Mime

A victim of his brother Alberich’s cruelty, Mime, a Nibelung slave, first appears as a sympathetic character in The Ring. But after raising the young and fearless Siegfried to slay a dangerous dragon, Mime’s true intentions are revealed. He too seeks to gain power through the ring no matter the cost.

Mime in Siegfried

“dem Horte in Fafners Hut, dem Golde galt meine Müh'”
(The gold that’s hid in Fafner’s cave, that gold alone I sought to win.) 
—Siegfried, Act II, Scene 3

After being forced to forge the magical Tarnhelm for his brother Alberich, Mime sees firsthand the power of the gold and plans to take that power for himself. Later, Mime finds and raises Siegfried in the woods in isolation, with the intention to send Siegfried to slay the dragon Fafner and steal his hoard. But when Siegfried tastes the dragon’s blood and gains the power of insight, Mime’s true intentions are revealed.

• Biographical Information

  
  Species: Nibelung

  Residence: Nibelheim, and later, isolated in the forest

  Name Meaning: From Old Norse Mímir, meaning “the rememberer”

  Cause of Death: Killed by Siegfried in Act Two of Siegfried

• Family Relationships

  
  Brother: Alberich

  Foster Son: Siegfried

  Nephew: Hagen

• Abilities & Artifacts

  
  Abilities: Metal forging

  Artifacts: Forger of the Tarnhelm

• Appearances in The Ring

  
  Das Rheingold: Enslaved by Alberich, Mime forges the Tarnhelm.

  Siegfried: He raises Siegfried alone in the woods in hopes of him stealing back the ring and the Tarnhelm, however, Siegfried learns Mime’s true intentions, and Siegfried kills him.

• Themes & Leitmotifs

  
  Mime is a complex character in The Ring. He is a great metal forger, yet is unable to reforge the sword Nothung. He is greedy in his efforts to claim the gold, but when confronted by Alberich over the hoard, he is willing to give up the ring if he can only keep the Tarnhelm. Whether his actions are good, evil, or neutral, his ties to metal forging and his raising of Siegfried shape the events of The Ring Cycle.

  Mime is associated with Leitmotifs of brooding, scheming, forging, and the Nibelungs.
  

• Trivia

  
  Mime is the only Nibelung slave to be personalized in The Ring.

• San Francisco Opera History

  
  The immanently versatile tenor Marek Windheim was something of a good-luck charm for San Francisco Opera’s opening nights during the 1930s. He made his Company debut in the 1931 opening production of Henri Raboud’s Mârouf and was Spoletta in Tosca for the 1932 inauguration of the War Memorial Opera House. After missing the 1933 Season, Windheim returned on opening night of 1934 as Wenzel in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride. For the Company’s 1935 season-opener he was Mime in Das Rheingold, followed five days later by Mime in Siegfried, the role for which he is best remembered.
  

• Portrayed By

  
  Tenor Zhengyi Bai will portay Mime in The Ring Cycle in 2028.