In the third installment of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (or The Ring Cycle) we meet our hero Siegfried, the son of Sieglinde and Siegmund, and grandson of Wotan, the king of the gods.
After his mother died in childbirth, Siegfried was raised by Mime, one of the Nibelung. Now a headstrong young man, Siegfried knows that Mime cannot really be his father, and he is desperate to find some connection and companionship in the world. After he defeats the dragon Fafner on Mime’s behalf, Siegfried learns that Mime had planned his whole life to use him for this purpose, and now he intends to kill him. Siegfried defends himself before it is too late, and kills Mime with one blow.
He now sets out in search of some companionship. A bird in the forest tells him of a beautiful woman lying on the mountainside, wreathed in fire. Only the most courageous man could possibly claim her for his own. Siegfried has never felt fear in his life. He follows the bird to the mountainside to claim the woman, Brünnhilde for his own.
Siegfried guide sections
