The Rhinemaidens

The Rhinemaidens are important, yet fleeting, characters in The Ring. Water nymphs tasked with protecting the magical gold at the depths of the Rhine River, Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde, inadvertently set in motion the stealing of the gold and the forging of the ring. They are the first characters seen on stage in Das Rheingold and last characters seen on stage in Götterdämmerung.

The Rhinemaidens in Das Rheingold

“Rheingold! Rheingold! Reines Gold!”
(Rhinegold! Rhinegold! Pure gold!)
—Das Rheingold, Act 1, Scene 4

The Rhinemaidens are elusive, playful, and seductive representations of the natural world. When Alberich visits them at the Rhine River where they are protecting magical gold, they insult and mock him with promises of love. Even though it was the Rhinemaidens’ careless discussion in Alberich’s presence that led him to steal the gold, they are devastated by its loss and plead with the gods for the gold's return.

Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde are tied to the gold in all of their appearances in The Ring, as its protectors before it is stolen, lamenting its loss when it is stolen, and eventually reclaiming the gold when it is returned to them by Brünnhilde. They are vital to the plot development throughout the four operas, but are not thoroughly defined as individual characters with their own motivations.

• Biographical Information

  
  Species: Water Nymphs

  Residence: Banks of the Rhine River

  Name Meaning: Maidens of the Rhine River

• Family Relationships

  
  Sisters: Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde

• Abilities & Artifacts

  
  Abilities: Immortality

  Artifacts: The Rhinegold (magical gold used to forge the ring)

• Appearances in The Ring

  
  Die Walküre: The Rhinemaidens’ bathe on the bank of the Rhine River and accidentally reveal to Alberich that he must renounce love in order to steal the gold. When Alberich steals the gold, the Rhinemaidens sing their lament from offstage.

  Götterdämmerung: They meet Siegfried and tell him of the power that the ring possesses. Later, Brünnhilde returns the ring to the Rhinemaidens in the Rhine River, and when Hagen dives into the river in an attempt to take the ring, the Rhinemaidens drag him to his death.

• Themes & Leitmotifs

  
  The Rhinemaidens represent the freedom, chaos, and amorality of the natural world. Their most well-known leitmotif, their song of lament, is first heard in Das Rheingold after Alberich steals the gold, but returns at the end of Götterdämmerung.

• Trivia

  
  On the night before his death, Richard Wagner is said to have played the Rhinemaidens’ lament, which takes place at the end of Das Rheingold, on his piano in Venice. Supposedly, the last song he ever played.

• Portrayed By

  
  Soprano Sofia Gotch, mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm, and mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven will portray the three Rhinemaidens, Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde, respectively, in The Ring Cycle in 2028.