration 163 Illustration 175 The Master Singers (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) 184 Illustration 205 Rienzi the Last of the Tribunes 212 The Flying Dutchman (Der Fliegende Holländer) 232 Illustration 247 Illustration 255 Tristan and Isolde (Tristan und Isolde) 258 Illustration 263 http://www.archive.org/details/storiesfromwagne00wagn