das Barbecu

The Ring Cycle is comprised of 4 different operas (DAS RHEINGOLD, DIE WALKÜRE, SIEGFRIED & GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG) that tells an epic story (over 15 hours long!) that has been compressed into a two and a half hour musical as Das Barbecu and moved to the epic story telling land of Texas.

For all our non-opera going crowd, we thought we would bring you up to speed with this tutorial before entering the theatre….although our cast will also give you a quick overview at the top of the show.

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The Three Rhinemaidens are swimming in the depths of the river Rhine, as Alberich (a night-dwarf) enters and sees a pile of gold. The Rhinemaidens tell Alberich that if someone should forswear all love, he would be able to forge an all-powerful ring of the gold. Without a thought, Alberich steals the gold. Elsewhere, Wotan (the chief of gods) has hired two giants to build him a mighty fortress and promises his sister-in-law, Freya, as payment (all to the dismay of his wife, Fricka: goddess of marriage). Wotan is told about the Ring that Alberich has made from the stolen gold and decides to steal it for himself. Crushed, Alberich places a powerful curse on the Ring enslaving the owner to doom. Hearing of the Ring, the giants return with Freya demanding the Ring instead. A woman appears and tells Wotan to surrender the Ring and thus evade its dreaded curse. She introduces herself as Erda the Earthmother and tells the gods she has seen a dark day dawn for the gods: the End of Everything. Then she disappears. Reluctantly, Wotan follows this piece of advice and gives the Ring to the giants. Immediately, the giants start a fight over how to divide the treasure. One giant brother kills the other and Wotan is left in his mighty fortress now christened as Valhalla.

Time has passed and Wotan is telling his valkyrie daughter Bruennhilde the tale of the Ring and Erda’s warning about it. We find out that Erda is Bruenhilde’s mother as Wotan overpowered her with the magic of love. Wotan, concerned about the dark day that may befall the gods order the valkyries to collect perished brave heroes and for Bruennhilde to act as protection for a particular one. Bruennhilde finds herself drawn to a different man and disobeys her father. During the fight, the wrong man is killed and Bruenhilde flees the scene, leaving Wotan to chase after his rebel daughter. Once he finds her, he says Bruennhilde will be a valkyrie no longer, she will lay defenseless in deep sleep and will become wife to the first person who finds her. Bruennhilde tries to make Wotan change his mind, but it is no use. Her last wish is that Wotan surround her with a wall of fire which only bravest of all heroes can penetrate. Bruennhilde falls to sleep and Wotan gives her a long goodbye - and then kisses her godhood away: she is a mortal woman now. Wotan knocks the ground three times with his Runespear and fire surrounds the sleeping Bruennhilde.

In a cavern in deep wilderness, a young man named Siegfried is challenged to slay the giant (who is now a dragon) and get the Ring back. He does so, all while Wotan (disguised as “Wanderer”) and Alberich are told of everything going on with him. Wotan goes to Erda and tells her about Breunnhilde’s fate. As Erda sleeps, Siegfried meets Wotan at the base of the mountain on the top of which Breunnhilde lies. Wotan interviews Siegfried about his newest heroic deed, blocking his path with his Runspear. Siegfried knows he has now met the person responsible for his father's death and as a vengeance breaks Wotan's Runespear in two. With a crack of thunder, Wotan loses all his might and flees as Siegfried climbs up to Bruennhilde and wakes her with a kiss. But as she sees her valkyrie battlegear and her steed, she is reminded once more of her glorious past. She realizes that she can never get that back again. As the passion toward Siegfried takes over her, she no longer cares for Valhalla. They declare their love to each other as Bruennhilde falls in Siegfried's arms, leaving her past life behind her, for good.

Edna’s children (the three Norns) are spinning the rope of fate, discussing the past and future, when the rope snaps and is broken. A new day dawns around the Valkyrie Rock where Siegfried and Bruennhilde are. Siegfried gives the Ring to Bruennhilde, as a token of his faith and rides down the mountainside toward the River Rhine. In the castle, Lord Gunther asks his clever half-brother Hagen (whose father is Alberich) how could he win more fame and glory. Hagen says that Gunther should marry and only one wife would be noble enough for him: Bruennhilde who is surrounded by magic fire which only the bravest of heroes can penetrate. Unfortunately, Siegfried is the one person with the courage to get to her, but Hagen believes he is meant to marry Gunther's sister, Gutrune. Hagen sets a plan to use a magic potion which would make Siegfried lose his memory and fall in love with the first woman he sees: which they do when Siegfried arrives at their castle and lays eyes on Gutrune. To move the plan along, Siegfried returns to Brunnhidle, disguised as Gunther, takes the Ring and returns to the castle telling all the weddings can go on as planned. When Bruennhilde arrives with Gunther in a boat, she is shocked seeing Siegfried and Gutrune together, but more so seeing the Ring on Siegfried's finger. She now knows it was Siegfried dressed as Gunther that approached her on the mountain. Hagen, who has been using everyone as his pawn to get the Ring, suggests to Bruennhilde that Siegfried has played some trick and offers to avenge her with Siegfried’s death.

While on a hunting expedition with Hagen and Gunther, Siegfried drinks a new potion made by Hagen that revives his memory. He starts telling stories from his past including how he found Bruennhilde. Gunther is shocked that Siegfried remembers his true love and Hagen, recalling a decree from his father Alberich to gain the Ring, plunges his spear in Siegfried's back killing him. Siegfried's corpse is taken to the castle and after killing his half-brother, Hagen moves in on the Ring but is stopped short as Siegfried's corpse raises its hand, terrifying Hagen who flees. Bruennhilde has overheard the entire fight and now knows that Siegfried did not deceive her. She instructs the vassals to pile logs into a funeral pyre and leave Siegfried's corpse atop the pyre aflame with fire. She takes the Ring and says that the fire that soon consumes her will cleanse it from the Curse and then the Rhinemaidens can fetch their gold from the ashes. She puts on the Ring, cries out for the God of fire to torch Wotan’s home of Valhalla, mounts her steed, and speaking a last greeting to Siegfried, rides into the blazing pyre.

THE END...

now ain't that just a heart warming story?? See ya at the theatre for some barbecu!