Function Review: May 2002
Hagen's Watch Scene - Presentation by Nicholas Routley
Associate Professor Nicholas Routley, Music Department, University
of Sydney, presented a wide-ranging and stimulating talk on Hagen's
Watch Scene (with Alberich) from Act III of Götterdämmerung.
Taking this scene as his starting point Professor Routley explore
the roles of sleep, magic potions, the construction of history and
even the education of lawyers. The talk was prompted by the way this
scene was treated in the Pierre Strosser production as performed in
Adelaide. Professor Routley pointed out the difficulties in taking
this scene at face value since Alberich is repeating history (as many
characters in the Ring Cycle do), but Hagen is aware of recent developments
such as the fact that Brünnhilde now has the ring, as of the day before
- more or less. This suggests that Alberich is not really present,
but being dreamed of by Hagen in a proto-flashback.
This scene is paralleled by the scene in Die Walkure in which
Siegmund talks with Brunnhilde about his future while Sieglinde sleeps
nearby. Both Hagen and Siegmund are waiting for the consequences of
their action to manifest. [Readers may like to recall all the dream
scenes in the Ring in this context - Ed.] All of the scenes of waking,
which are significant scenes in themselves, also parallel the dream
that Wagner claimed to have at La Spezia spa in Italy that gave him
the key (E flat major) to beginning the music of the Ring Cycle.
Professor Routley then noted how sleep plays a metaphorical role
in the Ring Cycle: as a metaphor for the political, social, philosophical
state of Germany/Europe in the mid 19C and as a distortion of reality
that reveals the dark side of the Enlightenment vision. The distortion of reality is also achieved through the use of magic
potions, such as the drink of forgetfulness that Hagen gives Siegmund
in Act I of Götterdämmerung. In his resulting memory-less
state, Siegfried is virtually a machine, Professor Routley suggests,
that Hagen can manipulate for his own ends. Wagner, this argument
goes, then uses this situation as a metaphor for how societies are
governed and/or manipulated. The disturbing nature of such a situation
is paralleled by Wagner's use of discomfiting harmonic progressions
in the leit motives associated with the magic potions, and with the
Tarnhelm and the Wanderer as well. Fortunately, Professor Routley
was able to illustrate these points by playing the themes as he discussed
their implications.
In passing, Professor Routley also noted how the retellings of the
Ring Cycle, in presenting history as constant retellings, could also
be construed as a history of the rise and fall of tonality through
the intrusion of chromaticism that is always associated with enemies
of light, compassion, clarity, honesty, diversions from the rule of
law, acts of betrayal and deceit, etc.
As a final point, Professor Routley explored how Wotan's rule of
law as symbolised by his spear is replaced by Hagen and his spear
in Götterdämmerung and how oaths of vengeance and revenge replace
the short-lived law of contract, as betrayed by Wotan in Das Rheingold
in his dealing with the Giants. [Readers might like to listen to the
way Wagner, in the Blood-brotherhood oathtaking in Act I of Götterdämmerung,
alternates the themes of the Spear with the Tarnhelm - ie from a big
major scale motive to a short chromatic phrase - Ed.] Professor Routley
then extended this idea by describing the way in which Hagen questions
Siegfried at the end of the hunt scene in Act II of Götterdämmerung
as a barrister cross examining a witness to bring him to betray himself
- as Siegfried does, unwittingly, which makes the scene even more
ironic.
One of the highlights of the talk was the way that Professor Routley
was able to show us the Hagen watch scene in a video extract from
the Adelaide production that was kindly supplied by the South Australian
Opera Company, especially for this talk. The scene shows Alberich
talking to a child, who is clearly the young Alberich, while the contemporary
Alberich watches - in a dream or reverie. Professor Routley pointed
out how this directorial insight helped clarify the meaning of this
important scene without intruding into the musical and dramatic impact
of the scene.
[Terence Watson 8 May 2002 - Ed]
Back to Society Home Page
Back to About Us and Previous President's
Reports
This Page was last updated on:
20-Oct-2004
© Wagner Society in NSW Inc 2004 |