The Rhinegold & The Valkyrie. The Ring of the Niblung, part 1
ALBERICH
Nothing simpler!Look at me now
FOURTH SCENE
The scene has changed as before, only in reverse order. Open space on mountain heights. The prospect is veiled by pale mist as at the end of the second scene. Wotan and Loge climb up out of the cavern, bringing with them Alberich bound.
LOGE
Here, kinsman,Thou canst sit down!Friend, look round thee;There lies the worldThat was thine for the winning, thou fool!What corner, say,Wilt give to me for my stall?[He dances round Alberich, snapping his fingers.
ALBERICH
Infamous robber!Thou knave! Thou rogue!Loosen the rope,Set me at large,Or dear for this outrage shalt answer!WOTAN
My captive art thou,Caught and in fetters.As thou hadst fainSubdued the worldAnd all that the world containeth,Thou liest bound at my feet,And, coward, canst not deny it.A ransom aloneShall loose thee from bondage.ALBERICH
Ah, the dolt,The dreamer I was,To trust blindlyThe treacherous thief!Fearful revengeShall follow this wrong!LOGE
Vain talk this of vengeanceBefore thy freedom is won.To a man in bondsNo free man expiates outrage.If vengeance thou dreamest,Dream of the ransomFirst without further delay
FAFNER.
"Hey! Come hither,
And stop me this cranny!"
WOTAN
What nonsense is this?The ring I won so hardly,Undismayed I hold and will keep.LOGE
Broken thenMust be the promiseI gave the maidens who grieved.WOTAN
By thy promise I am not bound;As booty mine is the ring.FAFNER
Not so. The ringMust go with the ransom.WOTAN
Boldly 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!FREIA
Help me! Help me!FRICKA
Heartless God,Grant it! Give way!FROH
Keep not the gold back!DONNER
Give them the ring too!WOTAN
Let 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.WOTAN
What woman woe thus foretells?ERDA
All 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 bids thee beware"
WOTAN
If thus doomed to foreboding—I must detain theeTill all is answered
Fafner kills Fasolt.
WOTAN
Dread indeedI find is the curse's might.LOGE
Unmatched, 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.WOTAN
Dark 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 still enveloped 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
"To my hammer's swing
Hitherward sweep
Vapours and fogs!
Hovering mists!
Donner, your lord, summons his hosts!"
WOTAN
Smiling 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.FRICKA
What means the name Valhall?I never seem to have heard it.WOTAN
That which, conquering fear,My fortitude broughtTriumphant to birth—Let that explain the word
"The Rhine's fair children,
Bewailing their lost gold, weep"
[The Gods laugh and cross the bridge during what follows.
THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS
Rhinegold!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
THE VALKYRIE
WOTAN HUNDING
FRICKA SIEGMUND
SIEGLINDE
BRÜNNHILDE, Valkyrie
EIGHT OTHER VALKYRIES: Gerhilde, Ortlinde, Waltraute, Schwertleite, Helmwige, Siegrune, Grimgerde, Rossweisse
SCENES OF ACTIONACT I. THE INTERIOR OF HUNDING'S DWELLING
ACT II. A WILD ROCKY MOUNTAIN
ACT III. ON THE TOP OF A ROCKY MOUNTAIN (BRÜNNHILDE'S ROCK)
THE FIRST ACT
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.
SIEGMUND
I 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.
