Das Rheingold

Das Rheingold is an opera by Wagner. His most famous performances are Barenboim Daniel 7 times and Luisi Fabio 7 times. This work is often performed at The Metropolitan Opera or Opéra Bastille.

The Ring of the Nibelungen is a dramatic cycle in three days and a prologue by Richard Wagner. The Rhinegold is the prologue of this tetralogy which marks the apogee of the musical writing of the German composer. The first performance of the opera took place in 1869, in Munich. In this short work, in one act, Wagner sets up the main themes of his tetralogy, which will continue with The Valkyrie, Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods. This cycle of operas draws heavily on the subjects and characters of Germanic mythologies.

The story of The Rhinegold takes place in the very ancient times of Germanic mythology, before the appearance of man. Since the beginning of the world, gold has rested at the bottom of the Rhine, where it is guarded by the three daughters of the water.

The dwarf Alberich, a Nibelung, courts them, but they mock him. He realizes, however, that the bottom of the river is covered with precious material. He magically extracts the secret of gold from the daughters of the river: whoever seizes the precious metal will be able to forge a gold ring that will give him absolute power.