Who would claim that the scene with the Norns, which opens The Twilight of the Gods, is essential? These three daughters of Erda weave the thread of fate — the past, the present and the future — but the thread snaps!

Is this scene an integral part of the story that follows? No, the ‘libretto’ could easily do without it.

However, within the saga — which begins in Das Rheingold and ends in the flames of Götterdämmerung’s finale — this episode is necessary, if only because they personify the sole ‘divine’ element in an opera that is firmly grounded in reality.

Kedem Berger, clearly a passionate and knowledgeable expert, reveals the secret behind this scene as magnified by Furtwängler — who preserves its magic — in his RAI Ring. Here is this study (pdf), available exclusively to our members.

It’s back-to-school time. And for the SWF, it’s a spectacular start to the new term.

In two weeks’ time, our new product, SWF D24 – the third volume in our Polydor series – will be released. With the exception of Mendelssohn’s Fingal’s Cave, with its turbulent Romanticism, the programme is generally of a lighter nature, including the particularly lively Third Brandenburg Concerto. Full details of the programme can be found in the project presentation.

On Saturday 17 October, the SWF’s general meeting will be held in Paris. You will receive full details by the end of September.

In the meantime, and to get the season off to a good start, here is an excerpt (mp3) from the overture to Rossini’s La gazza ladra. This isn’t necessarily where one would have expected Furtwängler to go, but he never ceases to surprise us.