The
gold ring glittering in the Rhine has magical power…
A fantasy opera of love and adventures over the mysterious ring
Synopsis
The Valkyries, informed by the sound of a siren that Fafner is in
battle, rush to the site of fighting. Brünnhilde faces Fafner
with Nothung, her father Wotan’s sword, but the sword is broken.
Wotan then appears and drives away Fafner. Infuriated at the sight
of the sword that has been broken into two pieces, however, he sentences
Brünnhilde to a long sleep as punishment. Nothung is a sacred
sword that shows its power only in the hands of a dauntless hero.
Siegfried, who is traveling aimlessly, is shown a picture of a sleeping
girl by Waldvogel and soon falls in love with her. He makes up his
mind to wake her up. And together with a small bird, he heads for
the Rhine to obtain the mysterious ring that is possessed by the
Rhinemaidens with the aim of dedicating it to the girl. The ring
has been stolen by Fafner, however. Wotan appears in front of the
disheartened Siegfried. The ruler of the gods regrets that he has
inflicted too harsh a penalty on his daughter. The bird introduces
the two to each other. Wotan recognizes immediately that Siegfried
is no ordinary young man, and handing the fragments of his sword
to Siegfried, he secretly expects something…
Brünnhilde
Daughter of Wotan and one of the female warrior Valkyries
She provokes her father’s wrath and is put to sleep. Her figure
is painted as a sleeping girl.
Siegfried
Brave young man
He wanders through various countries in search for that which he
lacks. Discovered by Wotan, he tempers Nothung again and goes on
a journey of adventure.
Wotan
Father of Brünnhilde, he has profound intelligence. He sentences
his daughter, who has broken a promise, to sleep and entrusts her
to the future hero, Siegfried.
Waldvogel
Mysterious creature that tells Siegfried of the story of the ring
and entices him to adventure.
Fafner
Coarse, wicked giant. He takes the ring by force and uses a Tarnhelm,
a magic hood, to turn himself into a huge dragon in order to guard
the ring.
Die drei Rheintöchter
Water nymphs living in the river Rhine
Drei Walküren
Warrior daughters of Wotan, the Valkyries are at the beck and call
of Wotan.
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The Adventures of Siegfried is a one-act opera based on the story
of Siegfried, the hero who appears in Der Ring des Nibelungen (The
Ring of the Nibelung) by the German composer Richard Wagner. Opera
is a drama in which the story is expressed in music, consisting
mainly of songs sung by the characters.
The story is a fantasy of mystery and adventure based on the ring
legend, which comes to us through European tradition.
Beautiful and magnificent music, live performance by an orchestra,
overwhelming power of singers who sing without microphones, impassioned
acting in front of the audience, effects of stage settings that
unfold one after another---all these combine to lead to the moving
denouement of the story in which love is extolled. An operatic version
of the story of the ring is full of highlights. The New National
Theatre, Tokyo, Japan’s first opera house, will devote all
its energies to delivering a work of adventure filled with operatic
charm. The NNTT hopes that together with their families and friends,
interested elementary and junior high school students will enjoy
their first opera experience as part of the audience of the theatre
during the summer vacation this year.
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