What Are You Listening To?

[Tiggi]

In which Siegfried - Sieglinde's unborn child from Die Valkure - is found to have been raised by Mime - the brother of Alberich the evil dwarf from Das Rheingold - following Sieglinde's death in childbirth.

Siegfried despises Mime, who has only raised Siegfried since he hopes the young man will enable him to get his hands on the golden treasure being guarded by Fafner, who has transformed himself into a ferocious dragon using the Tarnhelm.

Siegfried quizzes Mime about his parents, and Mime recounts the events. Siegfried asks for proof of the facts, and Mime produces the pieces of the Notung sword which was shattered by Wotan's spear when he killed Siegfried's father Siegmund during Die Valkure.

Siegfried forges the sword anew from the pieces, slays the dragon, plus Mime & Alberich - who has been waiting outside Fafner's cave for an opportunity to seize back the treasure - takes the ring, and follows a woodland bird who leads him to Brunnhilde - his half sister - who has been asleep on a mountain top surrounded by a ring of fire since Sieglinde's departure at the end of Die Valkure.

Siegfried is the hero destined to brave the fire, and awake Brunnhilde, following which the half siblings fall in love.