Götterdämmerung ("Twilight of the Gods" -- see Notes) is the last of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen or, in the translated English, The Ring of the Nibelung, is a series of four epic operas. ...Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883) was an influential German composer, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas. ...Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the The Bayreuth Festspielhaus (German: Bayreuth Festival House) is an opera house located north of the town of Bayreuth in Germany, dedicated to performing the operas of Richard Wagner. ...Bayreuth Festspielhaus on August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...17 August 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ...1876, as part of the first complete performance of the Ring. The cast included Georg Unger as Siegfried could refer to: The opera by Richard Wagner; see Siegfried (opera). ...Siegfried, Eugen Gura as Gunther (in Latin Gundaharius and in Anglicized Old Norse Gunnar) was a king of the Burgundians west of the Rhine from at least 411 to his death in 437. ...Gunther, Gustav Siehr as Hagen Map of Germany showing Hagen Hagen is the 37th largest city in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine_Westphalia. ...Hagen, Amalie Materna as Brünnhilde, and Luise Jaide as Gutrune.

The title is a translation into German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ...German of the Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ...Old Norse phrase This article is about Ragnarok, the mythological battle. ...Ragnarok, which in Norse mythology, Viking mythology or Scandinavian mythology refer to the pre_Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people. ...Norse mythology refers to a prophesied war of the Gods which brings about the This article is about the religious concept. ...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.

Plot Synopsis

Prologue

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 hoard. Bearing Brünnhilde's shield and mounting her horse Grane, Siegfried rides away.

Act I

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 Waltraute, 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. Waltraute begs Brünnhilde to return the ring to the Rhinemaidens. However, Brünnhilde refuses to relinquish Siegfried's token of love, and Waltraute 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.

Act II

Hagen, waiting by the bank of the Rhine, is visited in his sleep by his father, Alberich. On Alberich's urging, he swears to acquire the Ring. Siegfried arrives as dawn breaks, having secretly resumed his natural form and traded places with Gunther. Hagen summons the Gibichung to welcome Gunther and his bride.

Gunther leads in a downcast Brünnhilde, who is astonished to see Siegfried. Noticing the Ring on Siegfried's hand, she realizes she has been betrayed. She denounces Siegfried in front of Gunther's vassals. Siegfried swears on Hagen's spear that her accusations are false. He then leads Gutrune and the bystanders off to the wedding feast, leaving Brünnhilde, Hagen, and Gunther alone by the shore. Deeply shamed by Brünnhilde's outburst, Gunther agrees to Hagen's suggestion that Siegfried must be slain for his honor to be regained. Brünnhilde, seeking revenge for Siegfried's treachery, joins the plot and tells Hagen about the hero's sole weakness: though she had used her magic to ward him from harm, she had left his back unguarded, knowing that he would never flee from a foe. Hagen and Gunther decide to lure Siegfried on a hunting_trip and murder him.

Act III

In the woods by the bank of the Rhine, the Rhinemaidens mourn the lost Rheingold. Siegfried happens by, separated from the hunting party. They urge him to return the Ring and avoid its curse, but he ignores their tidings of doom. They swim away, predicting that Siegfried will die and that his heir, a lady, will treat them more fairly.

Siegfried rejoins the hunters, who include Gunther and Hagen. While resting, he tells them about the adventures of his youth. Hagen gives him a drink that restores his memory, and he tells of discovering the sleeping Brünnhilde and awakening her with a kiss. Suddenly, two ravens fly out of a bush, and as Siegfried watches them, Hagen stabs him in the back with his spear. The others look on in horror, and Hagen calmly walks away into the wood. Siegfried dies, lingering on his memories of Brünnhilde. His body is carried away in a solemn funeral procession.

Back in Gibichung Hall, Gutrune awaits Siegfried's return. Hagen arrives, ahead of the funeral party. Gutrune is devastated when Siegfried's corpse is brought in. Gunther blames Siegfried's death on Hagen, who defiantly admits to the murder and claims the Ring on Siegfried's finger by right of conquest. When Gunther objects, Hagen attacks and kills him. However, as Hagen moves to take the Ring, the dead hero's hand raises threateningly, and he recoils.

Brünnhilde makes her entrance and takes charge of the scene. She issues orders for a huge Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea A funeral is a ceremony marking a persons death. ...funeral A pyre is a structure, such as a mound of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite. ...pyre to be assembled by the river, and sends Wotan's lurking ravens home with "anxiously longed_for tidings." She takes the Ring and tells the Rhinemaidens to claim it from her ashes, once fire has cleansed it of its curse. The pyre lit, Brünnhilde mounts her horse Grane and rides into the flames.

The fire flares up as the Rhine overflows its banks, bearing the Rhinemaidens on its waves. Hagen leaps after the Ring and drowns. The Rhinemaidens swim away, bearing the Ring in triumph. As the flames increase in intensity, Valhalla comes into view in the sky. Bright flames seem to flare up in the hall of the Gods, finally hiding it from sight completely. The curtain falls.

Notes

1. The opera is sometimes called in English "Dawn of the Gods," or "Doom of the Gods"; however, "Twilight of the Gods" correctly translates the German title, Götterdämmerung.
2. Götterdämmerung is itself a German mistranslation of the word Ragnarok, arising from a confusion between Old Norse rökr ("fate" or "doom") and røkkr ("twilight").

The four works composing Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung or, in the original German, Der Ring des Nibelungen, is a series of four epic operas. ...Ring Cycle are: Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold) is the first of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. ...Das Rheingold _ Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. ...Die Walküre _ Siegfried is the third of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. ...Siegfried _ Götterdämmerung