Das Rheingold

Beneath the waters of the River Rhine shines the ancient Rhine Gold. Meanwhile, far above the world, Wotan, leader of the all-powerful gods, prepares to rule over the Earth. But Wotan’s fortress of Valhalla is built on an act of deception, and the treasure in the Rhine contains a force stronger than any living being. All it demands is a willingness to renounce love. In Das Rheingold (1869), the “preliminary evening” of his four-part opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner lays out the mythology behind the drama to come, creating a world of gods and giants, dwarves and water spirits, and the forging of an all-powerful ring. It’s grounded in ancient Germanic legends, and Wagner paints his new world in sounds of unprecedented richness and colour, with a huge orchestra summoning visions of heavenly castles, rainbow bridges, fiery forges and the ever-flowing depths of the Rhine itself. He introduces a cast of vividly drawn characters: the malevolent Alberich, the lordly Wotan, the fire-spirit Loge, and the giants Fasolt and Fafner. Outwardly they’re figures of pure fantasy, but in Wagner’s hands they’re all too human—and while Das Rheingold can be enjoyed in its own right (it’s the shortest opera in the Ring cycle), Wagner is skilfully setting the scene and creating the musical material for the vast tragedy that is to follow. About Wagner’s Ring Cycle The four operas of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen constitute one of the supreme achievements in Western art. Composed between 1848 and 1876, and first performed over four nights in a specially built opera house in Bayreuth, Germany, in 1878, the Ring cycle brings together every aspect of theatre—music, poetry, acting and visual imagery—to create what Wagner called a “complete artwork”: a universal drama of all-embracing richness and depth. Based on ancient Germanic myths, it’s a true modern epic: an eternal story of love and power, humanity and nature, told in music of overwhelming originality, insight and emotion.