Richard Wagner

“ And that I splintered with my spear.
Strive not, O maid,
My spirit to trouble!
Await thou the lot
Cast and decreed;
I cannot choose it or change!
But now I must forth,
Fare from thee far;
Too long I stay by thy side.
I must turn from thee,
As thou didst from me;
I must not even
Know thy desire;
Thy doom alone
I must see fulfilled!
BRÜNNHILDE
And what is the doom
That I must suffer?
WOTAN
In slumber fast
Thou shalt be locked;
Wife thou shalt be to the man
Who finds and wakes thee from sleep! ”

“ Brünnhilde with her shield recoils in terror before Wotan; Siegmund's sword breaks in splinters on the outstretched spear. Hunding plunges his sword into the disarmed man's breast. Siegmund falls down dead, and Sieglinde, who has heard his death-sigh, sinks to the ground as if lifeless. With Siegmund's fall the lights on both sides disappear. Dense clouds shroud all but the foreground in darkness. Through these Brünnhilde is dimly seen turning in wild haste to Sieglinde.
BRÜNNHILDE
To horse, that I may save thee! ”

“ ALBERICH
Seest thou the hoard
Yonder heaped
High by my host?
LOGE
A richer one never was seen.
ALBERICH
A wretched pile
Is this to-day, though.
Boldly mounting,
'Twill be bigger henceforward.
WOTAN
But what is gained by the hoard
In joyless Nibelheim,
Where wealth finds nothing to buy?
ALBERICH
Treasure to gather
And treasure to garner—
Thereto Nibelheim serves.
But with the hoard
In the caverns upheaped
Wonders all wonder surpassing
Will I perform
And win the whole world and its fairness.
WOTAN
But, my friend, how compass that goal? ”

“ Freia, the fair one
WOTAN
How sly to judge us serious
When plainly we were but jesting!
The beautiful Goddess
Light and bright—
For churls what charm could she have?
FASOLT
Jeerest thou?
Ha! how unjust!
Ye who by beauty rule,
Proud and radiant race!
How foolish, striving
For towers of stone,
Woman's love to pledge—
Price of walls and of halls!
We dolts, despising ease,
Sweating with toil-hardened hands,
Have worked, that a woman
With gentle delight
In our midst might sojourn
And ye call the pact a jest?
FAFNER
Cease thy childish chatter ”

“ Will any woman
Welcome me there?
BRÜNNHILDE
Wishmaidens
Serve there serene:
Wotan's daughter
Wine will bring for thy cup.
SIEGMUND
High art thou
And holy of aspect,
O Wotan's child:
But one thing tell me, divine one!
The sister and bride,
Shall she follow the brother?
Will Siegmund find Sieglinde there?
BRÜNNHILDE
Air of earth
Still she must breathe here;
Siegmund will find no Sieglinde there! ”

“ Rages the storm.
ROSSWEISSE, GRIMGERDE, AND SCHWERTLEITE
Wildly neighs
Warfather's horse!
HELMWIGE, GERHILDE, AND SIEGRUNE
Panting, snorting it comes!
BRÜNNHILDE
Woe to the woman
If here she is found,
For Wotan has vowed
The Wälsungs shall perish!
The horse that is swiftest
Which of you lends,
That forth the woman may fly?
SIEGRUNE
Wouldst have us too
Madly rebel?
BRÜNNHILDE
Rossweisse, sister,
Wilt lend me thy racer!
ROSSWEISSE
The fleet one from Wotan
Never yet fled.
BRÜNNHILDE
Helmwige, hear me!
HELMWIGE
I flout not our father.
BRÜNNHILDE
Waltraute! ”

“ The free by themselves must be fashioned,
All that I fashion are slaves!
BRÜNNHILDE
But the Wälsung, Siegmund,
Works for himself.
WOTAN
Wild I roamed
In the woodland with him,
Ever against the gods
Goading him to rebel. ”

“ THE VALKYRIES
Be welcomed! Be welcomed!
SCHWERTLEITE
Went ye twain on one quest?
GRIMGERDE
No, singly we rode,
And met but to-day.
ROSSWEISSE
If we all are assembled
Why linger longer?
To Walhall let us away,
Bringing to Wotan the slain.
HELMWIGE
We are but eight;
Wanting is one.
GERHILDE
By the brown-eyed Wälsung
Brünnhilde tarries.
WALTRAUTE
Until she joins us
Here we must wait ”

“ WOTAN
My captive art thou,
Caught and in fetters.
As thou hadst fain
Subdued the world
And all that the world containeth,
Thou liest bound at my feet,
And, coward, canst not deny it.
A ransom alone
Shall loose thee from bondage.
ALBERICH
Ah, the dolt,
The dreamer I was,
To trust blindly
The treacherous thief!
Fearful revenge
Shall follow this wrong!
LOGE
Vain talk this of vengeance
Before thy freedom is won.
To a man in bonds
No free man expiates outrage. ”

“ They swim asunder with merry cries. Flosshilde tries to catch first the one, then the other. They elude her, and then combine to chase her, darting like fish from rock to rock with jests and laughter. Meanwhile Alberich climbs out of a dark ravine on to a rock. He pauses, still surrounded by darkness, and watches the frolic of the Rhine-Maidens with increasing pleasure.
ALBERICH
Hey, hey! ”

“ SIEGMUND
Use threats more baleful
Than blows from Hunding!
Lurkest thou here
Longing for strife,
Fix on him for thy prey.
I think it is he who will fall!
BRÜNNHILDE
Nay, Wälsung,
Doubt not my word;
Thine is the death decreed.
SIEGMUND
Knowest this sword? ”

“ He kisses her long on the eyes, and with these closed she sinks back softly into his arms, unconscious. He carries her gently to a low mossy mound, and lays her there beneath the broad-spreading pine-tree which overshadows it. He gazes at her and closes her helmet; his eyes then rest on the form of the sleeper, which he completely covers with the great steel shield of the Valkyries. Having done so, he moves slowly away, turning to take one more sorrowful look. Then he strides with solemn resolve to the middle of the stage, and points his sword towards a large rock. ”

“ BRÜNNHILDE
All that thou gavest
Thou dost recall?
WOTAN
Conquering thee, one shall take all!
For here on the rock
Bound thou shalt be,
Defenceless in sleep,
Charmed and enchained;
The man who chances this way
And awakes her, shall master the maid.
THE VALKYRIES ”

“ Fafner stops Fasolt as he is hastening off. All stand dismayed; Wotan turns from them in anger. The stage has grown dark again. From a cleft in the rock on one side issues a bluish flame in which Erda suddenly becomes visible, rising so that her upper half is seen. ”

“ The Nibelung hosts of night.
Happy we smiths
Moulded and hammered,
Making our women
Trinkets to wear—
Exquisite Nibelung toys—
And lightly laughed at our toil.
The rogue now compels us
To creep into caverns,
For him alone
To labour unthanked.
Through the golden ring
His greed can divine
Where untouched treasure
In hidden gorge gleams.
We still must keep spying,
Peering and delving:
Must melt the booty,
Which, molten, we forge
Without pause or peace,
To heap up higher his hoard.
LOGE
Just now, then, an idler
Roused him to wrath?
MIME
Poor Mime, ah! ”

“ Deeply moved, remains standing; he looks searchingly at Sieglinde, who, ashamed and sad, lowers her eyes. Returning, he leans against the hearth, his gaze fixed on Sieglinde, who continues silently embarrassed.
Wehwalt named I myself:
Hunding here will I wait for.
Sieglinde starts, listens and hears Hunding outside leading his horse to the stable. She hurries to the door and opens it. Hunding, armed with shield and spear, enters, but, perceiving Siegmund, pauses on the threshold. Hunding turns with a look of stern inquiry to Sieglinde. ”

“ Donner disappears completely in a thunder-cloud which has been growing darker and denser. The stroke of his hammer is heard falling heavily on the rock. A vivid flash of lightning comes from the cloud, followed by a loud clap of thunder. ”

“ Outside a storm is just subsiding. Siegmund opens the entrance door from without, and enters. With his hand on the latch he surveys the room. He seems overwhelmed with fatigue; his dress and appearance indicate that he is in flight. He shuts the door behind him when he sees nobody, walks to the hearth with the final effort of an utterly exhausted man, and throws himself down on a bearskin rug. ”

“ He puts the ring into the sack and tranquilly continues to pack up the rest of the hoard. All the Gods stand horrified. A solemn silence.
Fafner kills Fasolt.
WOTAN
Dread indeed
I find is the curse's might.
LOGE
Unmatched, Wotan,
Surely thy luck is!
Great thy gain was
In getting the ring;
But the gain of its loss
Is gain greater still:
There thy foemen, see,
Slaughter thy foes
For the gold thou hast let go.
WOTAN
Dark forebodings oppress me! ”

“ She rushes away and disappears with her horse down a gorge on the right. Siegmund gazes after her joyful and exultant. The stage has gradually grown dark. Heavy storm-clouds have gathered in the background, and hide the cliffs, gorge, and rocky pass completely from view. ”

“ A gleam of fire issues from the stone and gradually becomes a fiery glow; then flickering flames break forth. Soon wild, shooting flames surround Wotan, who, with his spear, directs the sea of fire to encircle the rock. It spreads towards the background, so that the mountain is surrounded by flame. ”

“ Moved and enraptured, Brünnhilde sinks on the breast of Wotan, who holds her in a long embrace; then she throws back her head again, and, still embracing him, gazes into his eyes with emotion and awe. ”

“ On the left is the entrance to a cave, above which the rock rises to its highest point. At the back the view is quite open. Rocks of varying heights form the edge of the precipice. Clouds fly at intervals past the mountain peak as if driven by storm. Gerhilde, Ortlinde, Waltraute, and Schwertleite have taken up their position on the rocky peak above the cave. They are in full armour. ”

“ Black clouds settle thickly on the cliff; a rushing sound is heard in the wood. From the clouds breaks a vivid flash of lightning, by which the Valkyries are seen packed closely together, and riding wildly away with loose bridles. ”

“ NIBELUNGS: ALBERICH, MIME
GIANTS: FASOLT, FAFNER
GODDESSES: FRICKA, FREIA, ERDA
RHINE-MAIDENS: WOGLINDE, WELLGUNDE, FLOSSHILDE
SCENES OF ACTION
FIRST SCENE At the bottom of the Rhine
A greenish twilight, lighter above than below. The upper part is filled with undulating water, which streams respectively from right to left. Towards the bottom the waves resolve themselves into a mist which grows finer as it descends, so that a space, as high as a mans body from the ground, appears to be quite free from the water, which floats like a train of clouds over the gloomy stretch below. ”

“ She lifts Sieglinde up quickly on to her horse, which is standing near the side ravine, and immediately disappears. Thereupon the clouds divide in the middle, so that Hunding, who has just drawn his sword out of Siegmund's breast, is distinctly seen. Wotan, surrounded by clouds, stands on a rock behind, leaning on his spear and gazing sorrowfully on Siegmund's body. ”

“ From various points in the distance ruddy lights gleam out. An increasing clamour, as of smiths at work, is heard on all sides. The clang of the anvils dies away. A vast subterranean chasm becomes visible which seems to open into narrow gorges on all sides. Alberich drags the screaming Mime out of a side cleft.
ALBERICH
Héhé! ”

“ Siegmund alone. It has grown quite dark. All the light in the hall comes from a dull fire on the hearth. Siegmund sinks down on to a couch beside the fire and broods forsome time silently in great agitation. ”

“ She then turns her eyes on Siegmund, in order to meet his gaze, which he never removes from her. She perceives that Hunding is watching, and proceeds immediately to the bed-chamber. On the steps she turns once more, looks yearningly at Siegmund, and indicates with her eyes, persistently and with speaking plainness, a particular spot in the stem of the ash-tree. Hunding starts, and drives her off with a violent gesture. With a last look at Siegmund, she disappears into the bed-chamber, and shuts the door behind her. ”

“ Fasolt and Fafner enter, leading Freia between them. Fricka hastens joyfully towards her sister. The foreground has become quite bright again, the light restoring to the aspect of the Gods its original freshnesh. The background, however, is still veiled by the mist so that the distant castle remains invisible.
FRICKA
Sweetest of sisters! ”

“ He sinks back and remains stretched out motionless. Sieglinde enters from the inner chamber; she thinks her husband has returned. Her grave look changes to one of surprise when she sees the stranger stretched out on the hearth. ”

“ She disappears behind the mountain peak at the side. Fricka, in a car drawn by a pair of rams, has driven up the gorge to the mountain ridge, where she suddenly stops, alights and strides angrily towards Wotan in the foreground. ”

“ His gestures, at first those of terrible grief end by expressing despair.
Pale then and pass
Glory and pomp,
Godhead's resplendent,
Glittering shame!
In ruins fall
The fabric I built!
Ended is my work ”

“ THE THIRD ACT
"Raging, Wotan
Rides to the rock!
Like a storm-wind he comes!"
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS "Raging, Wotan
Rides to the rock!
. . . . . . .
Like a storm-wind he comes" (Frontispiece)
The frolic of the Rhine-Maidens plate 02
The Rhine-Maidens teasing Alberich plate 03
"Mock away! Mock!
The Niblung makes for your toy!" plate 04
"Seize the despoiler! ”

“ Ortlinde and Waltraute spring up the peak to the look-out.
Quick! Is he in sight?
ORTLINDE
A storm from the north
Is nearing.
WALTRAUTE
Darkly the clouds
Congregate there.
THE VALKYRIES
Warfather, riding
His sacred steed, comes!
BRÜNNHILDE
The wrathful hunter,
He rides from the north;
He nears, he nears, in fury!
Save this woman!
Sisters your help!
BRÜNNHILDE
* "I flee for the first time
And am pursued:
Warfather follows close.
.....................
He nears, he nears, in fury!
Save this woman!
Sisters, your help!"
THE VALKYRIES
What threatens the woman? ”