In mythical times. In the
depths of the Rhine , the Rhinemaidens
Woglinde, Flosshilde, and Wellgunde laugh and play as they swim. Their singing
attracts the dwarf Alberich, who clumsily tries to catch them, to their
amusement. Suddenly a beam of sunlight falls into the water, creating a golden
glow. The Rhinemaidens joyfully swim around it (“Rheingold! Rheingold!”) while
Alberich, dazzled by the sight, asks them what it is. The girls tell him about
the Rhinegold, a treasure of immeasurable value, and explain that whoever wins
it will gain power over the world, but to do so he must renounce love.
Frustrated by his unsuccessful attempts to catch one of the girls, the ugly
dwarf curses love and steals the gold.
High on a mountain,
Fricka, the goddess of marriage, wakes her husband, Wotan, lord of the gods.
Delighted, he looks at their newly built castle visible in the distance
(“Vollendet das ewige Werk!”), but Fricka reproaches him: Wotan has promised
her sister Freia, goddess of youth, to the giants Fasolt and Fafner in return
for building the fortress. Suddenly Freia runs in, pursued by the giants, who
demand payment. Wotan manages to hold them back with the help of Donner and
Froh, two other gods who rush in to help. Finally Loge, the god of fire,
appears (“Immer ist Undank Loges Lohn!”). He cleverly suggests an alternative
payment: the ring that Alberich has forged from the Rhinegold and all the other
treasures he has accumulated. The giants agree, dragging Freia off as hostage.
With the youth goddess gone, the gods suddenly begin to age. Wotan and Loge
hurry down through the earth to find Alberich.
In Nibelheim, the
underground home of the Nibelungs, Alberich forces his timid brother Mime to
give him the Tarnhelm, a magic helmet Mime has made that transforms its wearer
into any shape and that can carry him anywhere in a second. Alberich tries it
on, turns invisible and torments Mime before going off to terrorize the other
dwarves whom he has enslaved to work for him. Wotan and Loge arrive, and Mime
tells them about Alberich’s cruel dictatorship. Reappearing, Alberich mocks the
gods and threatens to conquer the world and enslave them. Loge asks for a
demonstration of the Tarnhelm and Alberich obliges, turning himself first into
a huge serpent, then into a toad, which the gods capture easily. Loge snatches
the Tarnhelm, and as Alberich resumes his old form they bind him and drag him
off.
Back on the mountain,
Alberich is forced to summon the Nibelungs to heap up the gold for Freia’s
ransom. Loge keeps the Tarnhelm—and Wotan wants the ring. Alberich says he
would rather die than give it up, but Wotan wrests it from his finger, suddenly
overcome with lust for its power. Alberich is shattered. Freed and powerless,
he curses the ring: ceaseless worry and death shall be the destiny of all who
possess it. After the dwarf has left, Fricka, Donner, and Froh welcome back
Wotan and Loge, who show them the pile of gold. The giants return with Freia.
Fasolt, who loves the girl, agrees to accept the gold if it completely hides
her from his view. Froh and Loge pile up the treasure and even give up the
Tarnhelm, but Fasolt can still see Freia’s eye through a crack. Fafner demands
the Ring to close it. When Wotan refuses, the giants start to carry Freia off.
They are stopped by the sudden appearance of Erda, goddess of the earth, who
warns Wotan that possession of the ring will bring about the end of the gods
(“Weiche, Wotan! Weiche!”). Wotan wants to know more and tries to question her,
but she vanishes. He decides to follow her advice and throws the ring on the
hoard. Alberich’s curse immediately claims its first victim as Fafner kills his
brother in a dispute over the ring. The gods are horrified. Donner clears the
air with thunder and lightning and a rainbow appears, forming a bridge to the
castle. Wotan names it Valhalla (“Abendlich
strahlt der Sonne Auge”). As the voices of the Rhinemaidens echo from the
valley below, lamenting the loss of the Rhinegold, the gods proudly walk toward
their new home.
