THE VALKYRIE

FAFNER."Hey! Come hither,And stop me this cranny!"

WOTANWhat nonsense is this?The ring I won so hardly,Undismayed I hold and will keep.LOGEBroken thenMust be the promiseI gave the maidens who grieved.WOTANBy thy promise I am not bound;As booty mine is the ring.FAFNERNot so. The ringMust go with the ransom.WOTANBoldly ask what ye will:It shall be granted;But not for allThe world would I give you the ring.FASOLT[Furious, pulls Freia from behind the hoard.All is off!The bargain stands:Fair Freia ours is for ever!FREIAHelp me! Help me!FRICKAHeartless God,Grant it! Give way!FROHKeep not the gold back!DONNERGive them the ring too!WOTANLet me alone!I hold to the ring.

[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.

ERDA[Stretching out a warning hand towards Wotan.Yield it, Wotan! Yield it!Flee the ring's dread curse!AwfulAnd utter disasterIt will doom thee to.WOTANWhat woman woe thus foretells?ERDAAll things that were I know,And things that are;All things that shall beI foresee.The endless world'sUr-Wala,Erda, bids thee beware.Ere the earth was,Of my womb bornWere daughters three;And my knowledgeNightly the Norns tell to Wotan.Now summoned byDanger most dire,I myself come.Hearken! Hearken! Hearken!All things will end shortly;And for the GodsDark days are dawning!Be counselled; keep not the ring!

[Erda sinks slowly as far as the breast, while the bluish light grows fainter.

WOTANA mystic mightRang in thy words.Tarry, and tell me further.ERDA[Disappearing.Thou hast been warned;Enough dost know;Weigh my words with fear!

[She vanishes completely.

"Erda bids thee beware"

WOTANIf thus doomed to foreboding—I must detain theeTill all is answered!

[Wotan is about to follow Erda in order to detain her. Froh and Fricka throw themselves in his way and prevent him.

FRICKAWhat meanest thou, madman?FROHGo not, Wotan!Fear thou the warner,Heed her words well!

[Wotan gazes thoughtfully before him.

DONNER[Turning to the giants with a resolute air.Hark, ye giants!Come back and wait still!The gold we give you also.FRICKAAh, dare I hope it?Deem ye HoldaWorthy of such a price?

[All look at Wotan in suspense; he, rousing himself from deep thought, grasps his spear and swings it in token of having come to a bold decision.

WOTANTo me, Freia,For thou art free!Bought back for aye,Youth everlasting, return!Here, giants, take ye the ring!

[He throws the ring on the hoard. The giants release Freia; she hastens joyfully to the Gods, who caress her in turns for a space, with every manifestation of delight.

FASOLT[To Fafner.Hold there, greedy one!Grant me my portion!Honest divisionBest for both is.FAFNERMore on the maid than the goldThou wert set, love-sick fool,And much againstThy will the exchange was.Sharing not, FreiaThou wouldst have wooed for thy bride;Sharing the gold,It is but justThat the most of it should be mine.FASOLTInfamous thief!Taunts? And to me!

[To the Gods.

Come judge ye between us;Halve ye the hoardAs seems to you just!

[Wotan turns away in contempt.

Let him have the treasure;Hold to what matters: the ring!FASOLT

[Falls upon Fafner, who has meanwhile been steadily packing up the treasure.

Back, brazen rascal!Mine is the ring.I lost for it Freia's smile.

[He snatches haply at the ring.

Off with thy hands!The ring is mine.

[There is a struggle. Fasolt tears the ring from Fafner.

FASOLTI hold it. It is mine now!FAFNERHold fast, lest it should fall!

[Lunging out with his stave, he fells Fasolt to the ground with one blow; from the dying man he then hastily tears the ring.

Now feast upon Freia's smile:No more shalt thou touch the ring!

[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.

WOTANDread indeedI find is the curse's might.LOGEUnmatched, Wotan,Surely thy luck is!Great thy gain wasIn getting the ring;But the gain of its lossIs gain greater still:There thy foemen, see,Slaughter thy foesFor the gold thou hast let go.WOTANDark forebodings oppress me!Care and fearFetter my soul;Erda must teach me,Tell how to end them:To her I must descend.FRICKA[Caressing and coaxing him.Why linger, Wotan?Beckon they not,The stately walls,Waiting to offerWelcome kind to their lord?WOTAN[Gloomily.With wage accurstPaid was their cost.DONNER[Pointing to the background, which is stillenveloped in mist.Heavily mistsHang in the air;Gloomy, wearisomeIs their weight!The wan-visaged cloudsCharged with their storms I will gather,And sweep the blue heavens clean.

[Donner mounts a high rock on the edge of the precipice, and swings his hammer; during what follows the mists gather round him.

Hey da! Hey da! Hey do!To me, O ye mists!Ye vapours, to me!Donner, your lord,Summons his hosts!

[He swings his hammer.

To my hammer's swingHitherward sweepVapours and fogs!Hovering mists!Donner, your lord, summons his hosts!Hey da! Hey da! Hey do!

[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. Froh has also disappeared in the cloud.

DONNER[Invisible.Brother, to me!Show them the way by the bridge!

[Suddenly the clouds roll away. Donner and Froh become visible. A rainbow of dazzling radiance stretches from their feet across the valley to the castle, which is gleaming in the light of the setting sun.

FROH

[Who, with outstretched hand, indicates to the Gods that the bridge is the way across the valley.

Lo, light, yet securely,Leads the bridge to your halls.Undaunted tread;Without danger the road!

[Wotan and the other Gods stand speechless, lost in contemplation of the glorious sight.

"To my hammer's swingHitherward sweepVapours and fogs!Hovering mists!Donner, your lord, summons his hosts!"

WOTANSmiling at eveThe sun's eye sparkles;The castle ablazeGleams fair in its glow.In the light of morningGlittering proudly,It stood masterless,Stately, tempting its lord.From dawn until sundownNo little toilAnd fear have gone to the winning!From envious night,That now draws nighShelter it offers us.

[Very firmly, as if struck by a great thought.

So greet I my home,Safe from dismay and dread.

[He turns solemnly to Fricka.

Follow me, wife!In Valhall sojourn with me.FRICKAWhat means the name Valhall?I never seem to have heard it.WOTANThat which, conquering fear,My fortitude broughtTriumphant to birth—Let that explain the word!

[He takes Fricka's hand and walks slowly with her towards the bridge. Froh, Freia, and Donner follow.

LOGE[Remaining in the foreground and lookingafter the Gods.They are hasting on to their end,They who dream they are strong andenduring.I almost blushTo be of their number;A fancy allures meAnd wakes in me longingFlaming fire to become:To waste and burn themWho tamed me of old,Rather than perish,Blind with the blind—Yes, even if godlike the Gods were—More wise were it, perhaps!I must consider:The outcome who knows!

[With a show of carelessness he goes to the Gods.

THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS[From the valley. Invisible.Rhinegold!Rhinegold!Rhinegold pure!How radiant and clearOnce thou didst shine on us!For thy lost gloryWe are grieving.Give us the gold!Give us the gold!O give us the Rhinegold again!WOTAN[About to set his foot on the bridge, pauses and turns round.What wailing sound do I hear?LOGE[Looks down into the valley.The Rhine's fair children,Bewailing their lost gold, weep.WOTANAccursèd nixies!Bid them tease us no more!LOGE[Calling down towards the valley.Ye in the water,Why wail ye to us?List to Wotan's decree.Ye have seenThe last of the gold;In the Gods' increase of splendourBask and sun yourselves now.

"The Rhine's fair children,Bewailing their lost gold, weep"

[The Gods laugh and cross the bridge during what follows.

THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENSRhinegold!Rhinegold!Rhinegold pure!Oh, if in the wavesThere but shone still our treasure pure!Down in the deepsCan faith be found only:Mean and falseAre all who revel above!

[As the Gods cross the bridge to the castle the curtain falls.

CHARACTERS

WOTAN HUNDINGFRICKA SIEGMUNDSIEGLINDEBRÜNNHILDE, ValkyrieEIGHT OTHER VALKYRIES:Gerhilde, Ortlinde, Waltraute,Schwertleite, Helmwige, Siegrune,Grimgerde, Rossweisse

SCENES OF ACTION

ACT I. THE INTERIOR OF HUNDING'S DWELLINGACT II. A WILD ROCKY MOUNTAINACT III. ON THE TOP OF A ROCKY MOUNTAIN(BRÜNNHILDE'S ROCK)

The interior of a dwelling-place built of wood, with the stem of a mighty ash-tree as its centre; to the right, in the foreground, is the hearth, and behind this the store-room. At the back is the large entrance door; to the left, far back, steps lead up to an inner chamber; on the same side, nearer the front, stands a table with a broad bench behind it, fixed to the wall, and with stools in front. The stage remains empty for a space. 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.

SIEGMUNDI rest on this hearth,Heedless who owns it.

[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.

SIEGLINDE[Still at the back.A stranger here!He must be questioned.

[Coming nearer.

What man came inAnd lies on the hearth?

[As Siegmund does not move, she draws nearer still and looks at him.

Way-worn, wearyHe seems and spent.Faints he from weariness?Can he be sick?

[She bends over him, and listens.

He breathes still, his eyelidsAre sealed but in slumber.Worthy, valiant his mien,Though so worn he rests.SIEGMUND[Suddenly raising his head.A drink! A drink!SIEGLINDEI go to fetch it.

[She takes a drinking-horn and hurries out. She returns with it full, and offers it to Siegmund.

Lo, the waterThy thirsting lips longed for:Water brought at thy wish!

[Siegmund drinks, and hands her back the horn. As he signifies his thanks with a movement of the head, he gazes at her with growing interest.

SIEGMUNDWelcome the water!Quenched is my thirst.My weary loadLighter it makes;New courage it gives;Mine eyes that sleptRe-open glad on the world.Who soothes and comforts me so?SIEGLINDEThis house and this wifeBelong to Hunding.Stay thou here as his guest;Tarry till he comes home.SIEGMUNDShelter he surelyWill grant a worn,Wounded, weaponless stranger.SIEGLINDE[With anxious haste.Quick, show me! Where are thy wounds?SIEGMUND

[Shakes himself and springs up briskly to a sitting posture.

My wounds are slight,Scarce worthy remark;My limbs are well knit still,Whole and unharmed.If my spear and shield had but beenHalf so strong as my arm is,I had vanquished the foe;But in splinters were spear and shield.The horde of foemenHarassed me sore;Through storm and strifeSpent was my force;But, faster than I from foemen,All my faintness has fled;Darkness fell deep on my lids,But now the sun again laughs.SIEGLINDE

[Goes to the storeroom, fills a horn with mead, and proffers it to Siegmund with friendly eagerness.

This healing and honeyedDraught of meadDeign to accept from me.SIEGMUNDSet it first to thy lips.

[Sieglinde sips from the horn and hands it back to him. Siegmund takes a long draught, regarding Sieglinde with increasing warmth. Still gazing, he takes the horn from his lips and lets it sink slowly, while his features express strong emotion. He sighs deeply, and lowers his gaze gloomily to the ground.

SIEGMUND[In a trembling voice.Thou hast tended an ill-fated one!May all evilBe turned from thee!

[He starts up quickly, and goes towards the the back.

I have been solacedBy sweet repose:Onward now I must press.SIEGLINDE[Turning round quickly.Who pursues thee so close at thy heels?SIEGMUND[Stops.Bad luck pursues me,Everywhere follows;And where I lingerTrouble still finds me:Be thou preserved from its touch!I must not gaze but go.

[He strides hastily to the door and lifts the latch.

SIEGLINDE[Forgetting herself calls impetuously after him.Then tarry here!Misfortune thou canst not bringTo those who abide with it!

SIEGLINDE"This healing and honeyedDraught of meadDeign to accept from me."SIEGMUND"Set it first to thy lips."

SIEGMUND

[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.

SIEGLINDE[In answer to Hunding's look.On the hearthFainting I foundOne whom need drove here.HUNDINGHast succoured him?SIEGLINDEI gave him, as a guest,Welcome and a drink.SIEGMUND[Regarding Hunding firmly and calmly.Drink she gave,Shelter too:Wouldst therefore chide the woman?HUNDINGSacred is my hearth:Sacred hold thou my house.

[To Sieglinde, as he takes off his armour and hands it to her.

Set the meal for us men!

[Sieglinde hangs up the arms on the stem of the ash-tree, fetches food and drink from the store-room and sets supper on the table. Involuntarily she turns her gaze on Siegmund again.

HUNDING

[Examining Siegmund's features keenly and with amaze, compares them with Sieglinde's. Aside.

How like to the woman!In his eye as wellGleams the guile of the serpent.

[He conceals his surprise, and turns with apparent unconcern to Siegmund.

Far, I trow,Must thou have fared;The man who rests hereRode no horse:What toilsome journeyMade thee so tired?SIEGMUNDThrough wood and meadow,Thicket and moor,Chased by the stormAnd peril sore,I ran by I know not what road.I know as littleWhat goal it led to,And I would gladly be told.HUNDING[At table, inviting Siegmund to be seated.'Tis Hunding ownsThe roof and roomWhich have harboured thee.If to the westwardThou wert to wend,In homesteads richThou wouldst find kinsmenWho guard the honour of Hunding.May I ask of my guestIn return to tell me his name?

[Siegmund, who has taken his seat at the table, looks thoughtfully before him. Sieglinde, who has placed herself beside Hunding and opposite Siegmund, gazes at him with evident sympathy and suspense.

Hunding discovers the likeness between Siegmund and Sieglinde.

HUNDING[Watching them both.If thou wilt notTrust it to me,To this woman tell thy secret:See, how eagerly she asks!SIEGLINDE[Unembarrassed and interested.Gladly I'd knowWho thou art.SIEGMUND[Looks up and, gazing into her eyes, begins gravely.Not for me the name Friedmund;Frohwalt fain were I called,But forced was I to be Wehwalt.Wölfe they called my father;And I am one of twins:With a sister twin I was born.Soon lost wereBoth mother and maid;I hardly knewHer who gave me my life,Nor her with whom I was born.Warlike and strong was Wölfe,And never wanting for foes.A-hunting oftWent the son with the father.One day we returnedOutworn with the chaseAnd found the wolf's nest robbed.The brave abodeTo ashes was burnt,Consumed to dustThe flourishing oak,And dead was the mother,Dauntless but slain.No trace of the sisterWas ever found:The Neidungs' heartless hordeHad dealt us this bitter blow.My father fled,An outlaw with me;And the youthLived wild in the forestWith Wölfe for many years.Sore beset and harried were they,But boldly battled the pair of wolves.

[Turning to Hunding.

A Wölfing tells thee the tale,And a well-known Wölfing, I trow.HUNDINGWondrous and wild the storyTold by thee, valiant guest:Wehwalt—the Wölfing!I think that dark rumours anentThis doughty pair have reached me,Though unknown WölfeAnd Wölfing too.SIEGLINDEBut tell me further, stranger:Where dwells thy father now?SIEGMUNDThe Neidungs, starting anew,Hounded and hunted us down;But slain by the wolvesFell many a hunter;They fled through the wood,Chased by the game:Like chaff we scattered the foe.But trace of my father I lost;Still his trail grew fainterThe longer I followed;In the wood a wolf-skinWas all I found;There empty it lay:My father I had lost.—In the woods I could not stay;My heart longed for men and for women.—By all I met,No matter where,If friend I sought,Or woman wooed,Still I was branded an outlaw;Ill-luck clung to me;Whatever I did right,Others counted it wrong;What seemed evil to meWon from others applause.Grim feuds aroseWherever I went;Wrath met meAt every turn;Longing for gladness,Woe was my lot:I called myself Wehwalt therefore,For woe was all that was mine.

[He looks at Sieglinde and marks her sympathetic gaze.

HUNDINGThou wert shown no grace by the NornsThat cast thy grievous lot;No one greets thee as guestWith gladness in his home.SIEGLINDEOnly cowards would fearA weaponless, lonely man!—Tell us, O guest,How in the strifeAt last thy weapon was lost!SIEGMUNDA sorrowful childCried for my help;Her kinsmen wantedTo wed the maidenTo one whom her heart did not choose.To her defenceGladly I hied;The heartless hordeMet me in fight:Before me foemen fell.Fordone and dead lay the brothers.The slain were embraced by the maid,Her wrongs forgotten in grief.She wept wild streams of woe,And bathed the dead with her tears;For the loss of her brothers slainLamented the ill-fated bride.Then the dead men's kinsmenCame like a storm,Vowing vengeance,Frantic to fall on me;Foemen on all sidesRose and assailed me.But from the spotMoved not the maid;My shield and spearSheltered her long,Till spear and shieldWere hewn from my hand.Standing weaponless, wounded,I beheld the maid die:I fled from the furious host—She lay lifeless on the dead.

[To Sieglinde with a look of fervent sorrow.

The reason now I have toldWhy none may know me as Friedmund.

[He rises and walks to the hearth. Pale and deeply moved, Sieglinde looks on the ground.

HUNDING[Rises.I know a wild-blooded breed;What others revereIt flouts unawed:All hate it, and I with the rest.When forth in haste I was summoned,Vengeance to seekFor my kinsmen's blood,I came too late,And now return homeTo find the impious wretchIn haven under my roof.—My house holds thee,Wölfing, to-day;For the night thou art my guest.But wield to-morrowThy trustiest weapon.I choose the day for the fight:Thy life shall pay for the dead.

[To Sieglinde, who steps between the two men with anxious gestures; harshly.

Forth from the hall!Linger not here!Prepare my draught for the night,And wait until I come.

[Sieglinde stands for a while undecided and thoughtful. Slowly and with hesitating steps she goes towards the store-room, There she pauses again, lost in thought, her face half averted. With quiet resolution she opens the cupboard, fills a drinking-horn, and shakes spices into it out of a box. 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.

HUNDING[Taking his weapons from the tree-stem.With weapons man should be armed.We meet to-morrow then Wölfing.My word thou hast heard;Ward thyself well!

[He goes into bed-chamber. The shooting of the bolt is heard from within.

[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.

SIEGMUNDMy father said when most wantedA sword I should find and wield.Swordless I enteredMy foeman's house,As a hostage hereI remain.I saw a fairWoman and sweet,And bliss and dreadConsume my heart.The woman for whom I long—She whose charm both wounds anddelights—In thrall is held by the manWho mocks a weaponless foe.Wälse! Wälse!Where is thy sword?—The trusty swordTo be swung in battle,When from my bosom should burstThe fury that fills my heart?

[The fire collapses. From the flame which leaps up a bright light falls on the spot in the ash-tree's stem indicated by Sieglinde's look, and on which the hilt of a sword is now plainly visible.

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