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

FRICKA

Deeming thus laudableWedlock's breach,Pray babble more nonsenseAnd call it holyThat shame should blossom forthFrom bond of a twin-born pair!I shudder at heart,My brain reels and whirls.Sister embracedAs bride by the brother—Who has ever heardOf brother and sister as lovers?

WOTAN

Thou hearest it now!Be taught by thisThat a thing may beWhich has never befallen before.That those two are loversThou must admit;So take advice and be wise!Thy blessing surelyWill bring to thee gladness,If thou wilt, laughing on love,Bless Siegmund and Sieglinde's bond.

FRICKA [With a burst of deep indignation.

Then nothing to theeAre the gods everlastingSince the wild WälsungsWon thee for father?I speak plainly—Is that thy thought?The holy and highImmortals are worthless;And all that onceWas esteemed is thrown over;The bonds thou didst bindBy thyself now are broken;Heaven's holdIs loosed with a laugh,That this twin-born pair, unimpeded,The fruit of thy lawless love,May in wantonness flourish and rule!But why wail overWedlock and vows,Since by thee the first they are scorned!The faithful wifeBetrayed at each turn,Lustfully longingWander thy glances;Thine eyes scanEach hollow and heightAs thy fickle fancy allures thee,While grief is gnawing my heart.Heavy of soulI had to endure it,When to the fightWith the graceless maidensBorn out of wedlock,Forth thou hast fared;For, thy wife still holding in awe,Thou didst give her as maidsThe Valkyrie bandTo obedience bound,Even Brünnhilde, bride of thy Wish.But now that new namesAfford thee new pleasure,And Wälse, wolfish, inForests has wandered;Now that to bottomlessShame thou hast stooped,And a pair of mortalsHast vilely begotten—Now thy wife at the feetOf whelps of a wolf thou dost fling!Come finish thy work!Fill the cup full!Mock and trample now the betrayed one!

Fricka approaches in anger.

WOTAN [Quietly.

Thou couldst not learn,Though I might teach thee;To thee there is nothing plainTill day has dawned on the deed,Wonted thingsThou alone canst conceive,Whereas my spirit broodsOn things not yet brought forth.Listen, woman!Some one we need,A hero gods have not shielded,And who is not bound by their law.So aloneWere he fit for the deedWhich no god can accomplish,Yet which must be done for the gods.

FRICKA

With sayings darkThou fain wouldst deceive me!What deed by heroCould be accomplishedThat was beyond the strength of the gods,By whose grace alone he is strong?

WOTAN

Then his own heart's courageCounts not at all?

FRICKA

Who breathed their souls into men?Who opened their eyes, that they see?Behind thy shieldStrong they appear;With thee to goad them,Upward they strive;Those men that thou praisest,'Tis thou who spurrest them on.With falsehoods freshThou wouldst fain delude me,With new devicesThou wouldst evade me;Thou shalt not shelterThe Wälsung from me;He lives only through thee,And is bold through thee alone.

WOTAN [With emotion.

He grew unaidedIn grievous distress;My shield sheltered him not.

FRICKA

Then shield him not to-day;Take back the swordThat thou hast bestowed.

WOTAN

The sword?

FRICKA

Yes, the sword,The magic swordSudden and strongThat thou gavest to thy son.

WOTAN [Unsteadily.

Nay, Siegmund won itHimself in his need.

[From here Wotan's whole attitude expresses an ever-deepening uneasiness and gloom.

FRICKA [Continuing passionately.

Both conquering swordAnd the need came from thee.Wouldst thou deceive meWho, day and night,At thy heels follow close?For him thou didst strikeThe sword in the stem;Thou didst promise himThe peerless blade.Canst thou denyThat thy cunning it wasWhich led him where it lay hid?

[Wotan makes a wrathful gesture. Fricka goes on more and more confidently as she sees the impression produced on him.

The GodsDo not battle with bondsmen;The free but punish transgressors.Against thee, my peer,Have I waged war,But Siegmund is mine as my slave.

[Another violent gesture from Wotan, who then seems to succumb to the feeling of his own powerlessness.

Shall thy eternalConsort obey oneWho calls thee masterAnd bows as thy slave?What! Shall I beDespised by the basest,To the lawless a spur,A scoff to the free?My husband cannot desire me,A goddess, to suffer such shame!

WOTAN [Gloomily.

What then wouldst thou?

FRICKA

Shield not the Wälsung.

WOTAN [In a muffled voice.

His way let him go.

FRICKA

Thou wilt grant him no aid,When to arms the avenger calls?

WOTAN

I shield him no more.

FRICKA

Seek not to trick me;Look in my eyes!The Valkyrie turn from him too.

WOTAN

The Valkyrie free shall choose.

FRICKA

Not so; she but actsTo accomplish thy will;Give order that Siegmund die.

WOTAN [After a violent internal struggle.

Nay, slay him I cannot,He found my sword!

FRICKA

Remove thou the magic,And shatter the blade:Swordless let him be found.

BRÜNNHILDE [Is heard calling from the heights.

Heiaha! Heiaha!Hojotoho!Heiaha! Heiaha!Heiohotojo! Hotojoha!

FRICKA

Thy valorous maiden comes;Shouting, hither she rides.

WOTAN

For Siegmund I called her to horse.

[Brünnhilde appears with her horse on the rocky path to the right. When she sees Fricka she stops abruptly and, during the following, slowly and silently leads her horse down the path. She then puts it in a cave.

FRICKA

By her shield to-dayBe guarded the honourOf thy eternal spouse!Derided by men,Shorn of our power,Perish and pass would the GodsIf thy valiant maidAvenged not to-dayMy sacred and sovereign right.The Wälsung falls for my honour.Does Wotan now pledge me his oath?

WOTAN [Throwing himself on to a rocky seat in terrible dejection.

Take the oath!

[Fricka strides towards the back, where she meets Brünnhilde and halts for a moment before her.

FRICKA

WarfatherWaits for thee;He will instruct theeHow the lot is decreed!

[She drives off quickly.

BRÜNNHILDE

[Comes forward anxious and wondering to Wotan, who leaning back on his rocky seat, is brooding gloomily.

Ill closedThe fight, I fear;Fricka laughs at the outcome!Father, what newsHast thou to tell me?Sad thou seemest and troubled!

WOTAN [Dropping his arm helplessly and sinking his head on his breast.

By self-forged fettersI am bound,I, least free of all living!

BRÜNNHILDE

I know thee not thus:What gnaws at thy heart?

WOTAN

[His expression and gestures working up, from this point, to a fearful outburst.

O sacrilege vile!O grievous affront!Gods' despair!Gods' despair!Infinite wrath!Woe without end!Most sorrowful I of all living!

BRÜNNHILDE

[Alarmed, throws her shield, spear and helmet from her and kneels with anxious affection at his feet.

Father! Father!Tell me what ails thee?With dismay thou art filling thy child!Confide in meFor I am true;See, Brünnhilde begs it!

[She lays her head and hands with tender anxiety on his knees and breast.

WOTAN

[Looks long in her eyes, then strokes her hair with involuntary tenderness. As if coming out of a deep reverie, he at last begins, very softly.

What if, when uttered,Weaker it madeThe controlling might of my will?

BRÜNNHILDE [Very softly.

To Wotan's will thou speakestWhen thou speakest to me?What am IIf I am not thy will?

Brünnhilde slowly and silently leads her horse down the path to the cave

WOTAN [Very softly.

What never to any was spokenShall be unspoken now and for ever.Myself I speak to,Speaking to thee.

[In a low, muffled voice.

When young love grewA waning delight,'Twas power my spirit craved;By rash and wildDesires driven on,I won myself the world.Unknown to meDishonest my acts were;Bargains I madeWherein hid mishap,Craftily lured on by Loge,Who straightway disappeared.Yet I could not leaveLove altogether;When grown mighty still I desired it.The child of night,The craven Nibelung,Alberich, broke from its bond.All love he forswore,And procured by the curseThe gleaming gold of the Rhine,And with it measureless might.The ring that he wroughtI stole by my cunning,But I restored it notTo the Rhine;It paid the priceOf Walhall's towers:The home the giants had built me,From which I commanded the world.She who knows allThat ever was,Erda, the holy,All-knowing Wala,Warned me touching the ring:Prophesied doom everlasting.Of this doom I was fainTo hear further,But silent she vanished from sight.Then my gladness of heart was gone,The god's one desire was to know.To the womb of the earthDownward then I went:By love's sweet magicVanquished the Wala,Troubled her wisdom proud,And compelled her tongue to speak.Tidings by her I was told;And with her I left a fair pledge:The world's wisest of womenBore me, Brünnhilde, thee.With eight sistersFostered wert thou,That ye ValkyriesMight avert the doomWhich the Wala'sDread words foretold:The gods' ignominious ending.That foes might find usStrong for the strife,Heroes I got ye to gather.The beings who served usAs slaves aforetime,The men whose courageAforetime we curbed:Who through treacherous bondsAnd devious dealingsWere bound to the godsIn blindfold obedience—To kindle these menTo strife was your duty,To drive them onTo savage war,That hosts of dauntless heroesMight gather in Walhall's hall.

BRÜNNHILDE

And well filled surely thy halls were;Many a one I have brought.We never were idle,So why shouldst thou fear?

"Father! Father!

Tell me what ails thee?

With dismay thou art filling thy child!"

WOTAN [His voice muffled again.

Another ill—Mark what I say—Was by the Wala foretold!Through Alberich's hostsDoom may befall us;A furious grudgeAlberich bears me;But now that my heroesMake victory certainI defy the hosts of the night.Only if he wonThe ring again from me,Walhall were forfeit for ever.Used by him aloneWho love forsworeCould the runes of the ringBring doomTo the mighty gods,And shame without end.My heroes' valourHe would pervert,Would stir to strifeThe bold ones themselves,And with their strengthWage war upon me.So, alarmed, I resolvedTo wrest the ring from the foeman.

[In a low voice.

I once paid Fafner,One of the giants,With gold accurstFor work achieved.Fafner guards now the hoardFor which his own brother he slew.The ring I must needs recoverWith which his work I rewarded.But I cannot strike oneBy treaties protected;Vanquished by himMy valour would fail.These are the bondsThat bind my power;I, who by treaties am lord,To my treaties also am slave.But what I dare notOne man may dare—A hero neverHelped by my favour,To me unknownAnd granted no grace,Unaware,Bidden by none,Constrained theretoBy his own distress—He could achieveWhat I must not do:The deed I never urged,Though it was all my desire.But, alas! how to findOne to fight me, the god,For my good—Most friendly of foes!How fashion the free oneBy me unshielded,In his proud defianceMost precious to me?How get me the otherWho, not through me,But of himselfWill perform my will?O woe of the gods!Horrible shame!Soul-sick am IOf seeing myselfIn 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 roamedIn the woodland with him,Ever against the godsGoading him to rebel.

[Slowly and bitterly.

Now, when the gods seek vengeance,Shield he has none but the swordGiven to himBy the grace of a god.Why did I tryTo trick myself vainly?How easily FrickaFound out the fraud!She read my inmostHeart 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 fledIs following me:I must always lose what I love most,Slay what my heart holds dearest,Basely betrayAll those who trust.

[His gestures, at first those of terrible grief end by expressing despair.

Pale then and passGlory and pomp,Godhead's resplendent,Glittering shame!In ruins fallThe fabric I built!Ended is my work;I wait but one thing more:The downfall—The downfall!

[He pauses thoughtfully.

And for the downfallSchemes Alberich!Now I seeThe sense hiddenIn the strange, wild words of the Wala:"When the gloomy foe of loveGets a son in his wrath,The high gods' doomShall be at hand!"Not long agoA rumour I heardThat the dwarf had won a woman,By gold gaining her grace.A woman bearsHate's bitter fruit;The child of spiteGrows in her womb;This marvel befellThe 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 theeWhat I loathe with deep loathing:The hollow pomp of the gods.Consume it with envious greed!

BRÜNNHILDE [Alarmed.

O say! tell meWhat task is thy child's?

WOTAN [Bitterly.

Fight, faithful to Fricka;Wedlock and vows defend!What she desiresIs also my choice,For what does my own will profit,Since it cannot fashion a free one?For Fricka's slavesDo 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 wellAnd doughtily do,Bring all thy boldnessTo bear on the field;A strong swordSwings Siegmund;Undismayed he will fight!

BRÜNNHILDE

He whom thou stillHast taught me to love,He whose courage highTo thy heart was so precious—I will shield him in spite ofThy 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 lowBy showing my mind,That the creature made by meHolds me in scorn.Dost thou, child, know my wrath?If ever its awfulLightning struck theeThen quail wouldst thou indeed!Within my bosomBurns enough rageTo lay wasteIn dread ruin a worldThat once wore nothing but smiles.Woe to him whom it strikes!Dear the price he would pay!So be advised,Call it not forthBut 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

BRÜNNHILDE [Stands for a long time dazed and alarmed.

WarfatherOft have I seenEnraged, but never once like this!

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

How heavyMy armour feels!And it felt so lightWhen gladly I fought!I fight afraid.Evil is my cause!

[She gazes thoughtfully before her.

Woe! My Wälsung!With sorrow soreMust 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 blissfulBreaking away,In headlong hasteFar 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 brotherHolds 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!UnholyThe 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 embraceShe rested in rapture pure,And all the love of the manWas hers who loved him alone—When on holiest height,When bliss was at sweetest,And sense and soulWere steeped in delight,Hatred and loathingOf hideous dishonourShook 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 leaveThe 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 pointShall 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 valeClamour their calls.Hunding has wakenedFrom slumber deep;Kinsmen and houndsHe summons together;How the dogs howl,Urged on hotly,Loud-baying to heavenOf 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 starsShine again on me softly;Turn not awayFrom 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 helpsWhen the dogs attack:—Throw it down, Siegmund!Siegmund, where art thou?Ha, there! I see thee now!Horrible sight!Eager-fangedAre the bloodhounds for flesh;Ah, what to themIs thy noble air!By the feet they seize theeWith 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.

Brünnhilde with her horse, at the mouth of the cave

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 meWhom thouMust follow soon!

SIEGMUND [Looking up at her.

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

BRÜNNHILDE

Death-doomed are theyWho look upon me;Who sees meBids farewell to the light of life.On the battle-field onlyHeroes view me;He whom I greetIs 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 theeTo Wotan;The lot he has cast:To Walhall must thou come.

SIEGMUND

In Walhall's hallWotan alone shall I find?

BRÜNNHILDE

A glorious hostOf heroes slainWill greet thee thereWith love holy and high.

SIEGMUND

Say if in WalhallSojourns my father, Wälse.

BRÜNNHILDE

His father thereWill the Wälsung find.

SIEGMUND [Tenderly.

Will any womanWelcome me there?

BRÜNNHILDE

WishmaidensServe there serene:Wotan's daughterWine will bring for thy cup.

SIEGMUND

High art thouAnd 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 earthStill 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 WälseAnd all the heroes,Wishmaidens lovelyGreet thou also,And tell them I will not come!

BRÜNNHILDE

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

SIEGMUND

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

BRÜNNHILDE

Force thee can noneWhile thou dost live;Fool, what will force thee is deathWarning of deathIs what I bring.

SIEGMUND

What hero to-dayShall hew me down?

BRÜNNHILDE

Hunding's hand in the fight.

SIEGMUND

Use threats more balefulThan blows from Hunding!Lurkest thou hereLonging 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 swordGave triumph sure:With this sword I laugh at thy threats.

BRÜNNHILDE [In a loud voice.

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

SIEGMUND [Vehemently.

Hush! Alarm notThe 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 ragesThe whole world in arms,And I who was all thy defence,For whom thou the world hast defied—To think I cannotShield thee, but, beatenIn battle, thy trust must betray!O shame on himWho 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 thouLife everlasting?

[Slowly and with hesitation.

All thy careIs thy helpless wifeWho, sad and weary,Heavily hangs in thy arms?Precious only is she?

SIEGMUND [Looking up at her bitterly.

Though young and fairThou shinest to me,In my heart I know theeCruel and cold!Canst thou do nothingBut mock me, begone,Malicious, merciless maid!Or if thou must gloatUpon my distress,Then gloat and feast thyself full!With my woeSolace thy envious soul:—But of Walhall's loveless rapturesNothing more let me hear!

BRÜNNHILDE

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

SIEGMUND

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

BRÜNNHILDE [With increasing emotion.

Wälsung! Madman!Listen to me!Entrust her to meFor the pledge's sakeThat she carries of thee and thy love!

SIEGMUND [Drawing his sword.

This swordThat a true man received from a false—This swordThat 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 nowLaugh 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 swordAnd strike without fear:Thy sword shall prove strongThee 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.