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.
