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Concept
Alberich
Summary
In German heroic legend, Alberich (ˈalbəʁɪç) is a dwarf. He features most prominently in the poems Nibelungenlied and Ortnit. He also features in the Old Norse collection of German legends called the Thidreksaga under the name Alfrikr. His name means "ruler of supernatural beings (elves)", and is equivalent to Old French Auberon (English Oberon).
The name was later used for a character in Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Alberich plays a prominent role in the Nibelungenlied, where he is the guardian of the Nibelung's treasure and has the strength of twelve men. Siegfried overpowers him using his cloak of invisibility (Tarnkappe), after which the dwarf serves the hero. Siegfried later pulls his beard in mock combat when he arrives unannounced to claim the treasure.
Ortnit seeks to woo the daughter of the heathen king Machorel, Alberich reveals his paternity to Ortnit and aids him in his quest, playing tricks on the heathen king and even impersonating Mohammed. When Ortnit sets out on his final fatal adventure against a plague of dragons, Alberich takes back the magic ring and warns Ortnit not to go on his quest.
In the Thidrekssaga, Alfrikr makes the swords Eckisax and Nagelringr, giving this last sword to Thidrek.
References to Alberich outside of heroic poetry are rare.
In Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, Alberich is the chief of the Nibelungen race of dwarves and the main antagonist driving events. In Das Rheingold, the first opera in the cycle, he gains the power to forge the ring after renouncing love and stealing the gold of the river Rhein, of which the ring is made. His brother, the smith Mime, creates the Tarnhelm for Alberich. News of the gold robbery and ring of power incites gods and giants alike to action. The giants Fafner and Fasolt demand the ring in payment for building Valhalla, and carry off Freia as a hostage. In Götterdämmerung (the fourth opera in Wagner's cycle), Hagen, the murderer of the hero Siegfried, is the half-human half-dwarf son of Alberich by Grimhilde, a human woman.
Official source
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