Christopher Wintle, Splitting (‘Spaltung’) in Wagner

Each of Richard Wagner’s canonic operas and music dramas is predicated on a radical split – Spaltung – with turbulent consequences and an act of reparation at the denouement. The split may be personal, social or political; sometimes it unfolds before our eyes, and sometimes we learn of it only by report. Splitting is the source of Wagner’s musico-dramatic contrasts, and the closing reparation invariably involves exceptional stagecraft. But for long, Spaltung has also been a key topic for psychologists, whose findings can lead us to the heart of Wagner’s dramaturgy. Here, we shall see how, first across the Wagnerian oeuvre in general, and then with reference to Der Ring des Nibelungen in particular.