The Rhinegold & The Valkyrie / The Ring of the Niblung, part 1

WOTAN [His voice muffled again.

Another ill—
Mark what I say—
Was by the Wala foretold!
Through Alberich's hosts
Doom may befall us;
A furious grudge
Alberich bears me;
But now that my heroes
Make victory certain
I defy the hosts of the night.
Only if he won
The ring again from me,
Walhall were forfeit for ever.
Used by him alone
Who love forswore
Could the runes of the ring
Bring doom
To the mighty gods,
And shame without end.
My heroes' valour
He would pervert,
Would stir to strife
The bold ones themselves,
And with their strength
Wage war upon me.
So, alarmed, I resolved
To wrest the ring from the foeman.

[In a low voice.

I once paid Fafner,
One of the giants,
With gold accurst
For work achieved.
Fafner guards now the hoard
For which his own brother he slew.
The ring I must needs recover
With which his work I rewarded.
But I cannot strike one
By treaties protected;
Vanquished by him
My valour would fail.
These are the bonds
That bind my power;
I, who by treaties am lord,
To my treaties also am slave.
But what I dare not
One man may dare—
A hero never
Helped by my favour,
To me unknown
And granted no grace,
Unaware,
Bidden by none,
Constrained thereto
By his own distress—
He could achieve
What I must not do:
The deed I never urged,
Though it was all my desire.
But, alas! how to find
One to fight me, the god,
For my good—
Most friendly of foes!
How fashion the free one
By me unshielded,
In his proud defiance
Most precious to me?
How get me the other
Who, not through me,
But of himself
Will perform my will?
O woe of the gods!
Horrible shame!
Soul-sick am I
Of seeing myself
In all I ever created.
The other whom I so long for,
That other I never find.
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.

[Slowly and bitterly.

Now, when the gods seek vengeance,
Shield he has none but the sword
Given to him
By the grace of a god.
Why did I try
To trick myself vainly?
How easily Fricka
Found out the fraud!
She read my inmost
Heart to my shame.
I must bend my will to her wishes.

BRÜNNHILDE

Of victory wouldst Siegmund deprive?

WOTAN

I have handled Alberich's ring,
Loth to let the gold go.
The curse that I fled
Is following me:
I must always lose what I love most,
Slay what my heart holds dearest,
Basely betray
All those who trust.

[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;
I wait but one thing more:
The downfall—
The downfall!

[He pauses thoughtfully.

And for the downfall
Schemes Alberich!
Now I see
The sense hidden
In the strange, wild words of the Wala:
"When the gloomy foe of love
Gets a son in his wrath,
The high gods' doom
Shall be at hand!"
Not long ago
A rumour I heard
That the dwarf had won a woman,
By gold gaining her grace.
A woman bears
Hate's bitter fruit;
The child of spite
Grows in her womb;
This marvel befell
The man who loved not;
But I, the loving wooer,
Have never begotten the free.

[Rising in bitter wrath.

Accept thou my blessing,
Nibelung son!
I leave to thee
What I loathe with deep loathing:
The hollow pomp of the gods.
Consume it with envious greed!

BRÜNNHILDE [Alarmed.

O say! tell me
What task is thy child's?

WOTAN [Bitterly.

Fight, faithful to Fricka;
Wedlock and vows defend!
What she desires
Is also my choice,
For what does my own will profit,
Since it cannot fashion a free one?
For Fricka's slaves
Do battle henceforth!

BRÜNNHILDE

Ah repent,
And take back thy word!
Thou lovest,
And fain, I know,
Wouldst have me shelter the Wälsung.

WOTAN

Siegmund thou shalt vanquish,
And fight so that Hunding prevails.
Ward thyself well
And doughtily do,
Bring all thy boldness
To bear on the field;
A strong sword
Swings Siegmund;
Undismayed he will fight!

BRÜNNHILDE

He whom thou still
Hast taught me to love,
He whose courage high
To thy heart was so precious—
I will shield him in spite of
Thy wavering word!

WOTAN

Ha, daring one!
Floutest thou me?
Who art thou—who but the choiceless,
Blind slave of my will?
I have sunk so low
By showing my mind,
That the creature made by me
Holds me in scorn.
Dost thou, child, know my wrath?
If ever its awful
Lightning struck thee
Then quail wouldst thou indeed!
Within my bosom
Burns enough rage
To lay waste
In dread ruin a world
That once wore nothing but smiles.
Woe to him whom it strikes!
Dear the price he would pay!
So be advised,
Call it not forth
But carry out my commands.
Cut down Siegmund!
That is the Valkyrie's task.

[He storms away and disappears among the rocks to the left.

BRÜNNHILDE [Stands for a long time dazed and alarmed.

Warfather
Oft have I seen
Enraged, but never once like this!

[She stoops down sadly, takes up her armour and puts it on again.

How heavy
My armour feels!
And it felt so light
When gladly I fought!
I fight afraid.
Evil is my cause!

[She gazes thoughtfully before her.

Woe! My Wälsung!
With sorrow sore
Must the faithful one falsely forsake thee!

[She turns slowly towards the back.

[On reaching the rocky pass, Brünnhilde, looking down into the gorge, perceives Siegmund and Sieglinde. She watches them for a moment, then turns into the cave where her horse is, so that she is completely hidden from the audience. Siegmund and Sieglinde appear on the pass, Sieglinde hurrying in front. Siegmund tries to stop her.

SIEGMUND

Wait here and rest;
Tarry a while!

SIEGLINDE

Farther! Farther!

SIEGMUND [Embraces her with tender force, straining
her to him.

No farther now!
O linger, woman most sweet!
From bliss when most blissful
Breaking away,
In headlong haste
Far thou hast fled,
So fleet that I lagged behind:
Through wood and field,
Over cliff and scaur,
Voiceless, silent,
Speeding along,
Thy foot stopped for no call.

[Sieglinde stares wildly before her.

Tarry a while!
Say but a word,
Ending this speechless dread!
See, thy brother
Holds thee, his bride:
Siegmund's comrade art thou!

SIEGLINDE

[Gazes into his eyes with growing rapture, throws her arms passionately round his neck and remains so for some time. She then starts up in wild terror.

Away! Away!
Fly the profaned one!
Unholy
The clasp of her arm;
In shame, dishonoured,
This body died.
Fling it from thee,
Flee from the corpse!
The winds scatter her dust—
The foul one who loved one so fair!
When in his loving embrace
She rested in rapture pure,
And all the love of the man
Was hers who loved him alone—
When on holiest height,
When bliss was at sweetest,
And sense and soul
Were steeped in delight,
Hatred and loathing
Of hideous dishonour
Shook the disgraced one,
Filled her with fear—
The thought she once had obeyed.
Bridegroom unloving, unloved.
Leave the accurst one,
Far let her fly!
An outcast she is,
Bereft of grace!
Ah, I must leave
The purest of heroes;
I cannot be thine,
To sully thy glory:
Scorn to bring on the brother,
Shame to the rescuing friend!

SIEGMUND

For the shame and dishonour,
Pay the transgressor's blood!
No farther, then, flying,
Here let us wait him;
Here—here I shall slay him:
When Nothung's point
Shall pierce his heart,
All thy wrongs will be avenged!

SIEGLINDE [Starts up and listens.

Hark! The bugles!
Dost thou not hear?
All around,
Angry and shrill,
From wood and vale
Clamour their calls.
Hunding has wakened
From slumber deep;
Kinsmen and hounds
He summons together;
How the dogs howl,
Urged on hotly,
Loud-baying to heaven
Of the vows and the wedlock profaned!

[Gazes before her as if gone crazed.

Where art thou, Siegmund?
Art thou still here,
Fervently loved one,
Beautiful brother?
Let thine eyes like stars
Shine again on me softly;
Turn not away
From the outcast woman's kiss!

[She throws herself sobbing on his breast, and presently starts up in terror again.

Hark! O hark!
That is Hunding's horn!
With his hounds full force,
In haste he comes.
No sword helps
When the dogs attack:—
Throw it down, Siegmund!
Siegmund, where art thou?
Ha, there! I see thee now!
Horrible sight!
Eager-fanged
Are the bloodhounds for flesh;
Ah, what to them
Is thy noble air!
By the feet they seize thee
With terrible teeth;
Alas!
Thou fallest with splintered sword:—
The ash-tree sinks—
The trunk is rent!
Brother! My brother!
Siegmund—ha!

[She falls fainting into his arms.

SIEGMUND

Sister! Belovèd!

[He listens to her breathing, and, when convinced that she still lives, lets her slide down so that, as he himself sinks into a sitting posture, her head rests upon his knees. In this position both remain till the end of the following scene. A long silence, during which Siegmund bends over Sieglinde with tender concern, and presses a long kiss on her brow.

[Brünnhilde, leading her horse, comes out of the cave and walks slowly and solemnly towards the front. She pauses and watches Siegmund from a distance, then advances slowly again and stops when she gets nearer. In one hand she carries her shield and spear, the other rest on her horse's neck, and thus she gravely stands looking at Siegmund.

BRÜNNHILDE

Siegmund!
Look on me
Whom thou
Must follow soon!

SIEGMUND [Looking up at her.

Who art thou, say,
That dost stand so fair and so stern?

BRÜNNHILDE

Death-doomed are they
Who look upon me;
Who sees me
Bids farewell to the light of life.
On the battle-field only
Heroes view me;
He whom I greet
Is chosen and must go.

SIEGMUND

[Looks into her eyes with a long steadfast and searching gaze, then bows his head in thought and finally turns resolutely to her again.

When thou dost lead,
Whither follows the hero?

BRÜNNHILDE

I lead thee
To Wotan;
The lot he has cast:
To Walhall must thou come.

SIEGMUND

In Walhall's hall
Wotan alone shall I find?

BRÜNNHILDE

A glorious host
Of heroes slain
Will greet thee there
With love holy and high.

SIEGMUND

Say if in Walhall
Sojourns my father, Wälse.

BRÜNNHILDE

His father there
Will the Wälsung find.

SIEGMUND [Tenderly.

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!

SIEGMUND

[Bends tenderly over Sieglinde, kisses her softly on the brow, and turns again quietly to Brünnhilde.

Then greet for me Walhall,
Greet for me Wotan,
Greet for me Wälse
And all the heroes,
Wishmaidens lovely
Greet thou also,
And tell them I will not come!

BRÜNNHILDE

Nay, having looked
On the Valkyrie's face,
Thou must follow her forth!

SIEGMUND

Where Sieglinde dwells
In weal or woe,
There will Siegmund dwell also;
My face grew not pale
When I beheld thee:
Thou canst not force me to go!

BRÜNNHILDE

Force thee can none
While thou dost live;
Fool, what will force thee is death
Warning of death
Is what I bring.

SIEGMUND

What hero to-day
Shall hew me down?

BRÜNNHILDE

Hunding's hand in the fight.

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?
Who gave the sword
Gave triumph sure:
With this sword I laugh at thy threats.

BRÜNNHILDE [In a loud voice.

He whose it was
Now dooms thee to death,
For the magic spell he withdraws!

SIEGMUND [Vehemently.

Hush! Alarm not
The slumberer here!

[In an outburst of grief he bends tenderly over Sieglinde.

Woe! Woe!
Woman most sweet!
Most sad and ill-starred of all true ones!
Against thee rages
The whole world in arms,
And I who was all thy defence,
For whom thou the world hast defied—
To think I cannot
Shield thee, but, beaten
In battle, thy trust must betray!
O shame on him
Who bestowed the sword,
And triumph now turns to scorn!
If I must fall thus,
I fare to no Walhall—
Hella hold me for aye!

[He bends low over Sieglinde.

BRÜNNHILDE [Moved.

So little prizest thou
Life everlasting?

[Slowly and with hesitation.

All thy care
Is thy helpless wife
Who, sad and weary,
Heavily hangs in thy arms?
Precious only is she?

SIEGMUND [Looking up at her bitterly.

Though young and fair
Thou shinest to me,
In my heart I know thee
Cruel and cold!
Canst thou do nothing
But mock me, begone,
Malicious, merciless maid!
Or if thou must gloat
Upon my distress,
Then gloat and feast thyself full!
With my woe
Solace thy envious soul:—
But of Walhall's loveless raptures
Nothing more let me hear!

BRÜNNHILDE

I see the distress
That is tearing thy heart;
The doomed hero's holy
Sorrow I feel.
Siegmund, thy wife be my charge,
Protected safely by me.

SIEGMUND

No other than I
While my wife is living shall guard her.
If death be my lot
I will slay the slumberer first!

BRÜNNHILDE [With increasing emotion.

Wälsung! Madman!
Listen to me!
Entrust her to me
For the pledge's sake
That she carries of thee and thy love!

SIEGMUND [Drawing his sword.

This sword
That a true man received from a false—
This sword
That fails me when facing the foe;
Worthless when turned on the foe,
Will serve me when turned on the friend.

[He points the sword at Sieglinde.

Two lives now
Laugh to thee here:
Take them, Nothung,
Envious steel!
Take them with one fell stroke!

BRÜNNHILDE [With a passionate outburst of sympathy.

Forbear, Wälsung!
Listen to me!
Sieglinde spare thou,
And Siegmund too shall be spared!
'Tis thus decreed,
Recast the lot is!
Thou, Siegmund,
Shalt be blest and prevail!

[Horns are heard in the distance.

Hark to the horn!
Prepare for the fray;
Trust to the sword
And strike without fear:
Thy sword shall prove strong
Thee the Valkyrie faithfully shields!
Farewell, Siegmund,
Hero most blest!
On the field again I shall find thee.

[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.

SIEGMUND [Bending over Sieglinde, listens to her breathing.

Charmèd slumber
Softly soothes
The dear one's pain and grief.
When the Valkyrie came, perchance
She brought her this blissful repose;
Else would the grimly fought fight
Have terrified one in such woe.
Lifeless seems she,
And yet she lives;
The sad one by smiling
Dreams is caressed.
In slumber lie soft
Till the fight is won
And peace shall end thy pain!

[He lays her gently on the rocky seat and kisses her brow in farewell. Then, hearing Hunding's horn sound, he starts up with resolution.

Thou who dost call,
Arm for the fray;
Thy dues in full
Thou shalt have:

[He draws his sword.

Nothung pays him his debt.

[He hastens to the back and, on reaching the pass, immediately disappears in a dark thunder-cloud, from which, the next instant, a flash of lightning breaks.

SIEGLINDE [Begins to move uneasily in her dreams.

Would but my father come back!
With the boy he still roams in the wood.
Mother! Mother!
I am afraid—
The strangers seem
So harsh and unfriendly!
Fumes that stifle—
Dense and black smoke—
Fierce are the flames,
And closer they flare—
On fire the house!
O help us, brother!
Siegmund! Siegmund!

[She starts up. Violent thunder and lightning.

Siegmund! Ha!

[She stares about her in growing terror. Almost the whole of the stage is veiled by black thunder-clouds. Hunding's horn is heard close at hand.

HUNDING'S VOICE [From the mountain pass in the background.

Wehwalt! Wehwalt!
Stand there and fight,
Or with the hounds I will hold thee!

SIEGMUND'S VOICE [From farther back in the gorge.

Where hidest thou,
That I have missed thee thus?
Halt, that I may find thee!

SIEGLINDE [Listening in terrible fear.

Hunding—Siegmund—
Could I but see them!

HUNDING

Come hither, impious wooer!
Here by Fricka be slain!

SIEGMUND [Also from the pass now.

Thou thinkest me weaponless,
Coward, still.
Threat not with women!
Thyself now fight me,
Lest Fricka fail thee at need!
For see, from the tree
That grows by thy hearth
I drew undaunted the sword;
Come and try the taste of its steel!

SIEGLINDE [With all her strength.

Hold your hands, ye men there!
Strike me dead first!

[She rushes towards the pass, but is suddenly dazzled by a light which flashes forth from above the combatants to the right, and staggers aside as if blinded.

BRÜNNHILDE'S VOICE

Strike him, Siegmund!
Trust to the sword!

[Brünnhilde appears in the glare of light, floating above Siegmund, and protecting him with her shield. Just as Siegmund is aiming a deadly blow at Hunding a glowing red light breaks through the clouds from the left, in which Wotan appears, standing over Hunding and holding his spear across in front of Siegmund.

WOTAN'S VOICE

Back! Back from the spear!
In splinters the sword!

[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!

[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.

WOTAN [To Hunding.

Begone, slave!
Kneel before Fricka;
Tell her that Wotan's spear
Has slain what mocked her might.
Go! Go!

[Before the contemptuous wave of his hand Hunding falls dead to the ground. Suddenly breaking out in terrible anger.

But Brünnhilde!
Woe to the guilty one!
Woe to her
As soon as my horse
Shall overtake her in flight!

[He vanishes with thunder and lightning. The curtain falls quickly.