This \'fore-evening\' to Wagner\'s \'Bühnenfest-spiel\' (festi-val theatrical presentation) Der Ring des Nibelungen takes us into a world of gods, dwarfs, and giants. In Das Rheingold we find ourselves among the nymphs of the river Rhine who guard an accumulation of gold and treasures. These Rhinemaidens betray the secret of the gold, which can be acquired only by one who forswears love, and this sets loose a complicated thread of intrigues, machinations, and magic tricks. Everyone wants to win possession of the golden ring, in which lies the power of the gold. But the ring is cursed and all who wear it are doomed to die