4 Key Things to Know About Das Rheingold in Wagner’s Ring Cycle

It is the prologue to Wagner’s four-opera Ring cycle Das Rheingold sets the entire story in motion, introducing the ring’s curse and the gods of Valhalla.

The opera has no intermission It runs about two and a half hours straight, with continuous music that never lets up.

The ring’s curse is the central plot device The gold stolen from the Rhine maidens is forged into a ring that brings doom to anyone who possesses it.

The gods are flawed from the start Wotan and the other gods make a deal with the giants that leads to betrayal and sets the stage for the rest of the cycle.