Editing Das Rheingold (section)

==Background and context==
{{Further|Der Ring des Nibelungen{{!}}''Der Ring des Nibelungen''}}
{{Quote box|width=200px|bgcolor=#E0E6F8|align=|quote= '''Structure of the ''Ring'' cycle'''<br />
# ''Das Rheingold''
# ''[[Die Walküre]]''
# ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]''
# ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'' |salign = left|source= }}
Having completed his opera ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' in April 1848, [[Richard Wagner]] chose as his next subject [[Sigurd|Siegfried]], the legendary hero of [[Germanic mythology|Germanic myth]].{{sfn|Gutman|1971|p=175}} In October of that year he prepared a prose outline for ''Siegfried's Death'', which during the following months he developed into a full libretto.{{sfn|Holman|2001|p=33}} After his flight from [[Dresden]] and relocation in Switzerland, he continued to develop and expand his Siegfried project, having decided meantime that a single work would not suffice for his purposes; in his enlarged concept, ''Siegfried's Death'' would be the culmination of a series of musical dramas incorporating a network of myths from his sources and imagination, each telling a stage of the story. In 1851 he outlined his purpose in his essay "[[A Communication to My Friends]]": "I propose to produce my myth in three complete dramas, preceded by a lengthy prelude (Vorspiel)."{{sfn|Wagner, tr. Ellis 1895|p=63}} Each of these dramas would, he said, constitute an independent whole, but would not be performed separately. "At a specially-appointed Festival, I propose, some future time, to produce those three dramas with their prelude, in the course of three days and a fore-evening.{{sfn|Wagner, tr. Ellis 1895|p=63}}

In accordance with this scheme, ''Siegfried's Death'', much revised from its original form, eventually became ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'' (''The Twilight of the Gods''). It was preceded by the story of Siegfried's youth, ''Young Siegfried'', later renamed ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'', itself preceded by ''[[Die Walküre]]'' (''The Valkyrie''). Finally, to these three works Wagner added a prologue which he named ''Das Rheingold''.{{sfn|Jacobs|1980|p=63}}