A brief synopsis of Wagner's Das Rheingold

Wagner is going high tech at the Met. This Saturday is the high definition simulcast of the opera Das Rheingold at noon at Tinseltown in Benton.

For those of you not familiar with Ricard Wagner's Ring cycle it is fairly simple to follow. There are four different operas making up Der Ring des Nibelungen. The Metropolitan Opera is doing all four, two this season and two next.

When Wagner wrote his masterpiece Ring he did the last three operas first and then decided it needed background and wrote Das Rheingold. Das Rheingold had its premiere in 1869 as a stand alone opera but it was always Wagner's intention for it to be included in the Ring. The opera was first performed as part of the Ring in 1876. Das Rheingold means Rhine gold, gold from the Rhine river.

For those of us not familiar with opera this one is easy if you thing Lord of the Ring and throw in a little Harry Potter. There are giants, dwarfs, gods and goddesses as the characters in this opera. There is a magic gold ring that makes anyone who sees it want it and make the owner crazy with greed and power. There is also a magic helmet which makes the wearer disappear.

Wotan, sung by bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, is the number one god, he rules. He is married to Fricka, sung by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe.

The opera opens with three Rhine maidens singing about their gold they are guarding as per their dad's orders. They are Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde. They have their own theme music which is repeated throughout all the operas of the Ring.

Enter a dwarf, Alberich, sung by bass-baritone Eric Owens. Alberich chats up the ladies but they think he is too ugly for words. He gets upset with their disapproval and steals their gold which has the ability to transform into a magic ring giving him unlimited power if he renounces love and wears the ring.

In the next scene Wotan and Fricka wake up and notice the castle they had built by two giants, Fasolt, sung by bass Franz-Josef Selig and Fafner, sung by bass Hans-Peter Konig, is complete. It is time to make good on the payment for work rendered. Woton has promised his wife's sister Freia, sung by soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer, to the giants as payment. Freia is the goddess of youth and beauty. Her golden apples keep everyone young and beautiful.

Wotan knows his wife will be very angry with him if he gives away her sister so he had sent his god assistant, Loge, sung by tenor Richard Croft, out into the world to find a suitable substitute for Freia. The problem was Loge wasn't back yet. The giants remind Wotan of the contract made between them and they want their goddess. Wotan manages to stall the giants until Loge returns with the news the only suitable substitution is the the Rhine gold. The giants agree to take the Rhine gold in payment but they keep Freia as collateral until Wotan and Loge can give them the Rhine gold.

In the next scene Loge and Wotan descend into Nibelheim to retrieve the gold. In the meantime Alberich has enslaved all his fellow dwarfs. He made his brother Mime, sung by Gerhard Siegel, create a helmet, the Tarnhelm, for him that has the power to transfigure him or make him invisible.

After seeing Alberich's demonstration on how the Tarnhelm works Wotan and Loge meet Mime. Mime tells them about forging the magic ring for Alberich and Alberich consequently making his slaves pile up mounds of gold for him.

Alberich brags about his plans to conquer the world. He further demonstrates the powers of his magic helmet by turning into a giant snake. The crafty Loge and Wotan ask Alberich to turn into a small animal, a toad. Wotan and Loge capture the toad and drag him to the surface.

In the final scene Wotan and Loge have returned to the castle with Alberich. They force Alberich to trade his gold, helmet and ring for his freedom. Wotan seizes the ring and puts it on his own finger. Alberich is crushed by its loss. He in turn curses the ring until it is returned to him. The recurring music associated with the bad juju of the ring, the death-curse, is repeated throughout the Ring when something bad happens with the ring.

The giants agree to exchange Freia when the gold is piled high enough to hide her from sight. The helmet has to go on top of the pile to completely hide Freia. The giant brothers complain there is still a little hole where they can clearly see Freia's eye. Wotan is forced to remove the ring and place it in the chink. The giants are satisfied with the trade. They immediate fight over the ring. Fafner clubs Fasolt to death to get the ring.

Wotan is reminded that it could have been him that was bashed. Instead the gods and goddesses celebrate the new castle, Valhalla. Only Loge does not go into Valhalla. He believes the gold should have gone back to the Rhine maidens and he is not happy with all the gods and goddesses have acquired at the Rhine maidens expense.

The next opera in the Ring is Die Walkure, The Valkyrie, it will be simulcast in mid-May.

Das Rheingold will air Saturday at noon at Tinseltown in Benson. The theater tends to get a little chilly so bring a sweater or a throw. Refreshments are available at the concession stand. The opera with intermissions will run three hours.