Das Rheingold

Das Rheingold

In writing Das Rheingold, Wagner wove 3 seemingly unrelated stories to create the prologue for the Ring. The stories all come from the Prose Edda. The three stories are the Andvari story (the "Lay of Regin" in the Elder Edda and "The Otter's Ransom" in the Saga of the Volsungs), the builder story, and the Apples of Idun (in the Prose Edda the stories are not broken up into separate tales).

To read a synopsis of Das Rheingold click here.

Scene I

As mythical as this scene may appear it is created wholly by Wagner. There are no sources that say anything about three Rhinemaidens guarding any gold. There is also, nothing in the sources about a river being the origin of a piece of gold (the gold is in a cave in the Andvari tale). In addition, the idea of rejecting love in order to seize the gold is Wagner's creation. In the Andvari tale the gold is kept in a cave near the river.

The Rhinemaidens are modeled after nymphs from various sources. The names of the Rhinemaidens are : Woglinde (Woge is billow in German), Wellgunde (Welle is wave in German), and Flosshilde (Flosse is fin in German). It should be noted that the Rhinemaidens are a creation of Wagner.

The character of Alberich is taken from the Nibelungenlied. In the Nibelungenlied, Alberich is a dwarf and is also the treasurer of the Nibelung hoard.

Scene II

The initial part of this scene is taken from the builder's story. In the sources, there is only one builder and his horse. In both (the opera and the tale) Freia (or Frejya in the sources) is the price for building the castle. In the opera, two giants built the castle Valhalla. In the builder's tale Loki is responsible for saving the day and in the opera Loge finds a way out (the gold from Alberich) of the contract for Wotan.

Wotan in the Scandinavian sources is Odin. In Das Rheingold, Wotan is the law-giver. He is responsible for maintaining and drawing up contracts (via the Spear).

Fricka in the sources is named Frigg. Fricka plays the part of the goddess of marriage and wife of Wotan.

Loge is based on Loki and a fire god in the sources.

Freia in based on Freyja and Idun from the sources. In the sources Idun is responsible for taking care of the apples and Freyja is a love/fertility goddess. When Freia is taken by the giants, the gods begin to grow old and this is exactly what happens when Idun is taken in the sources.

Donner in the Scandinavian sources is named Thor. In the opera he plays an extremely minor role.

Froh in the Scandinavian sources is named Frey. Like Donner he plays a minor role in the opera.

Fafner (or Fafnir in the sources - part of the Andvari myth) is turned into a giant by Wagner and is merged into the builder story.

Fasolt in German mythology is a wind giant. Wagner turned him into the second giant in his builder's tale. Fasolt and Fafner also represent Fafnir and Regin from the Andvari tale (thus merging two tales).

Click here to see the names of the gods in the Scandinavian sources, in Grimm and in Wagner's Ring.

Scene III

This scene starts in Nibelheim (Niflheim in the Prose Edda) and sets up Alberich as caretaker of the Nibelung hoard. The part of Alberich as caretaker of the hoard is taken from the Nibelungenlied. Also, the possession of the hoard is essential to the Andvari tale. The Andvari tale plays an important part in the next scene with Wotan and Loge seizing Alberich, after he has transformed himself using the Tarnhelm.

The Tarnhelm's origins lay in the Nibelungenlied, with the cloak of invisibility, which is part of the Nibelung hoard that Siegfried wins. Also the Tarnhelm's origins lay in the Andvari myth as the helm of terror.

The shape changing part of the story has its origins in the Brother's Grimm tale of Puss in Boots.

The ring, in the Scandinavian sources, is part of Advari's treasure. In the Nibelungenlied, there is a golden wand that has the purported ability to give the wielder command of the world.

Mime as a dwarf originates in Thidriks saga. The idea of Mime as brother to Alberich is nowhere within any of the different mythologies and is another convention created by Wagner.

Scene IV

This scene is where the three stories come together. Wotan and Loge take the gold from Alberich (mirroring the Andvari story), then the gold is given to the giants as payment for the castle (builder story - although in the source material the builder is killed for not completing the task), and the apples are restored with Freia being reclaimed (Apples of Idun). The previous three scenes set the stage for the three separate tales to be intermingled and Wagner seamlessly merged them into one coherent opera.