Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), WWV 86B, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner with a German libretto by the composer. The composition process lasted from 1856 until the premiere in 1870. It is the second of the four operas that form Wagner's cycle 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' ('The Ring of the Nibelung'), although it was the third to be conceived (as Wagner's idea grew backwards from Sigfried's death to include in his cycle the tales of his youth and conception). 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", which went on to become an iconic piece because of its use in many films, particularly Apocalypse Now.
