‘Das Rheingold,’ the first work in which Wagner put his matured musical equipment to the proof, is the first division of a gigantic tetralogy, ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen,’ The composition of this mighty work extended over a long period of years.  It was often interrupted, and as often recommenced.  In its completed form it was performed for the first time at the opening of the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth in 1876, but the first two divisions of the work, ‘Das Rheingold’ and ‘Die Walkuere,’ had already been given at Munich, in 1869 and 1870 respectively.  It will be most convenient in this place to treat ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ as a complete work, although ‘Tristan und Isolde’ and ‘Die Meistersinger’ were written and performed before ‘Siegfried’ and ‘Goetterdaemmerung.’

Wagner took the main incidents of his drama from the old Norse sagas, principally from the two Eddas, but in many minor points his tale varies from that of the original authorities.  Nevertheless he grasped the spirit of the myth so fully, that his version of the Nibelung story yields in harmony and beauty to that of none of his predecessors.  There is one point about the Norse mythology which is of the utmost importance to the proper comprehension of ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen.’  The gods of Teutonic legend are not immortal.  In the Edda the death of the gods is often mentioned, and distinct reference is made to their inevitable downfall.  Behind Valhalla towers the gigantic figure of Fate, whose reign is eternal.  The gods rule for a limited time, subject to its decrees.  This ever-present idea of inexorable doom is the guiding idea of Wagner’s great tragedy.  Against the inevitable the gods plot and scheme in vain.

The opening scene of ‘Das Rheingold’ is in the depths of the Rhine.  There, upon the summit of a rock, lies the mysterious treasure of the Rhine, the Rhine-gold, guarded night and day by the three Rhine-maidens Wellgunde, Woglinde, and Flosshilde, who circle round the rock in an undulating dance, joyous and light-hearted ‘like troutlets in a pool.’  Alberich, the prince of the Nibelungs, the strange dwarf-people who dwell in the bowels of the earth, now appears.  Clumsily he courts the maidens, trying unsuccessfully to catch first one, then another.  Suddenly the rays of the rising sun touch the treasure on the rock and light it into brilliant splendour.  The maidens, in delight at its beauty, incautiously reveal the secret of the Rhine-gold to the inquisitive dwarf.  The possessor of it, should he forge it into a ring, will become the ruler of the world.  But, to that end, he must renounce the delights of love for ever.  Alberich, fired with the lust of power, hastily climbs the rock, tears away the shining treasure, and plunges with it into the abyss, amidst the cries of the maidens, who vainly endeavour to pursue him.  The scene now changes, the waves gradually giving place to clouds and vapour, which in turn disclose a lofty mountainous region at the foot of which is a grassy plateau.