Wagner’s story of the Ring may be summarized as follows: 

A hoard of gold exists in the depths of the Rhine, guarded by the innocent Rhine-maidens.  Alberich, the dwarf, forswears love to gain this gold.  He makes it into a magic ring.  It gives him all power, and he gathers by it a vast amount of treasures.

Meanwhile Wotan, chief of the gods, has engaged the giants to build for him a noble castle, Valhalla, from whence to rule the world, promising in payment Freya, goddess of youth and love.  But the gods find they cannot spare Freya, as they are dependent on her for their immortal youth.  Loki, called upon to provide a substitute, tells of Alberich’s magic ring and other treasure.  Wotan goes with Loki, and they steal the ring and the golden hoard from Alberich, who curses the ring and lays the curse on all who shall henceforth possess it.  The gods give the ring and the treasure to the giants as a substitute for Freya.  The curse at once begins.  One giant, Fafner, kills his brother to get all, and transforms himself into a dragon to guard his wealth.  The gods enter Valhalla over the rainbow bridge.  This ends the first part of the drama, called the Rhine-Gold.

The second part, the Valkyrie, relates how Wotan still covets the ring.  He cannot take it himself, for he has given his word to the giants.  He stands or falls by his word.  So he devises an artifice to get the ring.  He will get a hero-race to work for him and recover the ring and the treasures.  Siegmund and Sieglinda are twin children of this new race.  Sieglinda is carried off as a child and is forced into marriage with Hunding.  Siegmund comes, and unknowingly breaks the law of marriage, but wins Nothung, the great sword, and a bride.  Brunhild, chief of the Valkyrie, is commissioned by Wotan at the instance of Fricka, goddess of marriage, to slay him for his sin.  She disobeys and tries to save him, but Hunding, helped by Wotan, slays him.  Sieglinda, however, about to bear the free hero, to be called Siegfried, is saved by Brunhild, and hid in the forest.  Brunhild herself is punished by being made a mortal woman.  She is left sleeping on the mountains with a wall of fire around her which only a hero can penetrate.

The drama continues with the story of Siegfried, which opens with a scene in the smithy between Mime the dwarf and Siegfried.  Mime is welding a sword, and Siegfried scorns him.  Mime tells him something of his mother, Sieglinda, and shows him the broken pieces of his father’s sword.  Wotan comes and tells Mime that only one who has no fear can remake the sword.  Now Siegfried knows no fear and soon remakes the sword Nothung.  Wotan and Alberich come to where the dragon Fafner is guarding the ring.  They both long for it, but neither can take it.  Soon Mime comes bringing Siegfried with the mighty sword.  Fafner comes out, but Siegfried slays him.  Happening to touch his lips with the dragon’s blood, he understands the language of the birds.  They tell him of the ring.  He goes and gets it.  Siegfried now has possession of the ring, but it is to bring him nothing of happiness, only evil.  It is to curse love and finally bring death.  The birds also tell him of Mime’s treachery.  He slays Mime.  He longs for some one to love.  The birds tell him of the slumbering Brunnhilda, whom he finds and marries.