The first of the four music dramas in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. In the depths of the Rhine, the three Rhinemaidens guard the Rhinegold. Whoever forges it into a ring will gain power, but must renounce love. Frustrated by his failure to catch one of the girls, the Nibelung dwarf Alberich curses love and steals the gold. Wotan, lord of the gods, is reproached by his wife. A payment is suggested: the ring Alberich has forged from the Rhinegold. The giants agree, and Wotan and Loge leave for the Nibelungs’ home. Here they meet Alberich’s brother Mime, who has forged the Tarnhelm, a helmet that transforms its wearer into any shape. Alberich curses the ring: a destiny of worry and death for its bearer. The giants return and agree to accept the gold. Wotan reluctantly gives up the ring, and Alberich’s curse claims its first victim as Fafner kills his brother. As the Rhinemaidens lament the loss of their gold, the gods walk toward their new home, which Wotan names Valhalla.