This is a summary of the plot
of Richard Wagner’s scene-setting first opera of The Ring Cycle. Das Rheingold
was first performed in Munich in 1869.
Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold is the first of
the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen, usually referred to as
the Ring Cycle. Wagner based the story on a number of Scandinavian and Norse
myths, and disentangling his sources has provided many a scholar with material
for a PhD. The operas, which took 26 years to complete, are often performed
separately, but the full story is only appreciated by seeing all four, although
some of the necessary narrative is not presented on stage. The basic idea, of a
magic ring that gives awesome power to the wearer, but which must eventually be
destroyed, will be familiar to any reader of Tolkien's "The Hobbit"
and "The Lord of the Rings", and the coincidence is not entirely
accidental.
Act 1. The River Rhine (not on it, but in it!)
Suspension of disbelief is
required right from the start, as we are on the bed of the river and the
characters are still able to sing! The three Rhine-maidens guard a quantity of
gold that has the power to give the owner boundless power, the only snag being
that he or she must forswear love for ever. Alberich the dwarf has his eye on the
gold, and he manages to trick the maidens into telling him its secret. He likes
the idea of being master of the world and is not too bothered about the loss of
a love life, so he steals the gold and makes off with it.
Act 2. The gardens of Valhalla ,
the home of the gods (a bit of a challenge for the scene shifters)
The giants Fasolt and Fafner
have built Valhalla for the gods, and it is
time to be paid. The deal, worked out by Loki, god of fire, with Wotan, the
chief god, is that the price is Freya, the goddess of love. When the giants
carry her off the flowers wither and die, the trees refuse to bear fruit, and
the gods start to grow old. There is only one thing to be done, which is that
the giants must be bought off with, you guessed it, the magic gold, which is
now guarded by the dwarves deep underground. Wotan and Loki set off to find it.
Act 3. The cavern of the dwarves
Alberich is guarding the gold
with great care. He has used some of the gold to make a ring which gives him
power over both gods and men. He has also commanded Mime the smith to make him
an invisible cap that enables him to assume any shape he pleases. When Wotan
and Loki turn up, he boastingly shows off his powers by turning himself into,
firstly, a dragon and then, at Loki's suggestion, a toad (another challenge of
staging!). Loki captures the toad and refuses to release him until he has given
up all his treasures, including the cap and the ring. Alberich, however, puts a
curse on anyone who subsequently wears the ring.
Act 4. Valhalla
Wotan and Loki return in
triumph with the treasure and summon Fasolt and Fafner to meet them. The giants
bring Freya along and the gold is presented to them, although Wotan secretly
hopes to keep hold of the cap and the ring. However, the giants demand these as
well, and threaten to carry Freya off with them again. Wotan has no choice but
to yield, but he foresees dire consequences. The curse of the ring does not
take long to show itself, as the giants immediately quarrel between themselves
and Fafner kills Fasolt. The opera ends with the gods crossing a rainbow bridge
into their palace and the Rhine-maidens are heard lamenting their loss.
© John Welford
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