LOS NIBELUNGOS – La muerte de Sigfrido

THE CRAZY 20s IN ARRIAGA

In 1924, Fritz Lang undertook one of his most ambitious film projects: Los nibelungos, inspired by the epic poem “The song of the Nibelungs” and comprised up of the films The death of Siegfried and The revenge of Kriemhild. Arriaga Theatre and the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa offer a special concert in which the BOS, conducted by Nacho de Paz, performs the music from the first of the two films in this project, The death of Siegfried (in the original “Siegfried Tod”), while the film is projected on a giant screen.

Larger than life, inspired by mediaeval Norse legends and enriched by the striking imagery of German expressionism, The death of Siegfried is a monumental performance. On presenting the story of Siegfried, Fritz Lang took full advantage of cinematic innovations and the creative vision of the artists of the production company Decla-Bioscop. The imposing trees, the treasure-filled caves, and the seventy-foot dragon were built to life-size scale in the studio’s workshops. Special effects technicians devised new formats and optical tricks when the perspective of the action was too immense to be reduced to the confines of a studio. The result – Siegfried – astounds, not only for re-narrating the intriguing 13th-century legend but also for the magical technical resources that brought it to life 700 years later.

Considered a masterpiece of German silent films, its soundtrack was composed by Gottfried Huppertz, whose music we were able to enjoy not long ago at the Arriaga in the concert-screening of Metropolis. His composition adds to the scenes as well as the characters. Barely three years after the centenary of its premiere, with the film restored and thanks to the recovery of the score preserved in the German Cinematex, we can now see this jewel of cinema on the big screen of Arriaga Theatre together with a live orchestra.