The performance of the Trilogy in New York has naturally revived among
the Wagnerites the question as to which of the master's works is the
greatest. Leaving aside "Tristan" and "Die Meistersinger," which he
never surpassed, many regard the first act of "Die Walkuere" the most
finished of Wagner's creations; and certainly it has a marvellously
impressive climax--_Siegmund's_ drawing of the sword from the
ash-tree, and the love duo which follows; and another in _Wotan's_
farewell in Act III. But grand as these are, many consider the last
act of "Die Goetterdaemmerung" the supreme achievement of Wagner. The
exquisite trio of the Rhine maidens swimming and singing in a
picturesque forest scene; the death of _Siegfried_, and the procession
that slowly carries his body by the light of the moon up the hill; and
the burning of the funeral pyre at the end, until it is put out by the
rising waters of the Rhine bearing the maidens on the surface; these
scenes, with the glorious music accompanying, cannot be matched by any
act of any other opera. Nevertheless, as a whole, "Siegfried" is, in
my opinion, the grandest part of the Trilogy.
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