Riassunto
Trama e riassunto di L’anello del Nibelungo
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love myth, epic, family drama and the struggle between love and power, and for anyone exploring the Ring before attending an opera, listening to a recording or opening the libretto.
Che cos’è questo libro
What would you give up to rule the world? In The Ring of the Nibelung, a dwarf gives up love. Wagner finished the text around 1852 and the music in 1874, and the whole cycle was first staged in 1876 at Bayreuth. A ring forged from stolen gold passes through gods, giants and heroes, and carries a curse. Begin where Wagner begins, at the bottom of the Rhine.
In questo riassunto
- 1A dwarf steals the Rhine goldFree
- 2The gods owe a debt they cannot pay
- 3Alberich's ring carries a curse
- 4Twins meet in a wooden house
- 5Wotan must punish what he planned
- 6Siegfried grows up fearing nothing
- 7The dragon, the bird and the sleeping rock
- 8Love, power and the price of both
- 9How Wagner builds the story
Punto chiave 1 di 9
A dwarf steals the Rhine gold
The cycle opens in the depths of the Rhine. Three Rhinemaidens guard a treasure of gold that shines beneath the water. They are careless guards. Alberich, a dwarf of the Nibelungs, climbs up from the dark and tries to win one of them.
The maidens tease him cruelly and laugh at his ugliness. Then, boasting, they give away the gold's secret. Whoever forges a ring from it gains power over the whole world, but the maker must first give up love forever. They believe no one would ever do it.
Alberich, mocked and refused, decides that if he cannot have love, he will take power. He speaks the curse on love, seizes the gold and plunges the river into darkness. Notice that the theft grows out of scorn, and the maidens help to cause it. The world is already out of balance before a single god appears.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Wotan
- Wotan rules the gods through binding contracts and seeks a hero who can act independently.
- Alberich
- Alberich is a Nibelung dwarf, Mime's brother, who renounces love to gain power.
- Brünnhilde
- Brünnhilde is Wotan's favourite daughter, a Valkyrie whose compassion challenges her obedience to him.
- Siegmund
- Siegmund is Wotan's human son, a hunted stranger and the twin brother of Sieglinde.
- Sieglinde
- Sieglinde is Siegmund's twin sister, unhappily married to Hunding when the fugitive seeks shelter.
- Siegfried
- Siegfried is a fearless young man raised by Mime, who hopes to exploit his strength.
- Mime
- Mime is Alberich's brother, a skilled smith and Siegfried's calculating guardian in the forest.
- Hagen
- Hagen is Alberich's ambitious son, living among the Gibichungs and pursuing his own designs.
- Fricka
- Fricka is Wotan's wife, a goddess who insists that he honour marriage and obligation.
- Fafner
- Fafner is Fasolt's fellow giant, one of the builders demanding payment from Wotan.
- Hunding
- Hunding is Sieglinde's husband, whose household receives Siegmund as a stranger seeking refuge.
- Rhinemaidens
- The Rhinemaidens are Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde, sisters guarding the treasure Alberich covets.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 203,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 13 h 30 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about L’anello del Nibelungo
What is The Ring of the Nibelung about?
It tells of a ring forged from stolen Rhine gold that gives power over the world but demands the giving up of love. Gods, giants, dwarfs and heroes fight over it across four operas.
What are the four operas of the Ring cycle in order?
They are Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung.
Is the Ring cycle based on a true story or a myth?
It is based on myth. Wagner drew on Norse sagas, such as the Volsunga saga and the Eddas, and on the medieval German Nibelungenlied, then reshaped them into his own story.
Who is Wotan in the Ring cycle?
Wotan is the chief of the gods. He rules through treaties carved on his spear, and his attempts to escape his own bargains drive much of the plot.
Is the Ring cycle hard to follow?
No. The story is easy to start because it opens with one simple scene at the bottom of the Rhine, where a dwarf steals gold. Each part then follows from the last, and characters often retell past events, so the history of the ring comes clear as you go.