Help me find this humorous "cliff notes" version of Götterdämmerung.

June 15, 2013 5:14 AM

Many years ago I heard a very funny recording that I know not the name of. It consisted of a woman (maybe a former opera singer?) explaining the story of the Wagner opera "Götterdämmerung".

She basically condensed the story in a humorous way, at times taking to a piano to play/sing bits of the songs. The woman had an English accent if I recall and it was recorded before an audience. That's all I can really remember. Can anyone help me figure out what this was? It's been perplexing me for YEARS and my googlefu is failing.

posted by poolsidemuse to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Best answer: If you're thinking of the same performance I am (posh British woman?) you might be thinking of Anna Russell. Here's at least one of them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07E5sLsJQe0
posted by Clambone at 5:24 AM on June 15, 2013 [7 favorites]

Clambone's already got it, but yes, this is absolutely Anna Russell doing The Ring of the Nibelungs (An Analysis). I grew up with a vinyl record of this which lived on the shelf right next to Mel Brooks' and Carl Reiner's Two Thousand Year Old Man.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 5:51 AM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: YES! See, this is why I love mefi. Thank you so much!
posted by poolsidemuse at 6:07 AM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]