Die Walküre is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner with a German libretto by the composer. It is the second of the four operas that form Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).
The story of the opera is based on the Norse mythology told in the Volsunga Saga and the Poetic Edda. In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one in a group of female figures who decide which soldiers die in battle and which live. Die Walküre's best-known excerpt is the "Ride of the Valkyries".
It was first presented as part of the complete cycle on August 14, 1876 at Wagner's Bayreuth Festival. The opera made its United States premiere at the Academy of Music in New York on April 2, 1877.
This “Live” 1953 performance from the Bayreuth Festival stars Hans Hotter and Astrid Varnay and is conducted by Clemens Krauss.
