WAGNER - Das Rheingold
Wagner makes Wotan, the chief of the gods, the most interesting character in the first part of the cycle. His decision to build a castle, Valhalla, shows that he wants power but also needs to protect himself. He is caught in a web of deceit of his own making and every action he takes seems to make matters worse. His promised payment to the giants for their labours he knows cannot be honoured so Loge, god of fire and mischief, is trying to find a replacement. Although Loge’s report worries him as it tells of how a dwarf, Alberich, when rejected by the Rhinemaidens, stole their gold and has made an all-powerful ring, he seizes the opportunity of paying off the giants and securing himself the ring by stealing what Alberich has stolen, thereby eliminating Alberich as a potential threat. By a trick he indeed snatches the ring from Alberich who utters a fearful curse to the effect that everyone will want to own it but it will only bring about their destruction. The ‘Love of Power versus the Power of Love’ drama is thus set in inexorable motion. Bernard Haitink conducts this recording, made in 1988 with many leading Wagnerians of the day, notably James Morris as Wotan and Theo Adam as Alberich.

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