The first of the four operas that comprise Wagner's Ring cycle, Das Rheingold has a narrative that serves as the backstory of the ensuing saga of deceit, greed, and betrayal. It opens underwater, with the Rhine maidens tricked of their gold by the Nibelung, Alberich, who forswears love for the power to rule the world. We are then taken to Valhalla, where Wotan's new castle must be paid for. The giants who built it demand his sister-in-law Freia in payment. But the wily god descends to the underworld to steal Alberich's gold. He pays them with it, including the magic ring upon which Alberich lays a terrible curse. Its first victim is the giant Fasolt, murdered by his brother, Fafner, who takes his booty. This version of Das Rheingold features the talents of leading Wagnerians. Producer Harry Kupfer, a veteran of several Ring cycles, sees the operas as a parable of man's greed and despoliation of nature and his spare sets reflect that vision. The ash tree, central to the plot, dominates a stage whose grid screen backdrop changes to suit the action, vertical lights symbolizing the bridge across which the gods walk in triumph to their new castle. Wotan descends to the Nibelung realm, a nightmare factory of clanking machinery and fearful slaves, via a stairway encased in a transparent plastic tube reminiscent of the escalators in Paris' De Gaulle airport. The gods are costumed in nondescript generic outfits and enter Valhalla's castle holding suitcases. The giants are fitted in clumsy industrial garb that limits their movements. A grim vision expertly realized by Kupfer, but made darker by filming that casts the action in murky gloom.