Götterdämmerung
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Götterdämmerung ("Twilight of the Gods" – see Notes) is the last of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 17 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the Ring. The cast included Georg Unger as Siegfried, Eugen Gura as Gunther, Gustav Siehr as Hagen, Amalie Materna as Brünnhilde, and Luise Jaide as Gutrune.
The title is a translation into German of the Old Norse phrase Ragnarok, which in Norse mythology refers to a prophesied war of the Gods which brings about the end of the world in Völuspá. 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.
snip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6tterd%C3%A4mmerung