logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2020
10m 12s

The Ring of the Nibelung

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Following the death of the philosopher, author and self-professed Wagner fan, Sir Roger Scruton, this is one of our favourite talks he did for the series.

As Wagner’s Ring – that huge and controversial cycle of operas - went on tour around the UK, Roger talked about why The Ring is absolutely a story for our time.

"I have loved The Ring and learned from it for over 50 years and for me, it is quite simply the truth about our world - but the truth expressed by means of music of unquestionable authority and supreme melodic and harmonic power".

The talk was first broadcast in 2016.

Producer: Adele Armstrong

Up next
Mar 2025
Our Revels Now Are Ended
Howard Jacobson reflects on the radio essay, after almost two decades of A Point of View.With nods to Clive James, body-pierced baritones and with a plentiful supply of svelte notebooks, Howard explains why he believes the radio essay is 'more than words on paper'...why it captur ... Show More
10m 26s
Mar 2025
How History Begins Again
The celebrated American theorist, Francis Fukuyama, in his book 'The End of History and the Last Man' argued that US-style liberalism was the ultimate destination for all mankind, 'the final form of human government'.John Gray explains why he believes his prophecy has been turned ... Show More
10m 18s
Mar 2025
Elbows Up: Canada v Trump
After Donald Trump proposed that Canada could be consumed as America's 51st State, Adam Gopnik reflects on his homeland's history with the United States and Canada's new-found patriotic toughness - and how it differs from nationalism. 'It’s is only a little startling, though very ... Show More
10m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
Ring of Power Pt. 1: The Rhinegold
Before there was Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, there was Richard Wagner’s The Ring of Nibelung. Infused with ancient Norse and Germanic myths, the composer’s epic opera cycle deals in power, corruption, and uncontrollable destruction. At its center is a ring forged from the en ... Show More
52m 18s
Sep 2022
Ring of Power Pt. 2: The Valkyrie
Decades have passed since Fafner walked out of Valhalla with the Ring of Power. He has since transformed into a dragon, and holds the ring in his hoard. Wotan is playing the long game, scheming to take back the ring — whether to use it or destroy it, even he isn’t sure. This is o ... Show More
52m 19s
Jul 2020
189C-Nibelungenlied: I Know It Was You
In the third and final part of our series on the Nibelungenlied, the hero of the story, Siegfried, is dead and his wife, the princess, has a score to settle. The creature this week is the strong toad, a super cool toad who can read your mind, but he's so nice and definitely not m ... Show More
42m 20s
Dec 2022
The Nibelungenlied
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Song of the Nibelungs, a twelfth century German epic, full of blood, violence, fantasy and bleakness. It is a foundational work of medieval literature, drawing on the myths of Scandinavia and central Europe. The poem tells of two couples, Siegf ... Show More
54m 49s
Jul 2021
Sacred Truths in a Profane World
With Roger Scruton 
32m 35s
Sep 2019
The One Ring
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the most powerful artifact in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy series and how it relates to real-life metall ... Show More
45m 1s