Der Rheingold

-by Mom

The last week in October, we took a break from regular work to watch Opera! We focused on Wagner's Ring Cycle. What was really interesting was diving into the Germanic mythology that underpinned the story. 

After watching Der Rheingold, Asha made the following plot summary: 

1. The Rhinemaiden in the water 
2. Alberich the Nibelung talks to the Rhinemaidens. 
3. The Rhinemaidens were mean to Alberich. 
4. Then Alberich took one gold from the water. 
5. The Rhinemaiden said don't take the gold or you will not be loved.
6. But Alberich did not care; he took it anyway. 
7. There were two giants and then there were the gods.
8. There was a dragon in the story. 
9. The helmet was magic. 
10. The gods said, “Let’s trap him.”

We also made popsicle stick puppets to get all of the characters straight.

We read Benjamin's Ring : The Story of Richard Wagner's the Ring of the Nibelungs for Young Readers
by Roz Goldfarb