Schneider-Siemssen
on Siegfried (Salzburg Easter Festival and the Met, 1967-72)
Siegfried,
the third drama of the "Ring". I built a small forge, a dwarf's forge, in order to understand
that it is indeed Mime's forge, and Mime is of course, like his brother Alberich,
a dwarf. I had to forget large powerful forges. I knew for example that a Krupp-forge
could be built in miniature. Everything was placed in the middle of an endless
forest. The forge was placed in a small sunken area. Wotan appeared above at the
edge of the forest and climbs down to the forge and the hut singing.
Then we have the big scene with Fafner, the dragon. With these words: Laß'
mich schlafen ("let me sleep")..." the earth quakes, along with the forest
floor, and the monster revolves under the earth to the other side. And then he
appears as a giant animal, very old and gruesome, his eyes everywhere - a spongy
mass, belching fire and steam as he falls on Siegfried's deadly sword.
(A)nd then there is the big scene between Wotan and Siegfried. At the end of the
scene, with Wotan's sacred spear, lying smashed to bits on the ground, Wotan's
end must be signified. One should feel as he does as he makes his way back to
Valhalla....
How wonderful also is the bright vision of the heavens, Siegfried wading in the
fire, which then becomes the Valkyrie's rock surrounded in flames, with blue sky,
deep blue. ...(W)e now have this description of nature taking all of the attention.
So we have light again in great abundance. Many stage designers and directors
have no idea that you can do everything with light! This blue wash over the lonely
rock where Brünnhilde had slept and now after perhaps twenty years, is awakened.
Only with light, a lot of light, is it now recognized that from Wotan's punishment,
comes the most wonderful luck, brought out by a truly magical light.
[From G. Schneider-Siemssen in conversation with
K. Pahlen: Die
Bühne, mein Leben
, Selke Verlag 1996;
(The Stage, My Life
- English translation by James Mulder, in press]
