Gangsta Siegfried. Siegfried Bieber.

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The role of Siegfried is difficult for modern audiences to accept.  It’s hard to admire this lout, this bully, this self-centered brute.  A recent teen video restores the character of Siegfried to what one must conclude was Wagner’s original intent – as an exciting charismatic hero of durable cultural meaning – an icon.

“Siegfried Siegfried” is on YouTube and appears to be an amateur treatment by high school students.  It takes a bit of Wagner’s music and a lot of Wagner’s rhythm and tells the story of Siegfried in a few short minutes.  Appropriately, it is iconic and un-nuanced.  The rap chorus repeats exclamations from the Forging Scene, “Ho-ho, Ho-Hei!”  He awakens Brünnhilde by texting her while the synth plays a motif from the Idyll and the chorus chants “Sei mein, sei mein!”

Interestingly for me, it captures the very essence of the character.  This is an übermench, someone whose stature we cannot hope to replicate, someone we depend upon to satisfy our need for heroic deeds in our past.  His heroics define who we are.

Gangsta Siegfried. Siegfried as Justin Bieber. And why not?  Can someone have a go at a translation, please?

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By PeterP

The Wagner Blog

The Wagner Blog is a forum for discussion of contemporary themes arising from the works of Richard Wagner. Discussions relating to Wagner’s musical, literary, theatrical, philosophical, political and theoretic work are all appropriate for this forum.

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