BRÜNNHILDE*"I flee for the first timeAnd am pursued:Warfather follows close......................He nears, he nears, in fury!Save this woman!Sisters, your help!"
BRÜNNHILDE*"I flee for the first timeAnd am pursued:Warfather follows close......................He nears, he nears, in fury!Save this woman!Sisters, your help!"
THE VALKYRIESWhat threatens the woman?BRÜNNHILDEHark to me quickly!Sieglinde this is,Siegmund's sister and bride.Wotan his furyAgainst the Wälsungs has turned.He told meThat to-day I must failThe brother in strife;But with my shieldI guarded him safe,Daring the God,Who slew him himself with his spear.Siegmund fell;But I fled,Bearing his bride.To protect herAnd from the strokeOf his wrath to hide,I hastened, O my sisters, to you!THE VALKYRIES[Full of fear.O foolish sister,How mad thy deed!Woe's me! Woe's me!Brünnhilde, lost one!Mocked, disobeyedBy BrünnhildeWarfather's holy command!WALTRAUTE[On the look-out.Darkness comesFrom the north like the night.ORTLINDE[On the look-out.Hither steering,Rages the storm.ROSSWEISSE, GRIMGERDE, AND SCHWERTLEITEWildly neighsWarfather's horse!HELMWIGE, GERHILDE, AND SIEGRUNEPanting, snorting it comes!BRÜNNHILDEWoe to the womanIf here she is found,For Wotan has vowedThe Wälsungs shall perish!The horse that is swiftestWhich of you lends,That forth the woman may fly?SIEGRUNEWouldst have us tooMadly rebel?BRÜNNHILDERossweisse, sister,Wilt lend me thy racer!ROSSWEISSEThe fleet one from WotanNever yet fled.BRÜNNHILDEHelmwige, hear me!HELMWIGEI flout not our father.BRÜNNHILDEWaltraute! Gerhilde!Give me your horse!Schwertleite! Siegrune!See my distress!Stand by me nowBecause of our love:Rescue this woman in woe!SIEGLINDE
[Who until now has been staring gloomily and coldly before her, starts up with a repellent gesture as Brünnhilde encircles her with a warm, protective embrace.
[Who until now has been staring gloomily and coldly before her, starts up with a repellent gesture as Brünnhilde encircles her with a warm, protective embrace.
Concern thyself not about me;Death is all that I crave.From off the fieldWho bade thee thus bear me?For there perchanceBy the selfsame weaponThat struck down SiegmundI too had died,Made one with himIn the hour of death.Far from Siegmund—Siegmund, from thee!O cover me, Death,From the sorrow!Wouldst thou not have meCurse thee for flying?Thou must hearken, maid, to my prayer:Pierce thou my heart with thy sword!BRÜNNHILDE[Impressively.Live for the sakeOf thy love, O woman!Rescue the pledgeThou has gotten from him:The Wälsung's child thou shalt bear!SIEGLINDE
[Gives a violent start; suddenly her face beams with sublime joy.
[Gives a violent start; suddenly her face beams with sublime joy.
Save me, ye bold ones!Rescue my child!Shelter me, maidens,And strong be your shield!
[An ever-darkening thunderstorm nears from the back.
[An ever-darkening thunderstorm nears from the back.
WALTRAUTE[On the look-out.The storm has drawn nigh.ORTLINDEFly, all who fear it!THE VALKYRIESHence with the woman;Here she is lost:The Valkyries dare notShield her from doom!SIEGLINDE[On her knees before Brünnhilde.Save me, O maid!Rescue the mother!BRÜNNHILDE[Raising Sieglinde with sudden resolve.Away then, and swiftly!Alone thou shalt fly.I—stay in thy stead,Victim of Wotan's anger.I will hold hereThe God in his wrath,Till I know thee past reach of his rage.SIEGLINDESay, whither shall my flight be?BRÜNNHILDEWhich of you, sisters,Eastward has journeyed?SIEGRUNEA forest stretchesFar in the east;The Nibelung's hoardBy Fafner thither was borne.SCHWERTLEITEThere as a dreadDragon he sojourns,And in a caveKeeps watch over Alberich's ring.GRIMGERDE'Tis uncanny thereFor a woman's home.BRÜNNHILDEAnd yet from Wotan's wrathShelter sure were the wood;For he both fearsAnd keeps far from the place.
"There as a dreadDragon he sojourns,And in a caveKeeps watch over Alberich's ring."
"There as a dreadDragon he sojourns,And in a caveKeeps watch over Alberich's ring."
WALTRAUTE[On the look-out.Raging, WotanRides to the rock!THE VALKYRIESBrünnhilde, hark!Like a storm-wind he comes!BRÜNNHILDE[Urgently.Flee then swiftly,Thy face to the east!Boldly enduring,Defy every ill—Hunger and thirst,Briar and stone;Laugh, whether gnawedBy anguish or want!For one thing knowAnd hold to always—The world's most glorious heroHideth, O woman, thy sheltering womb!
[She takes the pieces of Siegmund's sword from under her breast-plate and gives them to Sieglinde.
[She takes the pieces of Siegmund's sword from under her breast-plate and gives them to Sieglinde.
The splintered sword's piecesGuard securely;From the field where slain wasHis father I brought them.And now I nameHim who one dayThe sword new-welded shall swing—"Siegfried" rejoice and prevail!SIEGLINDE[Greatly moved.Sublimest wonder!Glorious maid!From thee high solaceI have received!For him whom we lovedI save the beloved one.May my thanks one daySweet reward bring!Fare thou well!Be blest by Sieglind' in woe!
[She hastens away to the right in front. The rocky peak is surrounded by black thunder-clouds. A fearful storm rages from the back. A fiery glow increases in strength to the right.
[She hastens away to the right in front. The rocky peak is surrounded by black thunder-clouds. A fearful storm rages from the back. A fiery glow increases in strength to the right.
WOTAN'S VOICEStay, Brünnhilde!ORTLINDE AND WALTRAUTE[Coming down from the look-out.The rock is reachedBy horse and rider!
[Brünnhilde, after following Sieglinde with her eyes for a while, goes towards the background, looks into the wood, and comes forward again fearfully.
[Brünnhilde, after following Sieglinde with her eyes for a while, goes towards the background, looks into the wood, and comes forward again fearfully.
THE VALKYRIESWoe, Woe! Brünnhilde!Vengeance he brings!Ah, sisters, help!My courage fails!His wrath will crush meUnless ye ward off its weight.THE VALKYRIES
[Fly towards the rocky point in fear, drawing Brünnhilde with them.
[Fly towards the rocky point in fear, drawing Brünnhilde with them.
This way, then, lost one!Hide from his sight!Cling closely to us,And heed not his call!
[They hide Brünnhilde in their midst and look anxiously towards the wood, which is now lit up by a bright fiery glow, while in the background it has grown quite dark.
[They hide Brünnhilde in their midst and look anxiously towards the wood, which is now lit up by a bright fiery glow, while in the background it has grown quite dark.
Woe! Woe!Raging, WotanSwings from his horse!Hither hastesHis foot for revenge!WOTAN
[Comes from the wood in a terrible state of wrath and excitement and goes towards the Valkyries on the height, looking angrily for Brünnhilde.
[Comes from the wood in a terrible state of wrath and excitement and goes towards the Valkyries on the height, looking angrily for Brünnhilde.
Where is Brünnhilde?Where is the guilty one?Would ye defy meAnd hide the rebel?THE VALKYRIESFearful and loud thy rage is!By what misdeed have thy daughtersVexed and provoked theeTo terrible wrath?WOTANFools, would ye flout me?Have a care, rash ones!I know: BrünnhildeFain ye would hide.Leave her, the lost oneCast off for ever,Even as sheCast off her worth!THE VALKYRIESTo us fled the pursued one,In her need praying for help,Dismayed and fearful,Dreading thy wrath.For our trembling sisterHumbly we begThat thy first wild rage be calmed.WOTANWeak-heartedAnd womanish brood!Is this your valour,Given by me?For this have I reared youBold for the fight,Made you relentlessAnd hard of heartThat ye wild ones might weep and whineWhen my wrath on a faithless one falls?Learn, wretched whimperers,What was the crimeOf her for whomYe are shedding those tears.No one but sheKnew what most deeply I brooded;No one but shePierced to the source of my being;Through her deedsAll, I wished to be, came to birth.This sacred bondSo completely she brokeThat she defied me,Opposing my will,Her master's commandOpenly mocked,And against me pointed the spearThat she held from me alone.Hearest, Brünnhilde?Thou who didst holdThy helm and spear,Grace and delight,Life and name as my gift!Hearing my voice thus accusing,Dost hide from me in terror,A coward who shirks her doom?BRÜNNHILDE
[Steps out from the band of Valkyries, and humbly but with a firm step descends from the rocky peak until within a short distance from Wotan.
[Steps out from the band of Valkyries, and humbly but with a firm step descends from the rocky peak until within a short distance from Wotan.
Here I am, Father,Awaiting thy sentence!WOTANI—sentence thee not;Thou hast shaped thy doom for thyself.Through my will onlyWert thou at all,Yet against my will thou hast worked;Thy part it wasTo fulfil my commands,Yet against me thou hast commanded;Wish-maidThou wert to me,Yet thy wish has dared to cross mine;Shield-maidThou wert to me,Yet against me raised was thy shield;Lot-chooserThou wert to me:Against me the lot thou hast chosen;Hero-rouserThou wert to me:Thou hast roused up heroes against me.What once thou wertWotan has told thee:What thou art now,Demand of thyself!Wish-maid thou art no more;Valkyrie thou art no longer:—What now thou artFor aye thou shalt be!BRÜNNHILDE[Greatly terrified.Thou dost cast me off?Ah, can it be so?WOTANNo more shall I send thee from WalhallTo seek upon fierceFields for the slain;With heroes no moreShalt thou fill my hall:When the high Gods sit at banquet,No more shalt thou pourThe wine in my horn;No more shall I kissThe mouth of my child.Among heaven's hostsNumbered no longer,Outcast art thouFrom the kinship of Gods;Our bond is broken in twain,And from my sight henceforth thou nowart banned.THE VALKYRIES
[Leave their places in the excitement, and come a little farther down the rocks.
[Leave their places in the excitement, and come a little farther down the rocks.
Woe's me! Woe!Sister! O sister!BRÜNNHILDEAll that thou gavestThou dost recall?WOTANConquering thee, one shall take all!For here on the rockBound thou shalt be,Defenceless in sleep,Charmed and enchained;The man who chances this wayAnd awakes her, shall master the maid.THE VALKYRIES
[Come down from the height in great excitement, and in terrified groups surround Brünnhilde, who lies half kneeling before Wotan.
[Come down from the height in great excitement, and in terrified groups surround Brünnhilde, who lies half kneeling before Wotan.
O stay, Father!The sentence recall.Shall the maiden droopAnd be withered by man?O dread one, avert thouThe crying disgrace:For as sisters share we her shame.WOTANHave ye not heardWotan's decree?From out your bandShall your traitorous sister be banished,No more to rideThrough the clouds her swift steed to thebattle;Her maidenhood's flowerWill fade away;Her grace and her favourHer husband's will be;Her husband will rule herAnd she will obey;Beside the hearth she will spin,To all mockers a mark for scorn.
The ride of the Valkyries
The ride of the Valkyries
[Brünnhilde sinks with a cry to the ground. The Valkyries, horror-stricken, recoil from her violently.
[Brünnhilde sinks with a cry to the ground. The Valkyries, horror-stricken, recoil from her violently.
Fear ye her fate?Then fly from the lost one!Swiftly forsakeAnd flee from her far!Let one but ventureNear her to linger,Seek to befriend her,Defying my will—The fool shall share the same doom:I warn you, ye bold ones, well!Up and away!Hence, and return not!Get ye gone at a gallop,Trouble is rife else for you here!THE VALKYRIES[Separate with a wild cry and rush into the wood.Woe! Woe!
[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. The storm soon subsides; the thunder-clouds gradually disperse. In the following scene the weather becomes fine again and twilight falls, followed at the close by night.[Wotan and Brünnhilde, who lies stretched at his feet, remain behind alone. A long solemn silence.
[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. The storm soon subsides; the thunder-clouds gradually disperse. In the following scene the weather becomes fine again and twilight falls, followed at the close by night.
[Wotan and Brünnhilde, who lies stretched at his feet, remain behind alone. A long solemn silence.
BRÜNNHILDE
[Begins to raise her head a little, and, commencing timidly, gains confidence as she proceeds.
[Begins to raise her head a little, and, commencing timidly, gains confidence as she proceeds.
Was the offenceSo shameful and foulThat to such shame the offender should bedoomed?Was what I didSo base and so vileThat I must suffer abasement so low?Was the dishonourTruly so deepThat it must rob me of honour for aye?
[She raises herself gradually to a kneeling posture.
[She raises herself gradually to a kneeling posture.
O speak, Father!In my eye looking,Calming thy rage,Taming thy wrath,Explain why so darkThis deed of mineThat in thy implacable angerIt costs thee thy favourite child!WOTAN[His attitude unchanged, gravely and gloomily.Ask of thy deed,And that will show thee thy guilt!BRÜNNHILDEI but fulfilledWotan's command.WOTANBy my commandDidst thou fight for the Wälsung?BRÜNNHILDEYea, lord of the lots,So ran thy decree.WOTANBut I took backThe order, changed the decree!BRÜNNHILDEWhen Fricka had weanedThy will from its purpose;In yielding what she desiredThou wert a foe to thyself.WOTAN[Softly and bitterly.I thought thou didst understand me,And punished thy conscious revolt;But coward and foolI seemed to thee!If I had not treason to punishThou wouldst be unworthy my wrath.BRÜNNHILDEI am not wise,But I knew well this one thing—That thy love was the Wälsung's;I knew that, by discordDrawn two ways,This one thing thou hadst forgotten.The other onlyCouldst thou discern—What so bitterlyWounded thy heart:That Siegmund might not be shielded.WOTANAnd yet thou didst dareTo shield him, knowing 'twas so?BRÜNNHILDE[Beginning softly.Because I the one thingHad kept in my eye,While by twofold desireDivided wert thou,Blindly thy back on him turning!She who wards thy backFrom the foe in the field,She saw aloneWhat thou sawest not:—Siegmund I beheld.Bringing him doomI approached;I looked in his eyes,Gave ear to his words.I perceived the hero'sBitter distress;Loud the lamentOf the brave one resounded;Uttermost love'sMost terrible pang,Saddest of heartsDefying all odds—-With my ear I heard,My eye beheldThat which stirred the heart in my breastWith trouble holy and strange.Shamed, astonished,Shrinking I stood.Then all my thoughtWas how I could serve him;Triumph and deathTo share with Siegmund—That seemed, that only,The lot I could choose!Faithful to himWho taught my heart this love,And set meBy the Wälsung's side as friend—Most faithful to him—Thy word I disobeyed.WOTANSo thou hast doneWhat I yearned so greatly to do—What a twofold fateWithheld from my desire!So easy seemed to theeHeart's delight in the winning,When burning woeIn my heart flamed fierce,When terrible anguishWrung my soul,When, to save the worldThat I loved, love's springIn my tortured heart I imprisoned?Against my own selfWhen I turned, to my torment,From swooning painArose in a frenzy,When a wild longingBurning like fireThe fearful design in me wokeIn the ruins of my own worldMy unending sorrow to bury,
[Somewhat freely.
[Somewhat freely.
Thy heart was lappedIn blissful delight.Trembling with rapture,Drunken with joy,Thy lips drank laughingThe draught of love,While I drank of divine woeMixed with wormwood and gall.
[Dryly and shortly.
[Dryly and shortly.
By thy lightsome heartHenceforth be guided:From me thou hast turned away!I must renounce thee;Together no moreShall we two whisper counsel;Apart our paths lie,Sundered for ever,And so long as life lastsI, the God, dare nevermore greet thee!BRÜNNHILDE[Simply.Unfit was the foolishMaid for thee,Who, dazed by thy counsel,Grasped not thy mindWhen, to her, one counselAlone appeared plain—To love what was loved by thee.If I must forthWhere I shall not find thee,If the fast-woven bondMust be loosed,And half thy beingFar from thee banished—A half once thine and thine only,O God, forget not that!—Thy other selfThou wilt not dishonour,Dealing out shameThat will shame thee too;Thine own honour were lowered,Were I a target for scorn!WOTANThe lure of loveThou hast followed fain:Follow the manWho shall wield its might!BRÜNNHILDEIf I must go from Walhall,No more in thy work be a sharer,And if as my masterA man I must serve,I braggart baseAbandon me not!Not all unworthyBe he who wins!WOTANWith Wotan no part hast thou—He cannot fashion thy fate.BRÜNNHILDEBy thee has been founded a raceToo glorious to bring forth a cowardOne day must a matchless heroFrom Wälsung lineage spring.WOTANName not the Wälsungs to me!Renouncing thee,Them too I renounced;Through envy they came to naught.BRÜNNHILDEShe who turned from theeRescued the race;
[With an air of secrecy.
[With an air of secrecy.
Sieglinde bearsFruit holy and high;In pain and woeBeyond woe known to womanShe will bring forthWhat in fear she hides!WOTANNo shelter for herSeek at my hand,Nor for fruit that she may bear.BRÜNNHILDEThe sword she has keptThat thou gavest Siegmund.WOTAN[Violently.And that I splintered with my spear.Strive not, O maid,My spirit to trouble!Await thou the lotCast 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 evenKnow thy desire;Thy doom aloneI must see fulfilled!BRÜNNHILDEAnd what is the doomThat I must suffer?WOTANIn slumber fastThou shalt be locked;Wife thou shalt be to the manWho finds and wakes thee from sleep!BRÜNNHILDE[Falls on her knees.If fettering sleepFast must bind me,An easy preyTo the basest coward,This one thing that in deep anguishI plead for thou must accord!O shield thou the sleeperWith soul-daunting terrors,
[Firmly.
[Firmly.
That by a dauntlessHero aloneHere on the rockI may be found!WOTANToo much thou askest—Too big a boon!
WOTAN."Appear, flickering fire,Encircle the rock with thy flame!Loge! Loge! Appear!"
WOTAN."Appear, flickering fire,Encircle the rock with thy flame!Loge! Loge! Appear!"
BRÜNNHILDE[Clasping his knees.This one thingGrant me, O grant me!The child that is claspingThy knees crush dead;Tread down thy dear oneAnd shatter the maid;Let her body perish,Pierced by thy spear,But, cruel one, expose her notTo this crying shame!
[With wild ecstasy.
[With wild ecstasy.
O cause a fireTo burn at thy bidding,With flame fiercely flaringGirdle the rock,And may its tongue lick,And may its tooth eatThe coward who, daring, rashlyApproaches the terrible spot!WOTAN
[Overcome and deeply stirred, turns quickly towards Brünnhilde, raises her from her knees and looks into her eyes with emotion.
[Overcome and deeply stirred, turns quickly towards Brünnhilde, raises her from her knees and looks into her eyes with emotion.
Farewell, thou valiant,Glorious child!Thou the most holyPride of my heart,Farewell! Farewell! Farewell!
[Passionately.
[Passionately.
Must we be parted?Shall I never moreGive thee love's greeting?Must thou no longerGallop beside me,Nor bring me mead at banquet?If I must lose thee,Whom I have loved so,The laughing delight of my eyes,For thee there shall burnA bridal fire brighterThan ever yet burned for a bride!Fiercely the flamesShall flare round thy bed,Flames dreadful, devouring,Daunting all cowards;Let cravens fleeFrom Brünnhilde's rock!One only shall set the bride free,One freer than I, the God!
[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.
[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.
Those eyes so lovely and brightThat oft with smiles I caressed,Thy valourWith a kiss rewardingWhen, sweetly lispedBy thy childlike mouth,The praise of heroes I heard:Those eyes so radiant and fairThat oft in storm on me shone,When hopeless yearningMy heart was wasting,And when the joyOf the world I longed for,While fears thronged thick around me—Once more to-dayGladdening me,Let them take this kissOf fond farewell!On happier mortalMay they yet shine;On me, hapless immortal,Must they close, and for ever!
[He takes her head in both hands.
[He takes her head in both hands.
'Tis thus that the GodFrom thee turns:He kisses thy Godhead away!
As he moves slowly away, Wotan turns and looks sorrowfully back at Brünnhilde.
As he moves slowly away, Wotan turns and looks sorrowfully back at Brünnhilde.
[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.
[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.
Loge, hear!Hark to my word!I who found thee at firstA fiery flame,And from whom thou didst vanishIn wandering fire,I, who once bound,Bid thee break forth!Appear, flickering fire,Encircle the rock with thy flame!
[He strikes the rock three times with his spear during the following.
[He strikes the rock three times with his spear during the following.
Loge! Loge! Appear!
[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.
[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.
Let none who fearsThe spear of WotanAdventure across this fire!
[He stretches out his spear as a ban, looks sorrowfully back at Brünnhilde, then moves slowly away, turning his head for a farewell gaze. Finally he disappears through the fire. The curtain falls.
[He stretches out his spear as a ban, looks sorrowfully back at Brünnhilde, then moves slowly away, turning his head for a farewell gaze. Finally he disappears through the fire. The curtain falls.