It is one of the most instantly recognizable melodies in human history, yet Richard Wagner called playing it outside its original setting an utter indiscretion and tried to forbid standalone performances entirely. This deep dive tracks the wild journey of the Ride of the Valkyries, from a leitmotif jotted down on July 23, 1851, to a fiercely guarded eight-minute ensemble scene in Die Walkure, to a soundtrack for paratroopers, attack helicopters, and an animated rabbit.

We explain how leitmotifs work and how John Williams borrowed the concept for Star Wars, why the ride is one of the only ensemble pieces in the first three operas of the Ring cycle, and how a premiere forced by King Ludwig II in 1870 unleashed a flood of requests that Wagner and his wife Cosima found insulting. We then follow his reversal after the 1876 Bayreuth performances, ...