Photo: William Harris, 1988
Act I: Gunther and Gutrune sit in their ancestral home on the
Rhine, the Hall of the Gibichungs, with their half-brother Hagen. All three
had the same mother, but Hagen's father is Alberich, the Nibelung. Gunther
asks Hagen what treasures he can win to achieve fame for his family name.
Hagen suggests that Gunther marry the noble Valkyrie Brünnhilde, and
that Gutrune marry the great hero Siegfried, of whom he has heard great things;
then they will have made good matches as well as capturing the powerful Ring.
They hatch a plot to give Siegfried a magical potion that will cause him
to forget all women but Gutrune. Then they will have Siegfried win Brünnhilde
to be Gunther's bride.
