A brief explanation of "The Ring of the Nibelung"

A brief explanation of "The Ring of the Nibelung."

//Summary - Level-C2//

Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen is a complex opera cycle based on Norse mythology. It spans four parts—Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung—and lasts 15 hours over four days. The story revolves around a powerful ring forged by Rhinegold, cursing its possessor. Central figures include the god Wotan, the hero Siegfried, and the Valkyrie Brünnhilde. Betrayal, love, and revenge drive the narrative, culminating in the destruction of the gods' world, but with a glimmer of hope as the Rhinegold is returned, suggesting the possibility of renewal.

//SYNOPSIS//

"The Ring of the Nibelung is a complex cycle of operas by Richard Wagner based on Norse mythology. It consists of four parts and takes over 15 hours to perform. The central theme is the powerful Ring, which grants dominion over the world but is cursed.

Prologue:
The Rheingold-Alberich, an underworld dwarf, steals gold from the Rhine maidens after renouncing love. He forges the Ring, but Wotan, the king of the gods, later takes it. Wotan gives the Ring to the giants, who kill each other because of Alberich's curse. Wotan is disturbed.

Day 1:
The Valkyrie - Wotan's mortal children, Siegmund and Sieglinde, fall in love. The Valkyrie Brünnhilde, Wotan's daughter, defies his order to have Siegmund killed in a duel, but Wotan intervenes, resulting in Siegmund's death. Brünnhilde is punished and put to sleep on a fiery rock.

Day 2:
Siegfried - Siegmund and Sieglinde's son, Siegfried, grows up and forges a legendary sword. He kills a giant, takes the Ring and awakens Brünnhilde. They fall in love, but Siegfried's desire to know fear foreshadows tragedy.

Day 3:
Twilight of the Gods - Siegfried is tricked into forgetting about Brünnhilde and marries Gutrune, while Brünnhilde is forced to marry Gunther. Betrayed, Brünnhilde reveals Siegfried's vulnerability. Hagen kills Siegfried, but Brünnhilde takes the Ring and sacrifices herself. The Ring is returned to the Rhine, and the world of the gods is destroyed, symbolising renewal through love.

The opera ends with the hope of a new beginning, as the curse is lifted and the world is reborn.

Part 1
1)
00:00
A brief explanation of Der Ring des Nibelungen.

First, Der Ring des Nibelungen was written by Richard Wagner when he was between 35 and 61.
He didn't work on it for 26 years; he took a break after writing Das Rheingold and Die Walküre.

It is also based on Norse mythology.
The contents of this opera are very confusing.
Honestly, I don't know who the main character is at first.

Is it the god Wotan? Or the human Siegfried?
Or is it the Valkyrie Brünnhilde?

2)
The structure is as follows:
Prologue: Das Rheingold (2 hours 40 minutes)
Day 1: Die Walküre (3 hours 50 minutes)
Day 2: Siegfried (4 hours)
Day 3: Twilight of the Gods (4 hours 30 minutes)
This takes four days, a total of 15 hours.

3)
01:05
Some movies considered long are Ben-Hur at 3 hours 30 minutes, The Ten Commandments and Lawrence of Arabia at 3 hours 40 minutes. Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra was 3 hours 53 minutes.

The longest opera is "Die Light," a seven-part composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen that takes 29 hours to complete.

This opera is performed in 4 helicopters, with people riding in, playing, and tuning the music.

Opera "Licht"(German: Licht)—Die sieben Tage der Woche is a seven-part opera cycle by Karlheinz Stockhausen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licht

4)
03:18
I've digressed, so let's get back to the topic of "The Ring of the Nibelung."

To summarize this opera in one sentence, it is as follows:
It is the story of those who are at the mercy of the "Ring" that has the power to rule the whole world.

5)
The Rheingold:
There were three water maidens on the Rhine.
The three were guarding gold.

Then, an underworlder named Alberich appeared.
Alberich fell in love with the three.
But the maidens laughed at him, mocking him and saying he was dirty.

6)
04:21
At that moment, the sun hits the river, and the gold begins to shine.
The maidens blurt out that this is Rheingold and that if Alberich makes a ring with it, it will have infinite power.

But to make this Ring, a price must be paid.
The person must give up "love".

But Alberich is starving for love, so the maidens tell him he will never be able to make it anyway.
Alberich gets angry and says, "I don't need love," steals the gold and runs away to the underworld.

7)
05:26
The scene changes, and they are now in heaven.
The giants were building a castle for Wotan and his men to live in.
Wotan is what we call Odin.

He promised to give the goddess Freya as a reward for building the castle.
But Wotan had no intention of keeping this promise.

He thought that the god of fire, Loge (Loki), who had initiated the contract, must have a plan since he was a cunning schemer.

8)
Wotan ordered Loge to settle the situation somehow.

And Loge told the giants that Alberich, the underground man, seemed to have stolen the gold and gained great power.

The giants were envious of him.
So they said they wanted the gold instead of the goddess Freya.

But Wotan said he wanted it if he had that much power.
The giants got angry and took Freya, the goddess of beauty and youth, hostage and took her away.

9)
06:32
The goddess Freya makes the golden apple of youth.
By eating it every day, the gods manifested their power.
If the gold disappears, the gods will begin to lose their youth.

Seeing no other option, Wotan and Loge steal the gold underground.

10)
Meanwhile, underground, Alberich has become king and is exploiting the people.
Wotan and Loge appear and capture Alberich.

Alberich is taken prisoner and taken to heaven.
Then they return to heaven.

Alberich asks the gods for his freedom in exchange for the treasure.
But the gods take not only the treasure but also the Ring.
Angry, Alberich curses them and runs away.

11)
The giants come to get their reward.
Wotan gives them the treasure.
The Giants ask for the Ring as well.
Wotan refuses, saying that they can't have the Ring.

Then a goddess named Hilda appears and says, He advises them to throw away the Ring because if they do not give it up, we gods will perish.
Wotan gives up and gives the Ring to the Giants.

12)
07:41
And the Giants get the Ring.
Then, Alberich's curse is activated.
A battle for the treasure and the Ring begins, and the brothers kill each other.

Wotan is shocked by the curse.
For the time being, Wotan enters the castle.
This is where Prologue: The Rheingold ends.

13) Day 1: Die Walküre:
There are two important characters.
Siegmund: A child born between the god Wotan and a human
Sieglinde: A child born between the god Wotan and a human

Siegmund and Sieglinde are twins; they are brother and sister.
Siegfried is walking through a violent storm, exhausted after a battle.
He gets lost in the forest and arrives at a house.

14)
Hunding and his wife, Sieglinde, then welcome him.
There, they talk about their lives.

It is discovered that Siegmund has killed Hunding's relatives.
However, since Hunding is an adult, he can stay the night, but tomorrow there will be a duel.

15)
08:47
Sieglinde realizes that Siegmund is her long-lost twin brother.

After the landlord goes to bed, Sieglinde comes to see Siegfried.
She tells him where the legendary sword is.
Wotan had come to impale it on a tree before.
Siegmund can pull out the sword and prepare for the duel tomorrow.

16)
The day of the next duel arrives.
Another essential character appears.
Her name is Brünnhilde, and she is the child of the god Wotan and the god Erda.

She is one of the Valkyries.
Valkyries are the ones who select the souls of brave people and take them to the world of the gods.

17)
Wotan commands Brünnhilde to let Hunding win.
She then goes to the place of the duel.

Siegmund and Sieglinde are there.
Brünnhilde tells Siegmund that he will die and that she will take only his soul.

18)
09:54
Siegmund and Sieglinde say this is not good because they are in love.

Siegmund refuses the offer and says he does not want to be separated from Sieglinde.
His words touch Brünnhilde and say that his love is real.
Brünnhilde then disobeys the order and tries to let Siegmund win.

19)
Hunding then arrives, and the duel begins.
With Brünnhilde's encouragement, Siegmund is about to win.

But just as he is about to win, Wotan appears.
And Wotan breaks Siegmund's legendary sword.

At that moment, Hunding kills Siegmund.
Sieglinde faints after seeing her loved one killed right before her eyes.
Then Brünnhilde takes the broken sword and Sieglinde and escapes to heaven.

20)
Then, in the next scene, they run to where the other Valkyries are waiting.
But Sieglinde says that she wants to die because she has no one to love.

But Sieglinde is pregnant with Siegmund's child.
Knowing this, Brünnhilde tells her to give birth to the child and run away.
And Sieglinde runs away.

21)
11:02
Then, an enraged Wotan appears.
He defeats the Valkyries one by one.
Brünnhilde tells Wotan, "You wanted your son to win, didn't you?"

Wotan is moved.
However, he says that he will seal Brunhilde in the rock as punishment.
Wotan removes all of Brunhilde's divine powers and puts her to sleep.
He uses his power to set the rock ablaze.

22)
After that, Sieglinde gives birth to Siegmund's child and dies.
Wotan then sets off on a journey.
Then Die Walküre ends.

Part 2
23)
Day 2: Siegfried:
Time passed, and Siegmund and Sieglinde's son became a hero, Siegfried.
Siegfried grew into a muscular young man.

His foster father, Mime, told him that Sieglinde was his birth mother.
He showed Siegfried a shard of the legendary sword as proof.

24)
He asked Mime to make a sword out of the shard.
Mime was Alberich's younger brother and a skilled blacksmith.

But even Mime had a hard time making the legendary sword.
Mime was troubled and at a loss.
At that moment, Wotan appeared as a wanderer.

Wotan said, "Only someone who knows no fear can make this sword," and left.

25)
Mime told Siegfried the story.
Hearing this, Siegfried says he will make it himself.

Siegfried forges the legendary sword and completes it.
Then he says he wants to know "fear" and "defeat."

Mime says there is a perfect place for that.
And he shows him the place where the giant snake lives.

26)
01:12
Siegfried kills the giant snake and gets the Ring.
The giant snake is the giant who received the Ring from the prologue.

But when Siegfried gets the Ring, he is covered in blood.
He can hear the bird's voice when he is covered in blood.

"There is a beautiful woman named Brünnhilde on the rocky mountain," the bird says.

27)
Siegfried heads to the rocky mountain.
Wotan arrives there.

"I broke the sword," Wotan brags to Siegfried.
Siegfried is getting increasingly angry.

Wotan, perhaps wanting to test his grandson's skills, attacks Siegfried and a battle ensues.
He breaks Wotan's spear.
Then Siegfried heads for the rock.

28)
Siegfried reaches the rock and advances through the burning rock without any fear.

He notices a warrior asleep.
As he takes off his armour, a woman appears.
Siegfried is so beautiful that he feels fear for the first time.
"What a beautiful woman!"

29)
02:15
Then Siegfried kisses Brünnhilde.
Then she wakes up.
The two share their stories and swear their love to each other.
Siegfried's second day ends.

30)
Day 3: Twilight of the Gods:
Three new characters appear here.
This is the bank of the Rhine.
The family leader includes Gunther, his sister Gutrune, and Alberich's son Hardy.

Hardy is a schemer.
Hardy was thinking of arranging the two marriages.
He wanted Gunther to marry Brünnhilde and Gutrune to marry Siegfried.

31)
03:22
At that moment, Siegfried arrives.
Siegfried drinks the alcohol offered to him, not knowing that it contains a "forgetfulness potion."

Siegfried forgets everything from the past.
Siegfried falls in love with Gutrune and proposes to her.

Gunther tells Siegfried that Siegfried will marry his sister if Gunther gives Brunhilde as his wife.
"Can you bring Brunhilde to me?" he asks.
Siegfried agrees.

32)
Brunhilde is alone on a rocky mountain, basking in her happiness.
Then, her sister Valkyrie arrives.

She begs the Rhinemaiden to return the Ring because the curse is strong.
Brunhilde refuses, saying that it was given to her by her beloved.
The younger sister, Valkyrie, gives up and goes home.

33)
At that moment, Siegfried arrives disguised as Gunther, wearing an item called the "invisibility hood."

Siegfried is inside, but he looks like Gunther.
It's Siegfried with his disguise gear.
Gunther asks Brunhilde to follow me, saying he will make her his wife.

34)
Of course, Brunhilde loves Siegfried, so she refuses Gunther's marriage proposal.

She tries to refuse, even using the power of the Ring.
But the Ring's magic has no effect since it's Siegfried inside.
Gunther takes the Ring from her.

35)
The scene suddenly changes again.
He is in the spirit world or a dream.

Hardy's father, Alberich, appears.
Alberich says, "Get the ring."
"Don't worry, father. I understand," Hardy replies.
Then Alberich leaves.

36)
04:26
Then it is morning.
Hardy gathers his servants and tells them to start preparing for the wedding.
Two weddings take place here:

Siegfried and Gutrune, and Gunther and Brunhilde.
Brunhilde realizes that she has been tricked and that Siegfried has betrayed her.
How can this happen since Gunther is the one who stole the Ring?

37)
Everyone! I was brought here by force. I'm not in love with Gunther! Brunhilde tells her servants.

And Gunther is completely humiliated in front of them.
But Siegfried has taken a forgetfulness potion and has forgotten everything.
Siegfried says he doesn't know Brunhilde.

38)
05:31
Hardy tells Brunhilde that Siegfried is a bad guy and that they should take revenge.
Brunhilde tells him that Siegfried's weak spot is his back, so aim for his back.
Gunther thinks that Siegfried is to blame for his humiliation.

Hardy wants the Ring back, Brunhilde is angry about the betrayal, and Gunther wants his honour back, so they work together to get revenge.

39)
The three maidens of the Rhine still lament the loss of their gold.
Siegfried appears.
The maidens tell Siegfried, "Get the ring back; otherwise, we don't know what will happen."

Siegfried says he doesn't know anything about that.
Hardy and Gunther appear and start drinking.

This time, he is given a drug that restores his memories.
Siegfried slowly starts to remember his memories.

40)
The moment he remembers everything, Hagen suddenly stabs him in the back with his sword and kills him.
Siegfried, remembering everything, bids Brunhilde farewell and says he loves her before dying.

Hardy and Gunther fight over the Ring.
Hardy kills Gunther.
Hardy tries to take the Ring from Siegfried's body.
Siegfried, who is supposed to be dead, raises his hand high.

41)
06:35
Hagen is frightened.
Then Brunhilde appears.
I am your wife, Brunhilde.
I will take this Ring.

"Build a pile of firewood by the Rhine. And lay Siegfried's body on it," she commands his servants.

42)
Brünnhilde lights the firewood, sings a love song to Siegfried, and jumps into the blazing fire.
The Rhine immediately rises.
She and the ring sink into the river.

Finally, the Ring is returned to the three Rhine maidens.
Hagen jumps into the river to steal it.

But he is absorbed by the maidens and probably disappears.
There is no final depiction, but Hagen probably dies.
And finally, the curse on the Ring is lifted.

43)
The scene then changes.
Now it is in heaven.
The fire spreads to Wotan's castle, and the castle is engulfed in flames.

The world is destroyed, but the Rhinegold returns to its original place, suggesting hope that a new world will be born through the power of love.
End.

A brief explanation of "The Ring of the Nibelung" (Part 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HI96QFu_SI

A brief explanation of "The Ring of the Nibelung" (Part 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DoTixxuFL8

[15 hours] Understand the plot of Wagner's epic opera "The Ring of the Nibelung" in 10 minutes

https://www.arasuji-izumi.c om/%E3%80%9015%E6%99%82%E9%96%93%E3%80%91%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B0%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC%E3%81%AE%E5%A4%A7%E4%BD%9C%E3%82%AA%E3%83% 9A%E3%83%A9%E3%80%8C%E3%83%8B%E3%83%BC%E3%83%99%E3%83%AB%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0/