The Music of Wotan's Entrance in Wagner's Ring Cycle

We can find particular 'majestic' and 'monumental' sound at Wotan's entrance (the chief god governing Valhalla) in the Ring Cycle:  the Prelude of Act 2 in "Walküre" and the Prelude of Act 3 in "Siegfried." Both preludes feature the stomping rhythm invoking military march and stentorian brass clang that effectively describe the chief god's ruling power and dignity.

Wagner had initially conceived Wotan as a protagonist in the tetrology with an happy ending, but he modified his idea, after experiencing Schopenhauer's pessimistic philosophy of "The World as Will and Representation"(Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung) in 1856. In the final version of the Cycle, Wotan is given less dramatic emphasis than Siegfried who is the principal character doomed to death. For example, Wotan's final appearance is seen in Act 3 of "Siegfried" and he does not show up at all in the last installment "Götterdämmerung," although audiences must be curious about where Wotan is and what he is doing at the moment of Valhalla's collapse. He simply withdraws from the opera (or run away alone? No, no, it's not proper action for the king of the gods.) without leaving any clue to trace his trajectory.

However, the heroic and splendid music that Wagner wrote for the leader of the gods still vividly conveys Wotan's invincible force and mighty charisma. Indeed, I think the two Preludes are the most powerful and vibrant moments in the Cycle, a soundscape of masculine physicality.

In the linked clip below, Act 2 Prelude of "Walküre" starts first, then Act 3 Prelude of "Siegfried" comes at 2:18. The latter continues to Wotan's invocation of Erda (the primeval goddess of the earth).

*Wiener Philharmoniker under the baton of Goerg Solti; Hans Hotter as Wotan (Wanderer) in Act 3 of "Siegfried (Youtube Cr: mondolariano)