Before Tolkien 2: Richard Wagner’s RHINE GOLD – Ron Dart
Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelung" is a cycle of four operas that tell the story of the hero Siegfried and a magic ring.
These four operas are The Rhine Gold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried, and Twilight of the Gods. Borrowing from German and Norse tales, poems, sagas, and mythology, Wagner's main source was a German poem called "The Song of the Nibelungs" (circa 1200 AD).
Wagner's opera is certainly a precursor and had an influence on Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings." In this series, Ron Dart walks through the archetypal significance of the opera's themes and characters, beginning here with the first two scenes of the first opera, "The Rhine Gold."
Previously, Ron's offered this brief reflection to the whole work:
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