Siegfried

Mime’s hut

Mime, one of the mythical race of Nibelung dwarves, works at his forge to create a sword for his foster child, Siegfried. He knows that the new weapon will not satisfy the youth, whose powerful arm will shatter the blade at the first blow. Mime is desperate to achieve his goal – possession of the Ring and the Tarnhelm. This could be accomplished if Siegfried slays Fafner, who has assumed the shape of a dragon and now guards the stolen Nibelung treasures. Mime could then dispose of Siegfried and have the Ring’s power to himself. Siegfried appears, terrorizing Mime with a wild bear. Mime hands him the new sword, which Siegfried immediately destroys.

Siegfried instinctively distrusts Mime, despite his apparent kindness. Mime’s reproaches provoke a quarrel during which the youth extracts from him the name of his mother and the circumstances of his birth. Mime shows Siegfried the broken pieces of Nothung, his father’s sword. Siegfried orders Mime to reforge it, for he is eager to strike out on his own. He rushes back into the forest.

Wotan, disguised as the Wanderer, enters the hut seeking rest. Mime tries to keep him out, but he wagers his head against a moment’s shelter that he can answer any riddle. Mime is unable to outwit him. It is Mime’s turn to solve his guest’s riddles, and he easily guesses the first two answers: The Volsungs are the race Wotan most loves and most oppresses; and Nothung is the sword Fafner’s slayer must wield. Mime fails to answer the third riddle: “Who shall forge together the fragments of Nothung?” The Wanderer supplies the solution: “One who has never known fear.” The Wanderer departs, declaring that he forfeits to the unknown hero his prize – Mime’s head.

Mime realizes he has erred by never teaching Siegfried fear. He is confident that Fafner will teach the youth this emotion, and when Siegfried returns, he proposes that they go immediately to the dragon’s lair. Siegfried insists upon first having his father’s sword but, since Mime is unable to forge it, Siegfried sets to work himself. Mime is torn by a dilemma: Siegfried must have the sword to kill Fafner; yet if he forges the weapon, he may also fulfill the Wanderer’s prophecy and claim Mime’s life. Having decided to drug Siegfried after the encounter with Fafner and kill him when he is unconscious, Mime brews the potion that will destroy Siegfried. Seizing his reforged weapon, Siegfried splits the anvil in half.

The edge of the forest

Near Fafner’s cave, Alberich keeps a vigil, waiting for his curse on the Ring’s possessor to claim its new victim and thus enable him to recover the Ring and the Tarnhelm. When the Wanderer appears, Alberich sees through the disguise and recognizes Wotan, king of the gods. Wotan tells Alberich he is simply an observer, not a participant. He informs Alberich that Mime is coming with Siegfried to destroy Fafner; afterwards, Alberich must contend with his brother Mime for control of the treasures, for Wotan does not covet them. At Wotan’s suggestion, Alberich warns the dragon of the approaching danger and urges him to return the Ring to its rightful owner in order to preserve his life and the remainder of his hoard. Fafner refuses. Wotan withdraws, and Alberich swears that he will have vengeance on the gods.

As dawn breaks, Mime and Siegfried arrive. Mime warns Siegfried of the lethal venom that gushes from Fafner’s mouth, and of the power of the monster’s tail to encircle and crush all adversaries. Unperturbed, Siegfried merely verifies that his foe has a heart like any other beast. He drives Mime away, then stretches out beneath a tree. Thinking of what he has heard from Mime about his birth, Siegfried wonders what his parents were like. Fashioning a flute from a reed, he attempts to imitate a bird’s song. Failing, he sounds his hunting horn, arousing Fafner, whom he kills. As Siegfried withdraws his sword from Fafner’s body, blood spatters his fingers, which he impulsively draws to his lips. He can then understand the birds, and can also read Mime’s innermost thoughts. The forest bird urges him to enter Fafner’s cave to seize the Ring and the Tarnhelm.

Siegfried disappears into the cave as Mime approaches to make certain that Fafner is dead. Alberich rushes forward barring his way, and the brothers quarrel over who shall possess the treasures. Both leave as Siegfried emerges from the cave. The forest bird warns him to beware of Mime. When Mime speaks to Siegfried, he is able to reply to Mime’s secret thoughts rather than his cajoling words. Realizing what Mime plans to do, Siegfried kills him. Alberich’s laughter rings out in the distance. Siegfried learns from the bird that Brünnhilde sleeps on a mountaintop, surrounded by a circle of fire penetrable only by one who has never known fear. He sets out to find her.

Scene 1.

A desolate landscape Wotan summons the earth-goddess Erda to consult her wisdom. When she cannot help him to forestall impending events, he resigns himself to whatever Siegfried and Brünnhilde bring to pass. Once Siegfried appears, the youth’s arrogant fearlessness first amuses, then antagonizes Wotan, who warns him against the sea of flames. When Siegfried disregards the warning, Wotan bars the path with his spear, but Siegfried’s sword shatters it. Sadly picking up the pieces, Wotan offers no further opposition.

Scene 2.

The summit of the Valkyries’ rock Siegfried emerges from the flames and comes upon the sleeping Brünnhilde. He initially mistakes her for a warrior, but as he removes her armor he realizes that she is a woman. When he kisses her lips, she awakens and is ecstatic upon learning the hero’s name. At first she recoils from his wooing and, prompted by memories of her former godhood, she contemplates human love with shame. Finally Siegfried arouses in her a passion to equal his own.