Tuesday, March 14, 2017

The Unbuilt Nazi Pantheon: Unpacking Albert Speer's "Volkshalle"

The Unbuilt Nazi Pantheon: Unpacking Albert Speer's "Volkshalle"

According to Albert Speer, Hitler's ambitious architect and all-too-capable Minister of Armaments and War Production, the final performance by the Berlin Philharmonic before this distinguished orchestra abandoned Berlin in May 1945 opened with Brünnhilde's last aria-the vengeful valkyrie sings of setting fire to Valhalla-and the finale from Wagner's Götterdämmerung.