Day 8

Today brings the third act of Siegfried by Wagner, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler in 1950 at La SCALA in Milan.

The first side opens up to possibly the most epic overture for an act since the Ride at the opening of the third act of Die Walkure; but quickly descends into what feels like deep emotional thought. Wager finally begins to break through epic tonal prison he has built around him throughout the last 2 and 2/3 operas. He brings dual violins, who wander up and down their register, culminating in a long luxurious notes at the high end of symphonic sound that grab ones ears and turn until tears of emotion leak from the listener's eyes. Not that I cried or anything...Because I'm a manly man, yes I am *grabs tissue* *sniffle*.

I wish I could say more about the second side, but I did lose interest quickly, I had not committed my full attention to the piece and quickly found my mind wandering, or being force at claw point to feed my cats treats until content. I will say that the entrance of a soprano with about 20 minutes to go, did give a feel of depth to the tonal complexity that had been missing. The acts wanders around, rearranging tempos and themes, but ends in true Wagner fashion with an epic duet between a tenor and the soprano. There is even a moment where the famed ride is revisited, cementing it further as the cornerstone of this cycle.