Music Library Thematic Displays: Mythology

September 2024

Mythology in Music

Myths have been used to tell stories in music since the Baroque era. The first composed opera was Dafne by Jacopo Peri and it was seen as a method of trying to revive the method of Greek tragedy storytelling. L’Orfeo by Monteverdi is the oldest opera composed that is still being performed. Both of these operas are about Greek myths!

In Greek mythology, Prometheus, a Titan and god of fire, is known for taking the fire from the Olympian gods and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge, and in general civilization.

Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, condemned Prometheus to eternal torment for stealing fire. As punishment, Prometheus was bound to a rock, and an eagle was sent to eat his liver which would grow back overnight in an ongoing cycle.

In the Western classical tradition, Prometheus symbolized human striving and the risk of unintended consequences. In particular, in the Romantic era, he was considered the lone genius whose efforts to improve human existence could also lead to tragedy.

Orpheus was a Thracian bard, prophet, poet, and legendary musician in Greek mythology. As an archetype of the inspired singer, Orpheus is renowned for his ability to charm living things and stones, his attempt to save his wife Eurydice from the underworld, and his tragic death by Maenads of Dionysus. He is a significant figure in Western culture, portrayed in various forms of art, including poetry, film, opera, music, and painting.

Orpheus's story has commonly been told through opera by prolific composers such as Monteverdi, Gluck, Handel, and Aucoin. L’Orfeo by Monteverdi is the oldest opera composed that is still being performed.

Ariadne, daughter of Pasiphae and Minos, was a Greek mythological figure who fell in love with

Athenian hero Theseus. With a thread, She helped him escape the Labyrinth after killing the

Minotaur -a half man half bull beast- Legends vary, with some claiming she was abandoned

by Theseus and hanged herself, while others suggest he left her to die in Naxos,

where she was rescued and married Dionysus.

Ariadne’s story was later taken up by European artists, writers, and composers, including Richard Strauss in his opera Ariadne auf Naxos.

The Ring of the Nibelung is a cycle of four epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner, all with German librettos by the composer himself. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the Nibelungenlied. 

Wagner wrote the libretto and music over the course of about twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. The four parts that constitute the Ring cycle are, in sequence:

Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold)

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie)

Siegfried

Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)