Richard Wagner. The Ring of the Nibelung. Prologue. The Rhine Gold

"The Ring of the Nibelung" is a cycle of four epic operas by Richard Wagner: "Das Rheingold", "Valkyrie", "Siegfried", "Götterdämmerung". The total performance time of all four operas is more than 15 hours. The creation of the tetralogy took the composer almost a quarter of a century. Wagner's concept is based on the motifs of folk legends, sagas, literary monuments of the Middle Ages, the great German epic poem of the 13th century "The Song of the Nibelungs", Scandinavian songs "Edda", etc. The librettos of the parts of the tetralogy, written by the composer, were created in reverse order - from the last opera to the first. In the original concept, Siegfried reigned supreme, young, bright and pure. He was supposed, according to the composer, "to teach humanity the knowledge of injustice, its eradication and the construction of a just world in place of the world of evil." However, later the tragic image of the king of the gods Wotan acquired great significance, as did Siegfried, who submitted to fate. The root cause of evil is the curse of gold, which leads to crimes, murders and ultimately to the destruction of the world. The power of gold is stronger than people and gods.

All four operas were first performed in August 1876 in Bayreuth.

"Das Rheingold" is a prologue, the first of four operas in the cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen".

In the depths of the Rhine, the mermaids frolic - Woglinde, Velgunde and Flosshilde. They guard the treasure - the Rhine gold. The Nibelung Alberich watches over the beauties.

The rays of the rising sun, penetrating the thickness of the waters, illuminate the treasure. Alberich is attracted by the glitter of the treasure. The mermaids let it slip that by taking possession of the Rhine gold and forging a ring from it, one can gain unlimited power over the world. But only he who renounces love can do this. Alberich curses love and steals the gold. The Valhalla palace was built for the gods by the giant brothers Fafner and Fasolt. The supreme god Wotan and his wife Fricka admire the castle. Fricka reproaches her husband: in payment for the construction of Valhalla, he promised the giants her sister Freya, the goddess of youth and beauty. She keeps the golden apples that give the gods eternal youth. When the giants appear, Freya begs Wotan, Fricka and the brothers Donner and Froh to save her. But Wotan does not even think of keeping his word. He relies on the help of Loge, the cunning and elusive god of fire, who promises to find him a way out of a difficult situation.

The giants know that without Freya, the gods will lose their eternal youth and with it their power. Fafner and Fasolt demand what they have promised. Finally, Loge appears. He has searched the entire world, but has found nothing that could be given to the giants instead of the goddess of youth. But now he is more worried about something else: the Rhine gold has been stolen. The priceless treasure has fallen into the hands of a Nibelung who has forged a ring that gives power over the world. Loge asks Wotan to help the Rhine daughters return the treasure. However, Wotan himself already dreams of taking possession of the ring. And the giants are ready to exchange Freya for gold - they take the goddess away awaiting ransom. Left without Freya, the gods begin to age before our eyes. Wotan decides to get the ring and together with Loge sets off to the underground kingdom of the Nibelungs.

An underground cave in Nibelheim. Once upon a time, the Nibelungs mined jewelry only for pleasure. Now Alberich forces them to work day and night to increase their wealth. He made his brother, the skilled blacksmith Mime, forge a magic helmet. By putting it on, he can take on any form. Only now can the dwarf not be afraid of being robbed. Wotan and Loge appear. Alberich proudly shows them the gold mined by the Nibelungs and threatens to conquer the whole world. The cunning Loge, having learned about the helmet, wants to see for himself its magical power. At the request of the gods, Alberich first turns into a huge snake, then into a toad. This is just what the cunning man was waiting for: Wotan steps on the toad, and Loge tears the helmet off Alberich. Wotan and Loge lead the prisoner out of the dungeon. They offer the Nibelung a ransom: his life will cost him all his accumulated wealth. Alberich agrees, and on his orders the Nibelungs bring the gold. The dwarf wants to keep only one ring for himself, but Wotan takes it away. Then the Nibelung curses the ring: anyone who does not have it will covet it, and whoever does is doomed to grief and death. Wotan is not afraid of the curse. He announces to the gods that the treasure has been found, and they will pay the giants with gold. Fasolt and Fafner return for the ransom and demand as much gold as is needed to cover Freya from head to toe. Even when Wotan sacrifices the magic helmet, the treasure is not enough. The rude men demand the ring. But Wotan will not part with it at any cost. The gods are worried: the giants are ready to take Freya away again. At this fateful moment, the prophetic goddess Erda appears from the depths of the earth and prophesies the death of the gods if Wotan does not give up the ring. Overcoming himself, he obeys. But the Nibelung's curse is immediately fulfilled: Fafner kills his brother and takes all the gold for himself. Wotan understands that he himself brought evil into the world, and that Valhalla was given to him at the price of this evil.

The gods prepare for the ceremonial entry into their new abode: Donner, the god of thunder, summons a storm, and the god of light Froh builds a rainbow bridge to Valhalla. Loge senses that this is the beginning of the end. From afar, the singing of the Rhine daughters can be heard, bitterly mourning the gold of the Rhine.

PERFORMERS:

Wotan - Wolfgang Probst

Fricka - Michaela Schuster

Donner - Motti Karton

Froh - Bernhard Schneider

Freya - Helga Ros Indridadottir

Loge - Robert Künzli

Erda - Mette Eising

Alberich - Esa Ruuttunen

States Orchestra Stuttgart

Conductor - Lothar Zagrosek

States Opera Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2003