Siegfried is the third of the four music dramas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. It premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on August 16, 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring cycle.
Siegfried, son of Siegmund and Sieglinde, has grown up – raised by the nasty dwarf, Mime. Siegfried forges anew the fragments of his father’s shattered sword, Nothung. Mime longs to have as his own the ring and the gold that are now guarded by the giant Fafner, who has now become a dragon. Siegfried manages to slay Fafner, taking with him the ring and the magic helmet (the Tarnhelm). Realizing that Mime intends to do him harm, Siegfried kills Mime. As the hero who knows no fear, Siegfried is able to penetrate the magic fire that surrounds Brünnhilde, who had been put to sleep as punishment by her father Wotan – she can be wakened only by a fearless hero. When Siegfried kisses her, she awakens as a mortal woman (no longer a goddess). The two fall ecstatically in love.
Cast:
Siegfried - Wolfgang Windgassen
Brunnhilde - Astrid Varnay
Wanderer - Hans Hotter
Alberich - Gustav Neidlinger
Mime - Paul Kuen
Fafner the dragon - Josef Greindl
Orchestra of Bayreuther Festspiele
Clemens Krauss - conductor
Recorded LIVE 1953