Act I
In his cave deep in the
forest, the dwarf Mime forges a sword for his foster son Siegfried (“Zwangvolle
Plage!”). He hates the boy but hopes that Siegfried will kill the dragon
Fafner, who guards the Nibelungs’ treasure, so that Mime can get the all-powerful
ring and rule the world. Siegfried runs in, picks up the new sword and smashes
it, raging at Mime’s incompetence. The dwarf, acting innocently, offers him
food and kind words, but Siegfried doesn’t want any of it. He knows he cannot
be Mime’s real son, as there is no physical resemblance between them, and
demands to know who his parents were. For the first time, Mime tells Siegfried
how he found his mother, Sieglinde, in the woods and how she died giving birth
to him. Siegfried is moved by the story but asks for proof. When Mime shows him
the fragments of his father’s sword, Nothung, Siegfried orders Mime to repair
it for him and rushes out.
As Mime sinks down in
despair, a stranger enters. It is Wotan, lord of the gods, in human disguise as
the Wanderer (“Heil dir, weiser Schmied”). He challenges the fearful Mime to a
riddle competition, in which the loser forfeits his head. The Wanderer easily
answers Mime’s three questions—who lives under the earth (the Nibelungs), on it
(the giants), and above it (the gods). Mime in turn knows the answers to the
traveler’s first two questions but gives up in terror when asked who will
repair the sword Nothung. The Wanderer admonishes Mime for enquiring about
faraway matters when he doesn’t know about the things that closely concern him.
Then he departs, leaving the dwarf’s head to “him who knows no fear” and who
will re-forge the magic blade.
When Siegfried returns
demanding his father’s sword, Mime tells him that he can’t repair it and tries
in vain to explain the concept of fear to the boy. To teach him, he proposes a
visit to Fafner’s cave. Siegfried agrees and enthusiastically begins to forge
the sword himself (“Nothung! Neidliches Schwert!”). While he works, Mime
prepares a sleeping potion to give to Siegfried once he has killed Fafner.
Flashing the finished sword, the boy smashes the anvil in half and runs off
into the forest.
Act II
That same night, Mime’s
brother Alberich is hiding by the entrance to Fafner’s cave, obsessed with
thoughts of winning back the ring. The Wanderer enters, assuring the startled
Nibelung that he is not after the ring. Instead, he warns Alberich to watch out
for Mime. He then wakes Fafner and tells him that a young hero is on his way to
kill him. Unimpressed, the dragon goes back to sleep. The Wanderer and Alberich
disappear.
As Dawn breaks, Mime and
Siegfried arrive. The youth sends Mime away and, caught up in the peaceful
beauty of the woods, thinks about his parents (Forest Murmurs). Listening to
the song of a bird, he tries to imitate it on a reed pipe but fails and blows
his horn instead. This awakens Fafner, who comes out of the cave, and in the
ensuing fight Siegfried kills the dragon. With his dying breath, he warns the
boy of the destructive power of the treasure. When Siegfried accidentally
touches a drop of Fafner’s blood to his lips, he suddenly understands the
singing of the bird, directing him to the gold in the cave (“Hei! Siegfried
gehört nun der Niblungen Hort!”). Alberich and Mime appear quarreling but
withdraw as Siegfried comes out with the ring and the Tarnhelm. The bird warns
Siegfried not to trust Mime, and when the dwarf returns with the potion,
Siegfried kills him. The bird then tells Siegfried of a beautiful woman named
Brünnhilde, asleep on a mountain surrounded by fire. He immediately sets out to
find her.
Act III
On a wild mountain pass,
the Wanderer summons Erda, goddess of the Earth, to learn the gods’ fate
(“Wache, Wala!”). She evades his questions, and he resigns himself to the
impending end of the gods’ reign. His hope now rests with Brünnhilde and
Siegfried and the redemptive power of their love. When Siegfried approaches,
making fun of the god whom he takes for a mere old man, the Wanderer attempts
to block his path. With a stroke of Nothung, Siegfried shatters the Wanderer’s
spear (the same one that smashed Nothung to pieces years before) and advances.
Dawn breaks on the
mountaintop where Brünnhilde sleeps. Siegfried, who has never before seen a
woman, thinks he has discovered a man. When he removes Brünnhilde’s armor, he
is overwhelmed by the sight of her beauty. For the first time he feels fear.
Mastering his emotions, he awakens the girl with a kiss. Hailing the daylight
(“Heil dir, Sonne!”), Brünnhilde is overjoyed to learn that it is Siegfried who
has brought her back to life. At first she resists his declarations of passion,
realizing that earthly love must end her immortal life (“Ewig war ich”).
Finally understanding that her vanished godhood has left her a mortal woman,
she says goodbye to Valhalla and joins
Siegfried in praise of love.
