Product Description
This is an original "dramatic art song" about Brünnhilde's death. At the end of the fourth opera of Wagner's Ring cycle, Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods), the heroine stereotypically depicted as the fat lady with a horned hat chooses to leap onto her husband's burning funeral pyre. The act sets fire to the whole cosmos and returns the ring to its original owner, thus breaking the curse and resetting the world.
In this re-telling, we follow Brünnhilde into the flames rather than continue observing the wider drama unfold. As she takes the decisive, fateful leap, time stands still and Brünnhilde is offered a few moments to reflect on her act. Why is she doing this? Is she exacting selfish revenge? Is it a foolish performative act of love? Is she heroically breaking the curse for the benefit of all? Finally, she concludes that all she wanted was to be loved, which she was cruelly denied despite her attempts to find it. At this point, the flames consume her and the aria is over.
"Brünnhilde In the Flames" was co-commissioned by Tetractys New Music and One Ounce Opera. It was premiered at Here Be Monsters in Austin, TX in June 2024. Julia Watkins-Davis, soprano and Benjie Dia, piano were the debut performers. Graham Yates orchestrated the piece using MuseScore digital soundfonts and recorded it with Julia Watkins-Davis reprising the vocal part.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.