Synopsis - Die Götterdämmerung
Prologue
Wotan and Alberich have fought for many years over the possession of the ring,
which grants its owner omniscience. Wotan has had to sacrifice his daughter,
Brünnhilde, who lies on a cliff top induced with sleep. The hero, Siegfried, has
seized ownership of the ring by killing the giant Fafner and has then awoken
Brünnhilde. The two are now united in love and they possess the ring yet
Siegfried is unaware of its powers.
Act one
Before the opera begins three Wagner fans are seen passionately discussing the
fate of the ring and dreaming back to bygone days. They search in vain for the
unifying principle of the epic story but finally leave the theatre in protest!
Brünnhilde and Siegfried now live together. They are happy but Brünnhilde is
aware that Siegfried needs his freedom to travel out into the world in search of
self-fulfilment. Before he leaves they swear an oath of eternal love and
Siegfried gives Brünnhilde the ring as a token of his pledge.
The Gibichung is a clan embroiled in civil war. They are headed by the
siblings Gunther and Gutrune, who are unaware that their half-brother Hagen has
set a trap for Siegfried in an attempt to obtain the ring. When Siegfried pays
them a visit they serve him a potion that induces amnesia, making him forget all
women he has previously known. Gutrune then seduces him. When Gunther tells
Siegfried that he seeks to marry a woman called Brünnhilde but is unable to
penetrate the flames that encircle the cliff top where she lies, Siegfried
offers to overcome this task for him. Siegfried has no recollection of
Brünnhilde, and Gunther is unaware of Siegfried and Brünnhilde’s amorous
courtship.
In the meanwhile, Brünnhilde receives an unexpected visit by her sister,
Waltraute, who inadvertently tells her that their father, Wotan, wishes the ring
to be returned to nature as an act of atonement. Brünnhilde refuses to part with
the ring because, to her, it symbolises her bond with Siegfried.
A magical helmet allows Siegfried to assume the image of Gunther. Siegfried
approaches Brünnhilde and demands that she follow him. She tries to defend
herself with the force of Siegfried’s ring, yet it has no power over its true
owner. Siegfried takes the ring and the heartbroken Brünnhilde surrenders.
Act two
Hagen is the son of Alberich, who induced in Hagen a sense of hatred towards
Wotan’s family. Hagen knows that he will soon assume possession of the ring and
that he no longer needs his unloving father.
Siegfried returns and now Gutrune is his. Hagen calls all warriors of the
clan to arms only then to reveal to them that their true calling is to celebrate
a wedding.
Gunther arrives with Brünnhilde. But when she sees that Siegfried is to marry
Gutrune, and that he apparently has no recollection of her, she becomes
infuriated. But when she sees the ring on Siegfried’s hand the circumstances
become clear to her. She tells everyone that Siegfried is her husband! All are
astonished but Siegfried swears on Hagen’s weapon that she lies, which
Brünnhilde vehemently denies.
The wedding celebrations continue and Hagen approaches Brünnhilde with the
offer to settle the score by killing Siegfried in revenge. She reveals to him
the fact that Siegfried can only be killed if he is attacked from behind.
Act three
Siegfried goes hunting. He meets the three Rhine Daughters, who originally owned
the gold with which the ring was forged. They see the ring on his finger and
alternately implore and threaten him to return it to them, but all in vain.
Hagen, Gunther and the men of arms join the hunt. Hagen makes Siegfried
relate true stories from his life. Siegfried speaks of his upbringing and how he
took the ring from Fafner. Hagen gives him an antidote to the potion that made
him forget all women and suddenly Siegfried remembers how he awoke Brünnhilde
with a kiss. Hagen now has an excuse to kill Siegfried.
Brünnhilde mourns her dead husband. She thinks back to her childhood home,
Valhalla, and seeks to understand her fate.
The Gibichung are involved in internal strife over the right to the ring now
that Siegfried is dead. Hagen kills Gunther and Brünnhilde brings Siegfried’s
body with her to Valhalla. She lights a fire and Valhalla as well as the realm
of her kin are destroyed. Hagen seeks to gain possession of the ring but dies in
the attempt.
The patriarchal ideals of power are bankrupt. A new world, a new life must
begin…
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