With a joyous call on his horn, Siegfried announces his presence in the great forest of Fafner. Turned into a dragon by the lure of the Ring, Fafner, one of the two giants who built Valhalla for Wotan, is being sought by Siegfried. Siegfried, who has been raised by the dwarf Mime, is afraid of nothing and has been sent by Mime to defeat Fafner. Mime, of course, has his own agenda in this – after Siegfried has killed the dragon, Mime will offer him a poisoned cup and gain the ring of power.

Daniel Brenna (Siegfried) from Finnish National Opera © Ralph Larmann

Siegfried arrives at Fafner’s cave where Woton the Wanderer, who wants to see the battle, and Alberich, who originally stole the gold that made the ring from Rhinemaidens but lost it all to Wotan, are also waiting.

With his horn call, Siegfried has awoken Fafner, who soon emerges.

Richard Wagner: Siegfried – Act II Scene 2: Siegfrieds Hornruf (Siegfried’s Horncall) – Haha! Da hätte mein Lied (Simon O’Neill, Siegfried; Falk Struckmann, Fafner; Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Jaap van Zweden, cond.)

He’s defeated by Siegfried and in his last moments, warns Siegfried about the fatal qualities of the ring.

Richard Wagner: Siegfried – Act II Scene 2: Wer bist du, kühner Knabe (Falk Struckmann, Fafner; Simon O’Neill, Siegfried; Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Jaap van Zweden, cond.)

As Siegfried withdraws his sword, he’s splashed with Fafner’s hot blood and burns himself. He sucks his burn and, in taking in Fafner’s blood, can understand the bird he couldn’t understand earlier. He’d seen Fafner’s ring without interest before but now, on the advice of the bird, keeps the ring.

Richard Wagner: Siegfried – Act II Scene 2: Ist mir doch fast, als sprächen die Vög’lein zu mir (Simon O’Neill, Siegfried; Valentina Farcas, Forest Bird; Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Jaap van Zweden, cond.)

Mime appears with his congratulatory drink, which Siegfried, now with the dragon’s blood advantage, realizes his danger and kills Mime.

Richard Wagner: Siegfried – Act II Scene 3: Willkommen, Siegfried! (David Cangelosi; Mime; Simon O’Neill, Siegfried; Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Jaap van Zweden, cond.)

© South China Morning Post

And so the dragon is defeated, his enemies are disposed of, and the naïve Siegfried learns about a new trial he can try: the bird has told him about a woman sleeping on a rock surrounded by magic fire! Off to discover if he can complete his hero’s education by learning fear from this woman, Siegfried sets off again on his next adventure.

And so we look at Chinese New Year 2024: the Year of the Wood Dragon. The dragon symbolizes power, nobleness, honour, luck, and success. Wood brings vitality and creativity. This is the year for people who want to change the world. The year for perfectionists who are goal-oriented. It’s been 60 years since our last Wood Dragon year, so look around carefully for the last set of goal-oriented perfectionists born as Wood Dragons. They include Boris Johnson and Keanu Reeves, actress Sandra Bullock and vice-president Kamala Harris, musicians Robert Trujillo of Metallica and Eddie Vedder of Peal Jam – it should make for an interesting year!

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