LibrettoArchive Opera Libretti • Translations • History
Richard Wagner operas
• Die Feen (1834)
• Das Liebesverbot (1836)
• Rienzi (1842)
• Der fliegende Holländer (1843)
• Tannhäuser (1845)
• Lohengrin (1848)
• Tristan und Isolde (1859)
• Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1867)
• Das Rheingold (1869)
• Die Walküre (1870)
• Siegfried (1871)
• Götterdämmerung (1874)
• Parsifal (1882)

“Götterdämmerung” by Richard Wagner

♡
Twilight of the Gods, Гибель богов
Götterdämmerung: German–English Side-by-Side Opera Libretto
Paperback libretto with side-by-side translation

The final chapter of Wagner’s Ring — now in a precise German–English side-by-side format.

See on Amazon – $14.99 → 📄 Preview sample (PDF)

Premiere / date of written: 21 November 1874

Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung, or The Ring for short). It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 17 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the Ring. The title is a translation into German of the Old Norse phrase Ragnarök, which in Norse mythology refers to a prophesied war of the gods that brings about the end of the world. However, as with the rest of the Ring, Wagner's account of this apocalypse diverges significantly from his Old Norse sources. The term Götterdämmerung is occasionally used in English, referring to a disastrous conclusion of events.


Richard Wagner officially completed the entire full orchestration score of Götterdämmerung on November 21, 1874.

Libretti

German–English side-by-side translation

# Language Authors
1 German Richard Wagner
2 English
3 Russian В. П. Коломийцов

original libretto
side-by-side of the original libretto

History

August 17, 1876 Richard Wagner's "Götterdämmerung" received its world premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, conducted by Hans Richter, completing the first full performance of "Der Ring des Nibelungen".

You might also enjoy

Similar Theme

  • Tristan und Isolde (1859) — Richard Wagner Love, betrayal, and death are central to both, but Götterdämmerung adds politics, revenge, and the collapse of an entire world around the lovers.
  • Medea (1797) — Luigi Cherubini Brünnhilde and Medea both respond to betrayal with terrible destructive power. Their reasons and final choices are very different, but the comparison is hard to miss.

Good Next Choice

  • Siegfried (1871) — Richard Wagner Siegfried leads directly into this final part of the Ring. The hero who seemed almost impossible to defeat now enters a world built on deception.
  • Das Rheingold (1869) — Richard Wagner The Ring ends where Rheingold began: with the ring, the Rhine, and the damage caused by the desire for power.
  • Die Walküre (1870) — Richard Wagner Die Walküre gives Brünnhilde's earlier story and makes her final choices here much more meaningful.

Contrasting Companion

  • Falstaff (1893) — Giuseppe Verdi Two late works by great nineteenth-century opera composers, but almost opposites in spirit: Wagner ends a world in fire; Verdi ends Falstaff with laughter.

Tags

Style / Movement: Late Romantic
Structure: Full-length Through-composed
Source: Mythological source
Theme: Supernatural Revenge
Discovery: Crowd-pleaser

Related operas

More by Richard Wagner

View all →

Also in German

Images

Printed Editions

Year Edition Publisher Buy
2026 Götterdämmerung: German–English Side-by-Side Opera Libretto DM’s Opera Series Amazon.com

Audio recordings

Year Cast Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra		 Label,
Comment		 Buy
1965

DM's pick

 Wolfgang Windgassen (Siegfried),
Birgit Nilsson (Brünnhilde),
Gottlob Frick (Hagen),
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Gunther),
Claire Watson (Gutrune),
Gustav Neidlinger (Alberich),
Christa Ludwig (Waltraute)		 Sir Georg Solti
Wiener Philharmoniker & Chor der Wiener Staatsoper
 CD: Decca Cat: 455 569-2 Stereo

 Amazon.com

Related links