Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods. The Ring of the Niblung, part 2

Brünnhilde, spite-envenomed!Thou art the cause of our woe!For, urged by thee, the men have slain him;Cursèd hour that brought thee here!

BRÜNNHILDE

Peace, hapless wretch!Thou never wert wife of his;His leman wert thou,Only that.But I am his lawful bride;To me was the binding oath sworn,Before thy face he beheld.

GUTRUNE

[Breaking out in sudden despair.

Accursèd Hagen,Why didst thou give the poisonThat stole her husband away?O sorrow!Mine eyes are opened:Brünnhild' was the true loveWhom through the draught he forgot.

[She turns from Siegfried in shame and fear, and, dying, bends over Gunther's body; remaining motionless in this position until the end. Hagen stands defiantly leaning on his spear and shield, sunk in gloomy thought, on the opposite side. Brünnhilde stands alone in the middle. After long and absorbed contemplation of Siegfried she turns with solemn exaltation to the men and women.

BRÜNNHILDE

Let great logsBe borne to the shoreAnd high by the Rhine be heaped;Fierce and farLet the flames mountThat consume to ashesHim who was first among men!His horse lead to me here,That with me his lord he may follow.For my body longsTo have part in his gloryAnd share his honour in death.Obey Brünnhild's behest.

[The young men, during the following, raise a great pyre of logs before the hall, near the bank of the Rhine; women decorate this with rugs, on which they strew plants and flowers.

BRÜNNHILDE

[Absorbed anew in contemplation of Siegfried's dead face. Her expression brightens and softens as she proceeds.

Sheer golden sunshineStreams from his face;None was so pureAs he who betrayed.To wife forsworn,To friend too faithful,From his own true love—His only belovèd—Barred he lay by his sword.Never did manSwear oaths more honest,No one was everTruer to treaties;Never was lovePurer than Siegfried's;Yet oaths the most sacred,Bonds the most binding,And true love were neverSo grossly betrayed!Know ye why that was?

[Looking upward.

Ye Gods who guardAll vows that are uttered,Look down on meIn my terrible grief,Your guilt never-ending behold!Hear my voice accusing,Mighty God!Through his most valiant deed—Deed by thee so desired—Thou didst condemn himTo the doomThat else upon thee had fallen.He, truest of all,Must betray me,That wise a woman might grow!Know I all thou wouldst learn?All things! All things!All I know now:All stands plainly revealed.Round me I hearThy ravens flapping.By them I send thee backThe tidings awaited in fear.Rest in peace now, O God!

[She signs to the vassals to bear Siegfried's body on to the pyre; at the same time she draws the ring off Siegfried's singer, and regards it musingly.

I claim as mineWhat he has left me.O gold accurst!Terrible ring!I now grasp theeAnd give thee away.O sisters wise,Ye have my thanksFor your counsel good, ye who dwellIn the waters deep of the Rhine.What ye desireI gladly give;From out my ashesTake ye your treasure;The fire by which I am burntCleanses the ring of its curse.Down in the wavesWash it away,And guard ever pureThe shining goldThat stolen was to your grief!

[She has put the ring on her finger, and now turns to the pile of logs on which Siegfried's body lies stretched. Taking a great firebrand from one of the men, she waves it and points to the background.

Fly home, ye ravens,Tell your lord the tidingsThat ye have heard by the Rhine.But fly, as ye go,By Brünnhild's rock:Still Loge flames there;Bid him follow to Walhall;For the Gods are drawingNear to their doom.Thus—thrown be the brandOn Walhall's glittering halls!

[She hurls the brand on to the pile of wood, which quickly breaks into flame. Two ravens fly up from the rock by the shore and vanish in the background. Brünnhilde perceives her horse, which has just been led in by two men.

Grane, my horse,Be greeted fair!

[She springs towards him, and, catching hold of him, removes his bridle and bends towards him affectionately.

Knowest thou, my friend,To whom we are going?Thy lord lies radiantThere in the fire,Siegfried, my hero blest!Thou neighest with joyTo think thou shalt join him?Laughing, the flamesAllure thee to follow?Feel thou my bosom,Feel how it burns;Flames of fireHave laid hold on my heart.Ah, to embrace him,By him be embraced,United for everIn love without end!Heiajoho! Grane!Give thy lord greeting!

[She has swung herself on to the horse, and urges it forward.

Siegfried! Siegfried!See! Brünnhild' greets thee, thy bride!

[She urges her horse with one leap into the burning pile of logs. The flames immediately blaze up, so that they fill the whole space in front of the hall and seem to catch hold of the building itself. The terrified men and women press as far to the front as possible. When the whole stage appears to be filled with fire the glow gradually fades, so that there is soon nothing left but a cloud of smoke, which drifts towards the back and hangs there as a dark bank of cloud. At the same time the Rhine overflows and the flood rolls up over the fire. The three Rhine-Maidens swim forward on the waves, and now appear over the spot where the fire was. Hagen, who since the incident of the ring has been watching Brünnhilde's behaviour with growing anxiety, is much alarmed by the fight of the Rhine-Maidens. He throws away his spear, shield, and helmet, and dashes into the flood as if mad, crying out, "Back from the ring!" Woglinde and Wellgunde fling their arms round his neck and, swimming away, draw him down with them into the depths. Flosshilde, swimming ahead of the others towards the back, joyously holds up the recovered ring. Through the bank of cloud on the horizon a red glow of increasing brightness breaks forth, and, illumined by this light, the Rhine-Maidens are seen merrily circling about and playing with the ring on the calmer waters of the Rhine, which has gradually retired to its natural bed. From the ruins of the fallen hall the men and women watch in great agitation the growing gleam of fire in the heavens. When this is at its brightest the hall of Walhall is seen, in which the Gods and heroes fit assembled, as described by Waltraute in the first Act. Bright flames seem to seize on the hall of the Gods. When the Gods are completely hidden by the flames the curtain falls.