Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold):
- Scene I: The dwarf Alberich attempts to woo Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde, the three Rhinemaidens Translation Note ; repelled by his foul appearance, they reject and tease him. The magical Rhine Gold reveals itself, and the Rhinemaidens mockingly explain to Alberich that whoever renounces love could shape the gold into a magical ring that would gain him the power to rule the world, whereupon Alberich forswears all love and steals the gold, plunging the Rhine into darkness.
- Scene II: The giants Fasolt and Fafner build Walhall (i.e. Valhalla) for Wotan, king of the gods, in exchange for the goddess of love, Freia, who also provides the Gods with the golden apples of youth, without which they will weaken and perish. The Fire God Loge (who was supposed to find a way for Wotan to avoid giving Freia to the Giants) tells the gods (and giants) of the theft of the gold by Alberich. The Giants agree to accept the Ring of Power Alberich has made from the gold as ransom.
- Scene III: Alberich enslaves all the Nibelungs and forces his brother Mime, the most skilled smith among them, to forge him a magical helmet called the Tarnhelm. The Gods Wotan and Loge capture him anyway after tricking him into turning himself into a toad while demonstrating the Tarnhelm's power.
- Scene IV: Loge and Wotan force Alberich to ransom himself with his treasure, the Tarnhelm, and the Ring, which Alberich curses. Wotan reluctantly gives these up to the giants, upon being warned by Erda (the Earth-goddess) not to keep the ring. Fafner murders Fasolt as they argue over the treasure. The Rhinemaidens lament losing their gold and berate the gods, who enter Walhall.
Die Walküre (The Valkyrie):
- Act I: Siegmund, son of Wälse (Wotan), falls in love with the wife of Hunding — unknown to him, his twin, Sieglinde. Hunding reveals he is chasing Siegmund for killing his kin, but he will allow him hospitality for one night, but kill the unarmed warrior in the morning. Sieglinde shows Siegmund the magic sword which Wälse has left for him; he pulls it from the roof-tree in which it was embedded, and they elope together, despite realising they are siblings.
- Act II: Wotan reveals to his wife Fricka that he intends Siegmund to slay Fafner (who has turned himself into a dragon) and win the Ring; Fricka, however, as goddess of marriage is horrified by the twins’ adultery and twincest, so she induces him to abandon Siegmund and send the Valkyrie Brünnhilde (daughter of Wotan and Erda, as well as Wotan's favorite daughter) to ensure that Hunding kill him. Bound by his own laws, Wotan orders Brünnhilde to do so, but she, knowing that Wotan has doomed Siegmund unwillingly and on discovering that Siegmund prefers perdition with Sieglinde to Walhall, decides to help him. Enraged by her defiance, Wotan appears and shatters Siegmund’s sword, allowing Hunding to kill him; Wotan then kills Hunding, and departs in wrath to punish the disobedient Brünnhilde, who has fled with Sieglinde and the fragments of the sword.
- Act III: The Valkyries note gather; Brünnhilde begs her sisters to shelter her and Sieglinde, but they refuse as they're terrified of Wotan's anger. Brünnhilde tells Sieglinde she is pregnant and sends her, with the sword's fragments, to hide in the wood where Fafner lives. Wotan arrives, dismisses the Valkyries, and punishes Brünnhilde by turning her mortal, abandoning her to whomever may come along. Brünnhilde begs him at least to ensure that no unworthy lover may claim her; he relents to this extent and, after putting her in a magical sleep, summons a circle of magic fire to protect her, leaving in sorrow.
Siegfried:
- Act I: Siegfried, the child of Siegmund and Sieglinde, has been raised by Alberich’s brother Mime after Sieglinde died, so that he can slay Fafner (whereupon Mime would take the unguarded Ring), though Siegfried detests and distrusts the sneakish dwarf. Mime is unable to re-forge Siegmund's sword; Wotan tells him that only one who knows no fear can do so and that this person will have Mime's head. Siegfried re-forges the fragments of his father’s sword while Mime plots against him.
- Act II: Siegfried kills Fafner and, after burning his hand on Fafner's blood and instinctively putting it in his mouth, he gains the power of understanding birdsong. When Mime tries to poison him, thanks to the magical understanding of a wood-bird's warnings and Mime's secret thoughts granted him by the dragon's blood, he slays the treacherous dwarf and takes the Ring and Tarnhelm.
- Act III: Told of the beautiful sleeping Brünnhilde by the wood-bird, Siegfried goes to wake her. He defies Wotan and breaks his spear, passes through the fire, and wakes Brünnhilde by kissing her, claiming her as his lover. Brünnhilde is satisfied and agrees to be with him.
Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods):
- Prologue: As the three Norns, the daughters of Erda, spin the thread of fate, they sing of the past and present, revealing that the world tree has withered due to Wotan's breaking a branch off to carve his spear. As they attempt to understand the future, the thread snaps; they vanish in despair. Meanwhile, Siegfried gives Brünnhilde the Ring and goes to seek adventure.
- Act I: Hagen, son of Alberich, suggests to his half-brother Gunther, lord of the Gibichungs, that they use a love-potion to make Siegfried fall in love with their sister Gutrune and induce him to win Brünnhilde for Gunther. Siegfried arrives, and Gutrune gives him the magic drink, causing him to forget Brünnhilde. Meanwhile Brünnhilde is visited by her Valkyrie sister Waltraute, who informs her that Wotan is waiting in Walhall for the end and that the theft of the gold from the Rhinemaidens will bring doom upon the gods unless it is returned; Brünnhilde refuses to give up the Ring, the emblem of Siegfried's love. Siegfried uses the Tarnhelm to disguise himself as Gunther and abducts Brünnhilde from the fire, as well as wresting the Ring from her.
- Act II: Alberich speaks with his son Hagen, urging him to take the Ring. When the captive Brünnhilde sees Siegfried with his new wife Gutrune, she declares that he has been her lover; seeing him wearing the Ring leads her to believe he has deliberately deceived her. Siegfried denies the charge, but she, Gunther, and Hagen swear revenge on him; Brünnhilde reveals Siegfried's weakness: he can be stabbed in the back, as when she made him invulnerable she knew he wouldn't turn his back on an enemy.
- Act III: During a hunt arranged by Hagen, Siegfried meets the Rhine-maidens, who urge him to restore the Ring to them, to no avail. Thereafter, Hagen mixes another potion to return Siegfried's memories; as Siegfried narrates his adventures, Hagen draws his attention to a pair of ravens flying by and spears the hero as he turns to see them. Siegfried dies, recalling his brief happiness with Brünnhilde. His body is brought to the palace, where Hagen tries to claim the Ring; when Gunther tries to dispute this claim, Hagen kills him. When he tries to seize the Ring, he is prevented when the dead Siegfried threateningly raises his hand; thereupon, Brünnhilde, who has realized everything, appears to explain all, and Gutrune, realising that Siegfried never loved her, succumbs to Death by Despair. Taking the Ring, Brünnhilde commands a funeral pyre for Siegfried; after giving a eulogy and calling upon the Rhinemaidens to take the Ring when the fires have purged its evil, she immolates herself (and her horse, Grane) in the leaping flames. The fire rises to kindle Walhall, destroying Wotan and all the gods. The Rhine overflows its banks, quenching the conflagration, and the Rhine-maidens come to claim the Gold; when Hagen attempts to stop them, they drown him and hold aloft the Ring in triumph.
