Gotterdammerung (brief)

For the longer version of the synopsis from the 1965 London Records recording, click here.

Prologue

By a cave on the Valkyries’ rock, the three Norns, daughters of Erda, weave the rope of destiny (“Welch Licht leuchtet dort?”). They tell how Wotan ordered the world ash tree, from which his spear was once cut, to be felled and its wood piled around Valhalla. The burning of the pyre will mark the end of the old order of the gods. When one of the Norns mentions Alberich and the theft of the Rhinegold, the rope breaks. The Norns’ wisdom has ended. Terrified, they descend into the earth.

At dawn, Siegfried and Brünnhilde emerge from the cave (“Zu neuen Taten”). The former Valkyrie has given Siegfried her armor and taught him all her wisdom. Now she sends him into the world to do heroic deeds. As a pledge of his love, Siegfried gives her the ring he took from the dragon Fafner, and she offers her horse, Grane, in return. They say goodbye and Siegfried sets off on his travels (Rhine Journey).

Act I

In the hall of the Gibichungs on the banks of the Rhine, Gunther and Gutrune discuss the royal family’s diminishing glory with their half-brother, Hagen. Hagen envies Gunther his position as legitimate heir, while the cowardly Gunther wishes he had Hagen’s cleverness. Hagen advises Gunther and Gutrune to strengthen their rule through marriage, suggesting Brünnhilde as Gunther’s bride and Siegfried as Gutrune’s husband. Since only the strongest hero can pass throught the fire on Brünnhilde’s rock, Hagen proposes a daring plan: a magic potion will make Siegfried forget Brünnhilde and fall in love with Gutrune. To win her as his wife, he will get Brünnhilde for Gunther. When Siegfried’s horn is heard from the river, Hagen calls him ashore. Gutrune offers the potion to Siegfried, who salutes Brünnhilde as he takes the cup but the moment he drinks loses all memory of her and confesses his love for Gutrune. Gunther describes the bride he has chosen for himself: a girl on a mountain, surrounded by fire. Siegfried offers to walk through the flames, using the Tarnhelm to transform himself into Gunther. The two men take an oath of blood brotherhood (“Blühenden Lebens labendes Blut”) but Hagen declines to join, declaring his own blood impure. Siegfried and Gunther leave, with Hagen staying behind, keeping watch on the banks of the river (“Hier sitz ich zur Wacht”).

On the mountaintop, Brünnhilde waits for Siegfried’s return, when the sudden arrival of her sister Waltraute interrupts her thoughts. Horrified by the impending destruction of Valhalla, Waltraute has come to ask for Brünnhilde’s help. The only way to save the gods, she says, is for Brünnhilde to give the ring back to the Rhinemaidens, its rightful owners. Brünnhilde angrily refuses, declaring that Siegfried’s love is more important to her than the fate of the gods. Waltraute leaves in despair. When Siegfried’s horn sounds in the distance, Brünnhilde is overjoyed. Her happiness quickly turns into confusion and terror when a strange figure appears before her, claiming her as Gunther’s bride and tearing the ring from her hand.

Act II

As Hagen sits sleeping outside the Gibichungs’ hall at night, Alberich appears as if in a dream and reminds his son that he has to win back the ring (“Schläfst du, Hagen, mein Sohn?”). Dawn breaks and Siegfried arrives, telling Hagen that Gunther and Brünnhilde will follow soon by boat. Hagen summons the Gibichung clan to welcome their king (“Hoiho, hoiho!”), and Gunther enters with the humiliated Brünnhilde. When she sees Siegfried, her initial astonishment immediately turns into anger and she furiously accuses him of betraying her. Still under the spell of the potion, Siegfried innocently tells her he is to marry Gutrune and that she will become Gunther’s wife. Noticing the ring on Siegfried’s finger, Brünnhilde demands to know who gave it to him, since only the night before it was taken from her hand, supposedly by Gunther. Hagen urges Brünnhilde to explain further and tells the men to listen well. Accusing Siegfried to have stolen the ring, Brünnhilde declares he is her husband. Siegfried protests, swearing on Hagen’s spear that he has done no wrong (“Helle Wehr! Heilige Waffe!”). He dismisses Brünnhilde’s accusations and leads Gutrune and the men into the hall to celebrate.

Beside herself with fury, Brünnhilde can only think of vengeance (“Welches Unhold’s List”). Hagen offers to kill Siegfried, but Brünnhilde tells him he is invincible: she has protected him with magic—except for his back, which he would never turn to an enemy. Gunther hesitates to join the conspiracy, but when Brünnhilde calls him a coward and Hagen explains the ring’s power to him, he gives in. Hagen suggests that the murder should be made to look like a hunting accident. While Gunther and Brünnhilde ask the gods for help, Hagen invokes Alberich.

Act III

Siegfried, separated from his hunting party, meets the three Rhinemaidens by the banks of the river. The girls ask him to return the ring to them and he almost agrees, but when they tell him of Alberich’s curse he decides to keep it to prove he is not afraid. Predicting Siegfried’s imminent death, the Rhinemaidens disappear as Hagen, Gunther, and the other hunters enter. Asked by Hagen to tell them about his youth, Siegfried describes his life with Mime, the forging of the sword Nothung, and his fight with the dragon (“Mime hiess ein mürrischer Zwerg”). While he is talking, Hagen offers him wine containing an antidote to the potion of forgetfulness. His memory restored, Siegfried continues his tale, describing how he walked through the fire and woke Brünnhilde. At the mention of her name, Hagen stabs Siegfried with his spear. When the shocked Gunther asks what he has done, Hagen replies that he avenged a false oath. Remembering Brünnhilde with his last words, Siegfried dies and is carried off (Funeral Music).

Back at the Gibichungs’ hall, Gutrune wakes from a bad dream, wondering what has happened to Siegfried. When his body is carried in, she accuses Gunther of murder, who replies that Hagen is the guilty one. The two men fight about the ring and Gunther is killed. As Hagen reaches for the ring, the dead Siegfried threateningly raises his arm, terrifying everyone. Brünnhilde enters and calmly orders a funeral pyre to be built on the banks of the Rhine (“Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort”). She denounces the gods for their guilt in Siegfried’s death, takes the ring from his hand and promises it to the Rhinemaidens. Putting the ring on her finger, she lights the pyre and leaps into the flames. The river overflows its banks and destroys the hall. Hagen, trying to get to the ring, is dragged into the water by the Rhinemaidens, who joyfully reclaim their gold. In the distance, Valhalla and the gods are seen, surrounded by flames.

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