Tolkien avant la lettre: Das Rheingold sets the tone for Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (#1)

Scene 1

The tale begins with the hideous Nibelung dwarf Alberich. He tries to seduce one of the three Rhinemaidens, beautiful water nymphs who live in the Rhine to guard the Rhinegold. But the maidens play a cruel game with him; they flirt, lure him along, and then dive away laughing, much to the dwarf’s frustration.

Then the sun breaks through. The Rhinegold glows with a magical radiance, instantly catching Alberich’s eye. “What is that?” he asks. The naïve maidens reveal the secret: whoever forges a ring from this gold will become ruler of the world. There is one condition: you must renounce love forever. To them, Alberich seems utterly harmless—after all, he is hopelessly in love.

A grave mistake, as it turns out. Boiling with rage at the maidens’ taunts, Alberich cries: “Then I renounce love!” He leaps upon the gold, seizes it, and vanishes into the depths. The Rhinemaidens are left stunned, bereft of the precious and powerful treasure they had guarded for so long.

Scene 2

Hidden deep in the mountains, the chief god Wotan and his wife Fricka awake to the sight of their new abode: a colossal fortress named Valhalla. The castle has been built by the giant brothers Fasolt and Fafner. Now that their work is finished, the giants expect to be paid—but that is easier said than done.

For Wotan has promised Fricka’s sister, the goddess Freia, as payment. And Freia is no ordinary goddess; she is the keeper of the golden apples that grant the gods their eternal youth. Without her, the gods would wither and become mortal. In other words, Wotan has struck a catastrophically poor bargain.

The giants arrive to claim their reward. Wotan, however, tries to stall for time, awaiting the arrival of his cunning adviser Loge. Just as the giants prepare to drag Freia away by force, Loge appears. He announces that he has just learned of a dwarf named Alberich, who has stolen the Rhinegold and forged from it an all-powerful ring. The giants’ ears, especially those of the greedy Fafner, immediately prick up. Gold sounds far more appealing than a goddess. They propose a new deal: they will exchange Freia for Alberich’s hoard, ring included. Until then, they take Freia with them as a hostage.

Scene 3

Wotan has no choice. Together with Loge he descends to the underworld of Nibelheim to seize Alberich’s treasure. Nibelheim is an industrial hell, swarming with toiling dwarves. Alberich, with the ring upon his finger, rules as a merciless tyrant. He has forced his brother Mime to forge the Tarnhelm: a magical helmet that can render its wearer invisible and allow them to change shape at will.

Alberich’s boastfulness about the helm proves to be a gift to Wotan and Loge. They decide to use his pride against him and adopt a sceptical air: “A ring that grants power, fair enough. But that helmet… can it really do what you claim?” Alberich, brimming with bravado, falls for the trap. He dons the Tarnhelm and transforms into a gigantic, terrifying dragon. Loge feigns terror at the sight, but goads him further: “But can you become something small? Now that would be truly useful for hiding.”

And so Alberich turns himself into a toad. He has barely completed the transformation when – BAM! Wotan slams his foot down, pinning the toad so it cannot escape. The creature shifts back into Alberich, who is then dragged away in chains to the world above.

Scene 4

Back on the mountain, the dwarf is forced to pay his ransom. Alberich summons his minions to haul the entire treasure up from the depths. Even the Tarnhelm must be surrendered. Then Wotan’s eye falls upon the golden ring glittering on Alberich’s finger. “That as well,” he commands.

Alberich refuses, but Wotan violently wrenches the jewel from his hand. Bereft of everything, the dwarf does the only thing left to him: he lays a terrible curse upon the ring. “Whoever possesses it will be consumed by greed. Whoever lacks it will kill to obtain it. The ring will bring nothing but death to its bearer.”

The giants return with Freia. They demand that the treasure be piled so high that she is completely hidden from sight. Even the Tarnhelm is placed on top to conceal the last strands of her golden hair. But still Fasolt peers through a gap, gazing straight into Freia’s eyes. The hole must be sealed. Fafner’s gaze, however, is fixed on the ring, now glittering on Wotan’s hand.

Wotan, already under the ring’s spell, refuses to part with it. At that moment, the primeval goddess Erda rises from the earth. She delivers a chilling warning: “Yield, Wotan, yield! The ring brings only ruin and the doom of the gods.” Terrified, Wotan casts the ring onto the pile, thus securing his sister-in-law’s release. Alberich’s curse seems to take effect at once: the giants quarrel over the division of the hoard. Greedy Fafner strikes down his brother with a massive club and vanishes with the entire treasure.

The gods are shaken by what has just unfolded. To dispel the grim atmosphere, the thunder god conjures a storm to clear the skies, after which a rainbow bridge appears, leading towards their new fortress of Valhalla. As the gods triumphantly cross into their palace, a lament rises from the depths: the Rhinemaidens, still mourning their lost gold. The seed of Götterdämmerung, the twilight of the gods, has been sown.

It is clear: Das Rheingold is only the beginning of a great deal of misery.

On Sunday 26 April 2026, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jaap van Zweden, will perform the first act of Die Walküre, the second opera in Der Ring des Nibelungen.