“Compulsive plague! pain without end!” How Richard Wagner played out his migraine in the opera Siegfried
BMJ 2013; 347 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f6952 (Published 12 December 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f6952
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The interesting article on Wagner's presumed depiction of migraine in 'Siegfried' prompts speculation that another major opera composer - George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759) - may also have had this disorder. Although the possibility of migraine in Handel is more speculative than in Wagner, aspects of Handel's medical history do suggest that he may have had occasional episodes of migraine aura with weakness of the right hand and speech disturbance.
Such episodes are mentioned in contemporary documents about Handel for the years 1737 and 1743, and a possible similar episode may have occurred in 1741 or 1742 when Handel was in Dublin (1).
The alternative possibility of a transient ischaemic attack affecting the left cerebral hemisphere cannot be ruled out, although it is perhaps noteworthy that Handel is not known to have had long-term neurological sequelae (a situation that would seem to rule out a cerebrovascular accident) and that he lived for 22 years after the first such episode. Moreover, his productivity as a composer was unimpaired until the onset of visual impairment (itself of unknown cause) in 1751.
The fact that headache is not mentioned in contemporary accounts of Handel's health would not necessarily rule out migraine aura as the cause of the hand weakness and speech disturbance mentioned above.
1. Burrows D. Handel(2nd edition); The Master Musicians (series). Oxford University Press (2012)
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: “Compulsive plague! pain without end!” How Richard Wagner played out his migraine in the opera Siegfried
Attempting to correlate the condition of a composer with his compositions can be fraught with problems as is demonstrated by the interesting article of Goebel and colleagues. The title of this article is even in question as the original words of Mime are “Zwangfolle Plage! Műh ohne Zweck”, which could equally be translated as “Compulsive plague, trouble without end”, noting the use of Műh rather than the more commonly used German word for pain, namely Schmerz. This relates to the continuing trouble that Mime had in trying to forge together the shattered fragments of the sword Notung, as a result of the intervention of Wotan who shattered it to stop Siegmund beating Hunding in battle. Mime was a master craftsman, whose skill at the forge was without equal, yet he was incapable of forging the sword, hence his great frustration, and, indeed, trouble without end.
The other problem is in taking Siegfried on its own, when the leitmotif has to be taken in the ring cycle as a whole. It is noted from the letter quoted in the article that Wagner had no trouble with composing Rheingold, but it is here that the themes first appear. The “migraine headache leitmotif” is the theme of the dwarf smiths in the underworld (Rheingold Scene 3), and is forever associated with smithing. Similarly the “migraine aura leitmotif” finds its first appearance in Rheingold with the appearance of Loge, who is the God of fire and lies as well as the patron off smiths. This appears again in Act 3 of Valkyrie when Wotan summons Loge to make the ring of fire which shall protect Brunhilde from only the bravest of the brave.
Therefore, although the arguments put forward by Goebel and colleagues are interesting, I do not feel that the context of the leitmotifs in the Ring cycle as a whole can support their theory. It is very difficult to interpret music in the light of the situation of the composer unless there are clear signs that the work should be taken as autobiographical, such as in the first string quartet of Smetana, entitled “From my life”. The very title indicates the autobiographical nature, and includes in the final movement a very clear portrayal of his tinnitus.
Competing interests: No competing interests