The Annotated Ring Cycle

Reviews / Votes

Lively and vivid, Frederick Paul Walter's new translation of The Rhine Gold will delight those familiar with the opera, while providing an inviting entry point for those who know the tale only through its role as a foundation work that has influenced everything from Bugs Bunny to The Lord of the Rings. The annotations are often wry and humorous, without in any way ceasing to be informative. The volume's numerous illustrations are a bonus, reminding the reader that this is a work meant to be seen and heard, not merely read. -- Jane Lindskold, New York Times bestselling author of The Firekeeper Saga Frederick Paul Walter's clear and unpretentious new translation, annotated and illustrated, cuts through to the who's who and what's what, asking and answering all the right questions. It is as welcoming to initiates of this foundational masterwork as well as the most battle-hardened "Ringnut." The Master of Bayreuth would approve. -- Conrad L. Osborne, author, Opera as Opera When so many recent works on Wagner graft extraneous elements onto his operas in an attempt to clarify what Wagner did or didn't mean, Frederick Paul Walter's assessment that 'the text is the way Wagner wanted it' is both refreshing and urgently needed. -- Anthony Barrese, artistic director, Opera Southwest, music director, Opera Delaware Walter's Ring Cycle series is written for a general audience and, given the publisher's cover designs and illustrations by Cliff Mott, will please readers of graphic novels as well. * The Paper - ABQ * [D]on't be afraid: Walter is neither dumbing down nor "making relevant" Wagner's complex masterwork. His English translations of Wagner's libretti and stage directions are crisp and modern, his annotations and asides as perspicacious as they are breezy and entertaining. His hope is that 'newcomers and old-timers will each find that these volumes add pleasure and value' to their enjoyment of The Ring. * Limelight Magazine * The main element of Walter's project, the translation of Wagner's poem, succeeds in its principal aim, which is "to provide a clear rendering of Wagner's libretto in modern English" and to give some idea of its alliteration, colloquialism, and humor. This is a tricky undertaking. * Wagner Society of North America * This is a striking publication: in four large-format softbacks with vivid full-color covers, it is the work of Frederick Paul Walter, an American scriptwriter, fine-arts broad-caster and translator of several Jules Verne novels. * The Wagner Journal *