Wagner's 'The Siegfried Idyll' is the 'end credits' of the Ring Cycle. [View all]

[Aristus]

That's what I've come to believe.

Ever see a movie (usually, but not always, a war movie - like 'Platoon'.) where the end credits feature footage of the actors listed in the credits? Scenes taken from the film, or out-takes, or something. The snippets of film show the actors in character, or staring dreamily into the distance.

I always thought of that as the director's way of saying to the audience: "See? It's all right! Nobody's dead; nobody's hurt. It was just a movie."

That's how I view Wagner's 'The Siegfried Idyll'. The Ring Cycle ends with all of the characters dying, and the world essentially coming to an end. The Siegfried Idyll, which features themes and motifs originally thought to be taken from the Ring operas, but actually pre-dating the composition of the Cycle, is like Wagner's way of saying: "See? It's all right! Nobody's dead; nobody's hurt. It was just a opera!"

Thoughts?