We shall not win faith nor courage until we bend our ear to the heart-beat of history, and catch the sound of that sempiternal vein of living waters which, however buried under the waste-heap of historic civilisation, yet pulses on in all its pristine freshness. Richard Wagner

A man should courageously pursue truth, and never weary of striving to settle accounts with himself and the world. No matter what happens to the right or to the left of him; let him take heart and go on, with no fear of the desert which widens to his view. Arthur Schopenhauer

Die Walküren Gerhilde, Ortlinde, Waltraute, Schwertleite, Helmwige, Siegrune, Grimgerde, Roßweiße Richard Wagner - "Die Walküre", Act 3

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - String Quartet in F Major, KV 158 II. Andante un poco allegretto Armida Quartett Martin Funda (violin) Johanna Staemmler (violin) Teresa Schwamm (viola) Peter-Philipp Staemmler (violoncello)

"Dein Wecklied sing’ ich, daß du erwachest; aus sinnendem Schlafe weck’ ich dich auf. Allwissende! Urweltweise! Erda! Erda! Ewiges Weib! Wache, erwache, du Wala! Erwache!" Richard Wagner - "Siegfried", Act 3 - Henri Fantin-Latour, 1886

Don’t let your rose fade, you blissful youth of the gods! Don’t let your beauty age in the troubles of the earth. For this is my joy, sweet life! that you bear within you carefree heaven. Friedrich Hölderlin

The Austrian soprano Lucie Weidt as Sieglinde in Richard Wagner's "Die Walküre", 1905 "Lebe wohl! Dich segnet Sieglindes Weh'!"

Richard Wagner Paris, 1861

The world must be romanticized. In this way, its original meaning is rediscovered. Romanticizing is nothing other than qualitative potentiation. In this operation, the lower self is identified with a better self. We ourselves are such a qualitative series of powers. Novalis

Carl Maria von Weber - "Der Freischütz" Wolfsschlucht (Wolf's Glen), Act 2 Set design by Josef Hoffmann, 1870 "Nein! ob das Herz auch graust, Ich muss! Ich trotze allen Schrecken!"

Anton Seidl (1850-1898) Between September 1882 and June 1883, Seidl conducted 135 complete cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen and 54 Wagner concerts across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, and Italy with Angelo Neumann’s Traveling Wagner Theater.

Be thou my worship, thou my sole desire, Thy paths my pilgrimage, my sense a lyre Aeolian for thine every breath to stir... Alan Seeger

Richard Wagner - "Das Rheingold" Costume design for Wotan Alfred Roller, Vienna 1904

The Grail Castle - Ludwig Fahrenkrog, 1909

Bayreuth Festival director Winifred Wagner and her artistic team during a rehearsal in the Festspielhaus, 1936. Karl Koehler, Paul Eberhardt, Heinz Tietjen, Winifred Wagner, Emil Preetorius and Herbert Anton.

A harper of King Arthur's days Should praise her in a hundred lays... Sara Teasdale

J. S. Bach - Klavierkonzert Nr. 3, BWV 1054 I. Beatrice Rana | Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Richard Wagner - "Siegfried", Act 3 "Süß erbebt mir ihr blühender Mund. Wie mild erzitternd mich Zagen erreizt! Ach! Dieses Athems wonnig warmes Gedüft! Erwache! Erwache! Heiliges Weib!"

It can come to the point where, to some, the world, when viewed from the aesthetic side, appears as a cabinet of caricatures, from the intellectual side as a madhouse, and from the moral side as a den of thieves. Arthur Schopenhauer

The Moravian soprano Maria Jeritza as Elsa in Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin" Vienna, 1930

Heimer and Aslaug - August Malmström, 1856 After the deaths of Sigurd and Brynhildr, their daughter Aslaug was raised by Brynhildr’s foster father Heimer. To shield her from danger, he hid her inside a huge harp and journeyed through the land disguised as a wandering bard.