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The four operas in the Ring cycle are:
The Ring is a work of extraordinary scale and scope. Its most obvious quality, for a first-time listener, is its sheer length: a full performance of the cycle takes place over four nights at the opera, with a total playing time of about 15 hours, depending on the conductor's pacing. The first and shortest opera, Rheingold, typically clocks in at two and a half hours, while the last and longest, Götterdämmerung, can take up to six hours in performance.
The scale and scope of the story is epic. It follows the struggles of gods, heroes, and several mythical creatures, over the eponymous magic Ring that grants domination over the entire world. The drama and intrigue continues through three generations of protagonists, until the final cataclysm at the end of Götterdämmerung.
The music of the Ring is thick and richly textured, and grows in complexity as the cycle proceeds. The rate of musical notes per minute tends to be slow, to the point where the scores are somewhat thin volumes even compared to shorter operas. Wagner wrote for an orchestraAn orchestra is a musical ensemble used most often in classical music. A small orchestra is called a chamber orchestra''. Full size orchestras may sometimes be called "symphony orchestras" or "philharmonic orchestras"; these prefixes do not indicate any d of gargantuan proportions, forcing the singers to work hard to prevent their voices from being drowned out (a problem exacerbated by the large sizes of modern concert halls.)
The plot revolves around a magic ring that grants the power to rule the world, forged by the NibelungGerman Nibelung and the corresponding Old Norse form Niflung Niflungr refers in most of the German texts and in all the Old Norse texts to the royal family or lineage of the Burgundians who settled at Worms. The vast wealth of the Burgundians is often ref dwarfWarhammer Fantasy Battle Dwarf minatures Mythology and Fantasy In Norse mythology, fairy tales, and sword and sorcery fiction and role-playing games, a dwarf is a member of a humanoid race, much like humans, but generally living underground or in mountain AlberichAlberich was a legendary sorcerer originating in the mythos of the Frankish Merovingian Dynasty. See Oberon. In Richard Wagner's opera Siegfried King Alberich of the dwarves lived in a palace underground, decorated with gems and expensive metals. He was a from gold stolen from the river RhineAt 1,320 km (820 miles), the Rhine River ( German Rhein French Rhin Dutch Rijn is one of the longest rivers in Europe. Its name is derived from the Celtic word renos (meaning "raging flow"). Together with the Danube it formed most of the northern frontier. Several mythic figures struggle for possession of the Ring, including Wotan (Odin)Wotan Wodan Woden Oden Odin or dinn is usually considered the supreme god of Germanic and Norse mythology. His role, like many of the Norse pantheon, is complex: he is god of both wisdom and war, roles not necessarily conceived of as being mutually sympat, the chief of the Gods. Wotan's scheme, spanning generations, to overcome his limitations, drives much of the action in the story. The hero SiegfriedIn Norse mythology, Sigurd (also Siegfried was a legendary hero, as well as the central character in the Volsunga saga, Nibelungenlied and Richard Wagner's opera, Siegfried which see for more details. In the Volsung Saga In the Volsungsaga, Sigurd is the wins the Ring, as Wotan intended, but is eventually betrayed and slain. Finally, the Valkyrie Brünhilde, Siegfried's lover and Wotan's estranged daughter, returns the Ring to the Rhine. In the process, the Gods are destroyed.
For a detailed plot synopsis, see the articles for the individual operas.
Wagner created the story of the Ring by fusing elements from many German and Scandinavian myths. The Old Norse Eddas supplied much of the material for Das Rheingold, while Die Walküre was largely based on the Volsunga saga. Siegfried contains elements from the Eddas, the Volsunga Saga, the Thidreks saga, and even the Grimm brothers' fairy tale The Tale of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear. The final opera, Götterdämmerung, draws from the 12th century High German poem known as the Nibelungenlied, which appears to have been the original inspiration for the Ring, and for which the cycle was named.
In weaving these disparate sources into a coherent tale, Wagner injected many contemporary concepts. One of the principal themes in the Ring is the struggle of love, which is also associated with Nature and freedom, against power, which is associated with civilization and law. In the very first scene of the Ring, the scorned dwarf Alberich sets the plot in motion by placing a curse on love, an act that allows him to acquire the power to rule the world.
Since its inception, the Ring has been subjected to a plethora of interpretations. George Bernard Shaw, in The Perfect Wagnerite, argues for a view of the Ring as an essentially socialist critique of industrial society and its abuses.
Peter Kjaerulff, in The Ringbearers Diary, interprets the Ring as an attempt to expose a structure of ideas he refers to as The Cursed Ring, which he also links to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Plato's The Ring of Gyges.