Götterdämmerung ("Twilight of the Gods") is the last of the four operas that comprise The Ring of the Nibelung, by Richard Wagner. It premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on August 17 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the Ring. The cast included Georg Unger as Siegfried, Eugen Gura as Gunther, Gustav Siehr as Hagen, Amalie Materna as Brünnhilde, and Luise Jaide as Gutrune.
The title is a translation into German of the Old Norse phrase Ragnarok, which in Norse mythology refers to a prophesized war of the Gods which brings about the end of the world. However, as with the rest of the Ring, Wagner's account of this apocalypse diverges significantly from his Old Norse sources.
- Das Rheingold - Die Walküre - Siegfried - Götterdämmerung
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The three Norns, daughters of Erda, gather beside Brünnhilde's rock, weaving the rope of Destiny. They sing of the past and the present, and of the future when Wotan will set fire to Valhalla to signal the end of the Gods. Without warning, their rope breaks. Lamenting the loss of their wisdom, the Norns disappear.
As day breaks, Siegfried and Brünnhilde emerge from their cave. Brünnhilde sends Siegfried off to new adventures, urging him to keep their love in mind. As a pledge of fidelity, Siegfried gives her the Ring which he took from Fafnir's horde. Bearing Brünnhilde's shield and mounting her horse Grane, Siegfried rides away.
The act begins in the Hall of the Gibichungs, a people dwelling by the Rhine. Gunther, lord of the Gibichungs, sits enthroned. His half-brother Hagen advises him to find a wife for himself and a husband for their sister Gutrune. He suggests Brünnhilde for Gunther's wife, and Siegfried for Gutrune's husband. He has given Gutrune a potion to make Siegfried forget Brünnhilde and fall in love with Gutrune; under its influence, Siegfried will win
Brünnhilde for Gunther.
Siegfried appears at Gibichung Hall, seeking to meet Gunther. Gunther extends his hospitality to the hero, and Gutrune offers him the drugged drink. Unaware of the deception, Siegfried toasts Brünnhilde and their love. Drinking the potion, he loses his memory of Brünnhilde and falls in love with Gutrune instead. In his drugged state, Siegfried offers to win a wife for Gunther, who tells him about Brünnhilde and the magic fire. They swear blood-brotherhood, and leave for Brünnhilde's rock.
Meanwhile, Brünnhilde is visited by her Valkyrie sister Waltrute, who relates how Wotan returned from his wanderings one day with his spear shattered. He ordered logs of the World ash-tree piled around Valhalla, sent his ravens into the world, and waits in Valhalla for the
end. Waltrute begs Brünnhilde to return the ring to the Rhinemaidens. However, Brünnhilde refuses to relinquish Siegfried's token of love, and Waltrute rides away in despair.
Siegfried arrives, disguised as Gunther using the Tarnhelm, and claims Brünnhilde as wife. Though Brünnhilde violently resists, Siegfried overpowers her, snatching the Ring from her hand and placing it on his own.Plot Synopsis
Prologue
Act I