Siegfried is the third of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring.
Composition
Roles
Synopsis
Act 1
Mime,
Alberich's
brother, is
forging a blade in his cave within
the forest. The
Nibelung dwarf is plotting to obtain the
Ring for himself, having raised Siegfried to
kill
Fafner for him. He needs a
sword for Siegfried to use, but the youth has broken
every blade he has made. Siegfried returns from his wanderings in
the forest, demanding to know his parentage, and Mime is forced to
explain how he took in Siegfried's mother,
Sieglinde, who died giving birth. He shows Siegfried
the broken pieces of
Nothung, which he
obtained from her, and Siegfried orders him to reforge the
sword.
Siegfried departs, leaving Mime in despair: it is beyond his skill
to repair Nothung. An old man (Wotan in disguise) arrives ar the
door and introduces himself as the Wanderer. In return for the
hospitality due a guest he wagers his head on answering any three
questions or riddles from
Mime. The dwarf agrees in order to dispose of his unwelcome guest.
He asks the Wanderer to name the races that live beneath the
ground, on the surface, and the skies. These are the Nibelung, the
Giants, and the
Gods, as the Wanderer correctly answers. Mime
tells the Wanderer to be on his way but is forced to wager his own
head on three more riddles for breaking the law of hospitality. The
Wanderer asks him to name the race most beloved of Wotan, but most
harshly treated; the name of the blade that can destroy Fafner; and
the person who can make the blade. Mime gives the answer to the
first two questions: the Wälsungs and Nothung. However, he is
unable to answer the last. Wotan spares Mime, telling him that only
"he who does not know fear" can reforge Nothung, and leaves Mime's
head forfeit to that person.
Siegfried returns and is annoyed by Mime's lack of progress. Mime
realizes that the one thing he has not taught Siegfried is fear. He
tells Siegfried that fear is an essential craft; Siegfried is eager
to learn it, and Mime promises to teach him by bringing him to
Fafner the dragon. Since Mime was unable to
forge Nothung, Siegfried decides to do it himself. He succeeds by
shredding the metal, melting it, and casting it anew. In the
meantime, Mime, realizing that by the terms of his agreement with
the Wanderer his head is now forfeit to Siegfried, brews a poisoned
drink to offer Siegfried after the youth has defeated the dragon.
After he finishes forging the sword, Siegfried demonstrates its
strength by chopping the anvil in half with it.
Act 2
The Wanderer arrives at the entrance to Fafner's cave, where
Alberich is keeping a vigil. The old enemies quickly recognize each
other. Alberich blusters, boasting of his plans for ruling the
World once the Ring is returned to him. Wotan calmly states that he
does not intend to obtain the Ring. To Alberich's surprise, Wotan
wakes Fafner and informs the dragon that a hero is coming to fight
him. Fafner dismisses the threat, refuses to surrender the Ring to
Alberich, and returns to sleep. Both Wotan and Alberich
depart.
At daybreak, Siegfried and Mime arrive. Mime decides to draw back
while Siegfried confronts the dragon. As Siegfried waits for the
dragon to appear, he notices a woodbird in a tree. Befriending it,
he attempts to mimic the bird's song using a reed pipe, but is
unsuccessful. He then plays a tune on his
horn, which brings Fafner out of his cave.
After a short exchange, they fight, and Siegfried stabs
Fafner in the heart with
Nothung.
In his last moments, Fafner learns Siegfried's name, and tells him
to beware of treachery. When Siegfried draws his sword from the
corpse, his hands are burned by the
dragon's blood, and he instinctively puts them
to his mouth. On tasting the blood, he finds that he can
understand the woodbird's song.
Following its instructions, he takes the Ring and the
Tarnhelm from Fafner's hoard. Outside the cave,
Alberich and Mime quarrel loudly over the treasure. Alberich hides
as Siegfried comes out of the cave. Mime greets Siegfried;
Siegfried complains that he has still not learned the meaning of
fear. Mime offers him the poisoned drink. However, the dragon's
blood allows Siegfried to read Mime's treacherous thoughts, and he
stabs him to death. Alberich, observing from offstage, shouts
sadistic laughter. Siegfried then throws Mime's body into the
treasure cave and places Fafner's body in the cave entrance to
block it as well.
The woodbird now sings of a woman sleeping on a rock surrounded by
magic fire. Siegfried, wondering if he can learn fear from this
woman, heads toward the mountain.
Act 3
The Wanderer appears on the path to Brünnhilde's rock and summons
Erda, the earth goddess. Erda, appearing
confused, is unable to offer any advice. Wotan informs her that he
no longer fears
the end of the gods;
indeed, it is his desire. His heritage will be left to Siegfried
the Walsung, and their child, Brünnhilde, will "work the deed that
redeems the World." Dismissed, Erda sinks back into the
earth.
Siegfried arrives, and the Wanderer questions the youth. Siegfried,
who does not recognize his grandfather, answers insolently and
starts down the path towards Brünnhilde's rock. The Wanderer blocks
his path, but Siegfried breaks
Wotan's spear
with a blow from Nothung. Wotan calmly gathers up the pieces and
vanishes.
Siegfried enters the ring of fire, emerging on Brünnhilde's rock.
At first, he thinks the armored figure is a man. However, when he
removes the armor, he finds a woman beneath. Uncertain about what
to do, Siegfried at last experiences fear. In desperation, he
kissesBrünnhilde, waking her from her magic sleep. Hesitant at
first, Brünnhilde is won over by Siegfried's love, and renounces
the world of the gods. Together, they hail "light-bringing love,
and laughing death."
Noted excerpts
As with the rest of the
Ring, a few excerpts are heard
outside the opera house. The most commonly heard excerpt from
Siegfried is the Forest Murmurs.
Other famous excerpts include
- Prelude to Act I
- Siegfried's Forging Song (Nothung! Nothung!
Neidliches Schwert!) (Act I)
- Forest Murmurs (Act II)
- Prelude to Act III
- Brünnhilde's Awakening (Heil dir, Sonne!) (Act
III)
- Quotations of the Siegfried
Idyll (Act III)
Recordings
- :See Siegfried
discography.
Sources
Siegfried begins fearless, and expresses his wish to learn fear to
his foster father Mime, who says the wise learn fear quickly, but
the stupid find it more difficult. In a letter to his friend
Theodor Uhlig, Wagner recounts
The
Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was,
about a boy so stupid he could not discover what fear was—and
points out that the youth and Siegfried are the same character.
Although Wagner did not include the connection, the boy is taught
fear by his wife, as Siegfried learns it when he discovers the
sleeping
Brünnhilde.
See also
References
- German Wikipedia states that this role is a
Knabensopran.
- Maria Tatar, The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy
Tales, p. 104, ISBN 0-691-06722-8.
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
