Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (‘The Ring of the Nibelung’).
Das Rheingold premiered at the National Theatre Munich on September 22, 1869, with August Kindermann in the role of Wotan, Heinrich Vogl as Loge, and Karl Fischer as Alberich. Wagner wanted this opera to premiere as part of the entire cycle, but was forced to allow the performance at the insistence of his patron King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The opera was first performed as part of the complete cycle on August 13, 1876, in the Bayreuther Festspielhaus.