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




Richard Wagner

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





THE RHINEGOLD







CHARACTERS

GODS: WOTAN, DONNER, FROH, LOGE

NIBELUNGS: ALBERICH, MIME

GIANTS: FASOLT, FAFNER

GODDESSES: FRICKA, FREIA, ERDA

RHINE-MAIDENS: WOGLINDE, WELLGUNDE, FLOSSHILDE


SCENES OF ACTION

I. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RHINE

II. OPEN SPACE ON A MOUNTAIN HEIGHT NEAR THE RHINE

III. THE SUBTERRANEAN CAVERNS OF NIBELHEIM

IV. OPEN SPACE AS IN SCENE II.




FIRST SCENE






At the bottom of the Rhine

A greenish twilight, lighter above than below. The upper part is filled with undulating water, which streams respectively from right to left. Towards the bottom the waves resolve themselves into a mist which grows finer as it descends, so that a space, as high as a mans body from the ground, appears to be quite free from the water, which floats like a train of clouds over the gloomy stretch below. Steep rocky peaks jut up everywhere from the depths, and enclose the entire stage. The ground is a wild confusion of jagged rocks, no part of it being quite level, and on every side deeper fisures are indicated by a still denser gloom. Woglinde circles with graceful swimming movements round the central rock.



WOGLINDE


		Weia! Waga!
		Roll, O ye billows,
		Rock ye our cradle!
		Wagala weia!
		Wallala, weiala, weia!



WELLGUNDE [From above.


		Woglinde, watchest alone?



WOGLINDE


		If Wellgunde came we were two.



WELLGUNDE [Dives down to the rock.


		How keepest thou watch?



WOGLINDE [Swimming off, eludes her.


		Wary of thee.



[They playfully tease and chase one another.



FLOSSHILDE [From above.


		Heiaha weia!
		Ho! ye wild sisters!



WELLGUNDE


		Flosshilde, swim!
		Woglinde flies:
		Help me to hinder her flying.



FLOSSHILDE [Dives down between the two at play.


		The sleeping gold
		Badly ye guard;
		Watch with more zeal
		The slumberer's bed,
		Or dear you'll pay for your sport!



[They swim asunder with merry cries. Flosshilde tries to catch first the one, then the other. They elude her, and then combine to chase her, darting like fish from rock to rock with jests and laughter. Meanwhile Alberich climbs out of a dark ravine on to a rock. He pauses, still surrounded by darkness, and watches the frolic of the Rhine-Maidens with increasing pleasure.



ALBERICH


		Hey, hey! ye nixies!
		Ye are a lovely,
		Lovable folk!
		From Nibelheim's night
		Fain would I come,
		Would ye be kind to me.



[The maidens, as soon as they hear Alberich's voice, stop playing.



WOGLINDE


		Hei! Who is there?



WELLGUNDE


		A voice! It grows dark!



FLOSSHILDE


		Who listens below?



[They dive down and see the Nibelung.



WOGLINDE AND WELLGUNDE


		Fie! the loathsome one!




The frolic of the Rhine-Maidens.





FLOSSHILDE [Swimming up quickly.


		Look to the gold!
		Father warned us
		Of such a foe.



[Both the others follow her, and all three gather quickly round the central rock.



ALBERICH


		You above there!



THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS


		What wouldst thou below there?



ALBERICH


		Do I spoil sport
		By standing and gazing here?
		Dived ye but deeper,
		Fain the Niblung
		Would join in your frolic and play.



WELLGUNDE


		He wishes to join us?



WOGLINDE


		Is he in jest?



ALBERICH


		Ye gleam above me
		So glad and fair!
		If one would only
		Glide down, how close in my arms
		Fondly clasped she would be!



FLOSSHILDE


		I laugh at my fears:
		The foe is in love.



WELLGUNDE


		The amorous imp!



WOGLINDE


		Let us approach him.



[She sinks down to the top of the rock, whose base Alberich has reached.



ALBERICH


		Lo! one of them comes!



WOGLINDE


		Climb up to me here!



ALBERICH

[Climbs with gnome-like agility, though with repeated checks, to the summit of the rock. Irritably.


		Horrid rock,
		So slippery, slimy!
		I slide and slip!
		My hands and feet vainly
		Attempt to hold on
		To the slithery surface!
		Vapour damp
		Fills up my nostrils—
		Accursed sneezing!



[He has got near Woglinde.



WOGLINDE [Laughing.


		Sneezing tells
		That my suitor comes!



ALBERICH


		Be thou my love!
		Adorable child!



[He tries to embrace her.



WOGLINDE [Escaping from him.


		Here thou must woo,
		If woo me thou wilt!



[She swims up to another rock.



ALBERICH [Scratching his head.


		Alas! not yet caught?
		Come but closer!
		Hard I found
		What so lightly thou didst.



WOGLINDE [Swims to a third rock lower down.


		Deeper descend:
		Thou'lt certainly seize me!



ALBERICH [Clambers down quickly.


		Down there it is better!



WOGLINDE [Darts upwards to a higher rock at the side.


		But better still higher!



WELLGUNDE AND FLOSSHILDE [Laughing


		Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!



ALBERICH


		How capture this coy,
		Elusive fish?
		Wait for me, false one!



[He tries to climb after her in haste.



WELLGUNDE

[Has sunk down to a lower rock on the other side.


		Heia! my friend there!
		Dost thou not hear?



ALBERICH [Turning round.


		What? Didst thou call?



WELLGUNDE


		Be counselled by me:
		Forsake Woglinde,
		Climb up to me now!



ALBERICH

[Climbs hastily over the river-bottom towards Wellgunde.


		Thou art more comely
		Far than that coy one;
		Her sheen is duller,
		Her skin too smooth.
		But thou must deeper
		Dive to delight me!



WELLGUNDE

[Sinking down till she is a little nearer him.


		Well, now am I near?



ALBERICH


		Not near enough.
		Thine arms around me
		Tenderly throw,
		That I may fondle
		Thy neck with my fingers,
		And closely may cling
		To thy bosom with love and with longing.



WELLGUNDE


		Art thou in love?
		For love art thou pining?
		Approach and show me
		Thy face and thy form.
		Fie! thou horrible
		Hunchback, for shame!
		Swarthy, horny-skinned
		Rogue of a dwarf!
		Find thou a sweetheart
		Fonder than I!



ALBERICH

[Tries to detain her by force


		I may not be fair,
		But fast I can hold!



WELLGUNDE

[Swimming up quickly to the middle rock.


		Hold firm, or I will escape!



WOGLINDE AND FLOSSHILDE [Laughing.


		Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!



ALBERICH [Angrily calling after Wellgunde.


		Fickle maid!
		Bony, cold-blooded fish!
		Fair if I seem not,
		Pretty and playful,
		Smooth and sleek—
		Hei! if I am so loathsome
		Give thy love to the eels!



FLOSSHILDE


		What ails thee, dwarf?
		Daunted so soon?
		Though two have been wooed,
		Still a third waits thee,
		Solace sweet
		Fain at a word to grant!



ALBERICH


		Soothing song
		Sounds in my ear!
		'Twas well I found
		Three and not one!
		The chance is I charm one of many,
		Whilst, single, no one would choose me!
		Hither come gliding,
		And I will believe!



FLOSSHILDE [Dives down to Alberich.


		How senseless are ye,
		Silly sisters,
		Not to see he is fair!



ALBERICH [Hastening towards her.


		I well may deem them
		Dull and ill-favoured,
		Seeing how lovely thou art!



FLOSSHILDE


		Sing on! Thy song,
		So soft and sweet,
		Entrancing sounds in my ear!



ALBERICH [Caressing her with confidence.


		My heart burns
		And flutters and fails,
		Flattered by praises so sweet!



FLOSSHILDE [Gently resisting him.


		Thy grace and beauty
		Make glad my eye;
		And thy smile refreshes
		My soul like balm



[She draws him tenderly towards her.


		Dearest of men!



ALBERICH


		Sweetest of maids!



FLOSSHILDE


		Wert thou but mine!



ALBERICH


		Wert mine for ever!



FLOSSHILDE [Ardently.


		To be pierced by thy glance,
		To be pricked by thy beard,
		To see and to feel them for aye!
		Might thy hair hard as bristles
		Flow ever more
		Enraptured Flosshilde wreathing!
		And thy form like a frog's,
		And the croak of thy voice—
		O could I, dumb with amaze,
		Marvel forever on these!



WOGLINDE and WELLGUNDE

[Dive down close to them and laugh.


		Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!



ALBERICH [Starting in alarm.


		Wretches, dare ye thus scoff?



FLOSSHILDE [Suddenly darting away from him.


		A suitable end to the song.



[She swims up quickly with her sisters.



WOGLINDE AND WELLGUNDE [Laughing.


		Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!



ALBERICH [In a wailing voice.


		Woe's me! Ah, woe's me!
		Alas! Alas!
		The third one, so dear,
		Does she too betray?
		O sly and shameful
		Worthless and dissolute wantons!
		Live ye on lies
		Alone, O ye false nixie brood?



THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS


		Wallala! Wallala!
		Lalalelai leialalei!
		Heia! Heia! ha! ha!
		Shame on thee goblin,
		Scolding down yonder!
		Cease, and do as we bid thee!
		Faint-hearted wooer,
		Why couldst not hold
		The maid, when won, more fast?
		True are we,
		And troth we keep
		With lovers when once caught.
		Grasp then and hold;
		Away with all fear!
		In the waves we scarce can escape.
		Wallala!
		Lalaleia! Leialalei!
		Heia! Heia! Ha hei!



[They swim apart hither and thither, now lower, now higher, to provoke Alberich to give chase.





The Rhine-Maidens teasing Alberich.





ALBERICH


		Fiercely within me
		Passionate fires
		Consume and flame!
		Love and fury,
		Wild, resistless,
		Lash me to frenzy!
		So laugh and lie your fill—
		One of you I desire,
		And one must yield to my yearning!



[He starts chasing them with desperate energy. He climbs with terrible agility, and, springing from rock to rock, tries to catch one maiden after another. They keep eluding him with mocking laughter. He stumbles and falls into the abyss, and clambers up quickly again and resumes the chase. They sink down a little towards him; he almost reaches them, but falls, back again, and once more tries to catch them. At last he pauses out of breath, and, foaming with rage, stretches his clenched fist up towards the maidens.



ALBERICH


		If but this fist had one!



[He remains speechless with rage, gazing upwards, when he is suddenly attracted and arrested by the following spectacle. Through the water a light of continually increasing brilliance breaks from above, and, at a point near the top of the middle rock, kindles to a radiant and dazzling golden gleam. A magical light streams from this through the waves.



WOGLINDE


		Look, sisters!
		The wakener laughs to the deep.



WELLGUNDE


		Through the billows green
		The blissful slumberer greets.



FLOSSHILDE


		He kisses the eyelid,
		Making it open;
		Bathed in splendour,
		Behold it smiles,
		Sending, like a star,
		Gleaming light through the waves.



THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS

[Swimming gracefully round the cliff together.


		Heia jaheia!
		Heia jaheia!
		Wallala la la la leia jahei!
		Rhinegold!
		Rhinegold!
		Radiant delight,
		How glorious and glad thy smile,
		Over the water
		Shooting effulgence afar!
		Heia jahei!
		Heia jaheia!
		Waken, friend!
		Wake in joy!
		That we may please thee,
		Merry we'll play,
		Waters afire,
		Billows aflame,
		As, blissfully bathing,
		Dancing and singing,
		We dive and encircle thy bed!
		Rhinegold!
		Rhinegold!
		Heia jaheia!
		Heia jaheia!
		Wallala la la la heia jahei!



[With increasing mirthful abandonment the maidens swim round the rock. The water is filled with a glimmering golden light.



ALBERICH

[Whose eyes, strongly attracted by the radiance, stare fixedly at the gold.


		What is it, sleek ones,
		That yonder gleams and shines?



THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS


		Where dost thou hail from, O churl,
		Of the Rhinegold not to have heard?



WELLGUNDE


		Knows not the elf
		Of the famed eye golden
		That wakes and sleeps in turn?



WOGLINDE


		Of the star resplendent
		Down in the depths
		Whose light illumines the waves?



THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS [Together


		See how gaily
		We glide in the glory!
		Wouldst thou also
		Be bathed in brightness,
		Come, float and frolic with us!
		Wallala la la leia lalei!
		Wallala la la leia jahei!



ALBERICH


		Has the gold no value
		Apart from your games?
		It were not worth getting!



WOGLINDE


		He would not scoff,
		Scorning the gold,
		Did he but know all its wonders!



WELLGUNDE


		That man surely
		The earth would inherit
		Who from the Rhinegold
		Fashioned the ring
		Which measureless power imparts.



FLOSSHILDE


		Our father told us,
		And strictly bade us
		Guard with prudence
		The precious hoard
		That no thief from the water might steal it.
		Be still, then, chattering fools.



WELLGUNDE


		O prudent sister,
		Why chide and reproach?
		Hast thou not heard
		That one alone
		Can hope to fashion the gold?



WOGLINDE


		Only the man
		Who love defies,
		Only the man
		From love who flies
		Can learn and master the magic
		That makes a ring of the gold.



WELLGUNDE


		Secure then are we
		And free from care:
		For love is part of living;
		No one would live without loving.



WOGLINDE


		And least of all he,
		The languishing elf,
		With pangs of love
		Pining away.



FLOSSHILDE


		I fear him not
		Who should surely know,
		By his savage lust
		Almost inflamed.




"Mock away! Mock away!

The Niblung makes for your toy!"





WELLGUNDE


		A brimstone brand
		In the surging waves,
		In lovesick frenzy
		Hissing loud.



THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS [Together.


		Wallala! Wallaleia la la!
		Join in our laughter,
		Lovable elf!
		In the golden glory
		How gallant thy sheen!
		O come, lovely one, laugh as we laugh!
		Heia jaheia!
		Heia jaheia!
		Wallala la la la leia jahei!



[They swim, laughing, backwards and forwards in the light.



ALBERICH

[His eyes fixed on the gold, has listened attentively to the sisters rapid chatter.


		Could I truly
		The whole earth inherit through thee?
		If love be beyond me
		My cunning could compass delight?



[In a terribly loud voice.


		Mock away! Mock!
		The Niblung makes for your toy!



[Raging he springs on to the middle rock, and clambers to the top. The maidens scatter, screaming, and swim upwards on different sides.



THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS


		Heia! Heia!heia jahei!
		Save yourselves!
		The elf is distraught!
		Swirling waters splash
		At every leap:
		The creature's crazy with love!
		Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!



ALBERICH

[Reaching the top with a last spring.


		Still undismayed?
		Go, wanton in darkness.
		Water-born brood!



[He stretches his hand out towards the gold.


		My hand quenches your light;
		I tear the gold from the rock;
		Forged be the ring for revenge!
		Bear witness, ye floods—
		I forswear love and curse it!



[He tears the gold from the rock with terrific force, and immediately plunges with it into the depths, where he quickly disappears. Sudden darkness envelops the scene. The maidens dive down after the robber.



THE THREE RHINE-MAIDENS


		Seize the despoiler!
		Rescue the gold!
		Help us! Help us!
		Woe! Woe!



[The water sinks with them. From the lowest depth Alberich's shrill, mocking laughter rings up. The rocks are hidden by impenetrable darkness. The whole stage from top to bottom is filled with black waves, which for some time appear to sink even lower.










"Seize the despoiler!

Rescue the gold!

Help us! Help us!

Woe! Woe!"






SECOND SCENE







The waves have gradually changed into clouds which, becoming lighter and lighter by degrees, finally disperse in a fine mist. As the mist vanishes upwards in light little clouds an open space on a mountain height becomes visible in the dim light which precedes dawn. At one side Wotan with Fricka beside him both asleep, lie on a flowery bank. The dawning day illumines with increasing brightness a castle with glittering pinnacles which stands on the summit of a cliff in the background. Between this and the foreground a deep valley is visible through which the Rhine flows.



FRICKA

[Awakes; her gaze falls on the castle, which has become plainly visible; alarmed.


		Wotan! My lord! Awaken!



WOTAN [Continuing to dream.


		The happy hall of delight
		Is guarded by gate and door:
		Manhood's honour,
		Power for aye,
		Rise to my lasting renown!



FRICKA [Shakes him.


		Up from deceitful
		Bliss of a dream!
		My husband, wake and consider!



WOTAN

[Awakes and raises himself slightly. His glance is immediately arrested by the view of the castle.


		The walls everlasting are built!
		On yonder summit
		The Gods' abode
		Proudly rears
		Its radiant strength!
		As I nursed it in dream
		And desired it to be,
		Strong it stands,
		Fair to behold,
		Brave and beautiful pile!



FRICKA


		While thou rejoicest,
		Joyless am I.
		Thou hast thy hall;
		My heart fears for Freia.
		Heedless one, hast thou forgotten
		The price that was to be paid?
		The work is finished,
		And forfeit the pledge:
		Hast thou then no care for the cost?



WOTAN


		My bargain well I remember
		With them who built the abode.
		'Twas a pact tamed them,
		The obstinate race,
		So that this hallowed
		Hall they have built me.
		It stands—the strong ones' doing:—
		Fret not thou, counting the cost.



FRICKA


		O laughing, insolent lightness!
		Mirth how cruel and callous!
		Had I but known of thy pact,
		The trick had never been played;
		But far from your counsels
		Ye men kept the women,
		That, deaf to us and in peace,
		Alone ye might deal with the giants.
		So without shame
		Ye promised them Freia,
		Freia, my beautiful sister,
		Proud of playing the thief.
		What remains holy
		Or precious to men
		Once grown greedy of might?



WOTAN [Calmly.


		From such greed
		Was Fricka then free
		Herself when the castle she craved?



FRICKA


		I was forced to ponder some means
		To keep my husband faithful,
		True to me when his fancy
		Tempted him far from his home.
		Halls high and stately,
		Decked to delight thee,
		Were to constrain thee
		To peaceful repose.
		But thou hadst the work designed
		Intent on war alone;
		It was to add
		More to thy might still,
		To stir up to tumult still fiercer
		That built were the towering walls



WOTAN


		Wouldst thou, O Wife!
		In the castle confine me,
		To me, the god, must be granted,
		Faithful at home,
		The right to wage war
		And conquer the world from without.
		Ranging and changing
		All men love:
		That sport at least thou must leave me.



FRICKA


		Cold, hard-hearted,
		Merciless man!
		For the idle baubles,
		Empire and sway,
		Thou stakest in insolent scorn
		Love and a woman's worth!



WOTAN


		When I went wooing, to win thee
		I staked ungrudging,
		Gladly one of my eyes:
		What folly now then to scold!
		Women I honour
		Beyond thy desire!
		I will not abandon
		Frei, the fair:
		Such never was my intent.



FRICKA

[ Anxiously looking towards a point not on the stage.


		Then succour her now:
		Defenceless, in fear,
		Hither she hastens for help!



FREIA

[Enters as if flying from someone.


		Help me, sister!
		Shield me, o brother!
		From yonder mountain
		Menaces Fasolt:
		He comes to bear me off captive.



WOTAN


		Let him come!
		Sawest thou Loge?



FRICKA


		To this tricky deceiver
		O why wilt thou trust?
		He always snares thee anew,
		Though from his snares thou hast suffered.



WOTAN


		I ask for no aid
		Where simple truth suffices;
		But to turn the spite
		Of foes to profit,
		Craft and cunning alone
		Can teach, as by Loge employed.
		He whose advice I obeyed
		Has promised ransom for Freia:
		On him my faith I have fixed.



FRICKA


		And art left in the lurch.
		The giants come.
		Lo! hither they stride:
		Where lingers now thine ally?



FREIA


		Where tarry ye, my brothers,
		When help ye should bring me,
		Weak and bartered away by my kin?
		O help me, Donner!
		Hither! Hither!
		Rescue Freia, my Froh!



FRICKA


		Now the knaves who plotted and tricked thee
		Abandon thee in thy need.



[Fasolt and Fafner, both of gigantic stature, enter, armed with stout clubs.



FASOLT


		Soft sleep
		Sealed thine eyes
		While we, both sleepless,
		Built the castle walls:
		Working hard
		Wearied not,
		Heaping, heaving
		Heavy stones.
		Tower steep,
		Door and gate
		Keep and guard
		Thy goodly castle halls.



[Pointing to the castle.


		There stands
		What we builded,
		Shining fair
		Beneath the sun.
		Enter in
		And pay the price!



WOTAN


		Name, Workers, your wage.
		What payment will appease you?



FASOLT


		We made the terms
		That seemed to us meet.
		Hast thou forgot so soon?
		Freia, the fair one,
		Holda, the free one—
		The bargain is
		We bear her away.



WOTAN [Quickly.


		Ye must be mad
		To moot such a thing!
		Ask some other wage;
		Freia I will not grant.



FASOLT

Stands for a space speechless with angry surprise.


		What is this? Ha!
		Wouldest deceive?—
		Go back on thy bond?
		What thy spear wards
		Are they but sport,
		All the runes of solemn bargain?



FAFNER


		O trusty brother!
		Fool, dost now see the trick?



FASOLT


		Son of light,
		Light, unstable,
		Hearken! Have a care!
		In treaties keep thou troth!
		What thou art
		Thou art only by treaties,
		For, built on bonds,
		There are bounds to thy might.
		Though cunning thou,
		More clever than we:
		Though we once freemen,
		Are pledged to peace,
		Cursèd be all thy wisdom;—
		Peaceful promises perish!—
		Wilt thou not open,
		Honest and frank
		Stand fast by a bargain once fixed.
		A stupid giant
		Tells thee this:
		O wise one, take it from him!




Freia, the fair one





WOTAN


		How sly to judge us serious
		When plainly we were but jesting!
		The beautiful Goddess
		Light and bright—
		For churls what charm could she have?



FASOLT


		Jeerest thou?
		Ha! how unjust!
		Ye who by beauty rule,
		Proud and radiant race!
		How foolish, striving
		For towers of stone,
		Woman's love to pledge—
		Price of walls and of halls!
		We dolts, despising ease,
		Sweating with toil-hardened hands,
		Have worked, that a woman
		With gentle delight
		In our midst might sojourn
		And ye call the pact a jest?



FAFNER


		Cease thy childish chatter;
		No gain look we to get.
		Freia's charms
		Mean little;
		But it means much,
		If from the Gods we remove her.
		Golden apples
		Ripen within her garden;
		She alone
		Grows the apples and tends them.
		The goodly fruit
		Gives to her kinsfolk,
		Who eat thereof,
		Youth everlasting.
		Sick and pale,
		Their beauty would perish,
		Old and weak,
		Wasting away,
		Were not Freia among them.



[Roughly.


		From their midst, therefore, Freia must forth!



WOTAN [Aside.


		Loge lingers long!



FASOLT


		We wait for thy word!



WOTAN


		Ask some other wage!



FASOLT


		No other: Freia alone!



FAFNER


		Thou there, follow us!



[Fafner and Fasolt press towards Freia. Froh and Donner enter in haste.



FREIA


		Help! Help from the harsh ones!



FROH [Clasping Freia in his arms.


		To me, Freia!



[To Fafner.


		Back, overbold one!
		Froh shields the fair one!



DONNER [Confronting the giants.


		Fasolt and Fafner,
		Have ye not felt
		With what weight my hammer falls?



FAFNER


		What means thy threat?



FASOLT


		What wouldst thou here?
		No strife we desire;
		We want but our due reward.



DONNER


		Oft I've doled out
		Giants their due:
		Come, your reward is here
		Waiting, full measure and more!



[He swings his hammer.



WOTAN

[Stretching out his spear between the combatants.


		Hold, thou fierce one!
		Nothing by force!
		All bonds and treaties
		My spear protects;
		Spare then thy hammer's haft!



FREIA


		Woe's me! Woe's me!
		Wotan forsakes me!



FRICKA


		Can such be thy thought,
		Merciless man?



WOTAN

[Turns away and sees Loge coming.


		There comes Loge!
		Hot is thy haste
		Smoothly to settle
		Thy sorry, badly-made bargain!



LOGE

[Has come up out of the valley in the background.


		What is this bargain
		That I am blamed for?—
		The one with the giants
		That thou thyself didst decide?
		O'er hill and o'er hollow
		Drives me my whim;
		House and hearth
		I do not crave.
		Donner and Froh,
		They dream but of roof and room:
		Wedding, must have
		A home in which to dwell,
		A stately hall,
		A fortress fast.
		It was such Wotan wished.
		Hall and house,
		Castle, court,
		The blissful abode
		Now stands complete and strong.
		I proved the lordly
		Pile myself;
		In fear of flaws,
		Scanning it close.
		Fasolt and Fafner
		Faithful I found;
		Firm-bedded is each stone.
		I was not slothful
		Like many here:
		Who calls me sluggard, he lies!



WOTAN


		Cunningly
		Thou wouldst escape!
		Warned be, and wisely
		Turn from attempts to deceive.
		Of all the Gods
		I alone stood by thee
		As thy friend,
		In the gang that trusted thee not.
		Now speak, and to the point!
		For when the builders at first
		As wage Freia demanded,
		I gave way only,
		Trusting thy word
		When thou didst solemnly promise
		To ransom the noble pledge.



LOGE


		Perplexed to puzzle,
		Plans to ponder
		For its redeeming—
		That promise I gave;
		But to discover
		What cannot be,
		What none can do,
		No man can possibly promise.



FRICKA


		See the treacherous
		Rogue thou didst trust!



FROH


		Named art Loge,
		But liar I call thee!



DONNER


		Accursèd flame,
		I will quench thy fire!



LOGE


		From their shame to shelter,
		Foolish folk flout me.



[Donner threatens to strike Loge.



WOTAN

[Stepping between them.


		Forbear and let him alone!
		Ye wot not Loge's wiles.
		His advice,
		Given slowly, gains
		Both in weight and in worth.



FAFNER


		Do not dally;
		Promptly pay!



FASOLT


		Long waits our reward.



WOTAN

[Turns sternly to Loge.


		Speak up surly one!
		Fail me not!
		How far hast thou ranged and roamed?



LOGE


		Still with reproach
		Is Loge paid!
		Concerned but for thee,
		Thorough and swift,
		I searched and ransacked
		To the ends of the earth
		To find a ransom for Freia
		Fair to the giants and just.
		In vain the search,
		Convincing at last
		That the world contains
		Nothing so sweet
		That a man will take it instead
		Of woman's love and delight.



[All seem surprised and taken aback.


		Where life moves and has being,
		In water, earth and air
		I questioned,
		Asking of all things,
		Where weak still is strength,
		And germs only stirring,
		What men thought dear—
		And stronger deemed—
		Than woman's love and delight.
		But where life moves and has being
		My questions met
		But with laughter and scorn.
		In water, earth and air
		Woman and love
		Will none forego.



[Varied gestures of amazement.


		One man, one only,
		I met who, renouncing love,
		Prized ruddy gold
		Above any woman's grace.
		The Rhine's pure-gleaming children
		Told me of their sorrow.
		The Nibelung,
		Night-Alberich,
		Wooed for the favour
		Of the swimmers in vain,
		And vengeance took,
		Stealing the Rhinegold they guard.
		He thinks it now
		A thing beyond price,
		Greater than woman's grace.
		For their glittering toy
		Thus torn from the deep
		The sorrowful maids lamented.
		They pray, Wotan,
		Pleading to thee,
		That thy wrath may fall on the robber
		The gold too
		They would have thee grant them
		To guard in the water for ever.
		Loge promised
		The maidens to tell thee,
		And, keeping faith, he has told.




"The Rhine's pure-gleaming children

Told me of their sorrow"





WOTAN


		Dull thou must be
		Or downright knavish!
		In parlous plight myself,
		What help have I for others?



FASOLT

[Who has been listening attentively, to Fafner.


		The Niblung has much annoyed us;
		I greatly grudge him this Rhinegold;
		But such his craft and cunning,
		He has never been caught.



FAFNER


		Other malice
		Ponders the Niblung;
		Gains he might from gold
		Listen, Loge!
		Tell us the truth.
		What wondrous gift has the gold,
		That the dwarf desires it so?



LOGE


		A plaything,
		In the waves providing
		Children with laughter and sport,
		It gives, when to golden
		Ring it is rounded,
		Power and might unmatched;
		It wins its owner the world.



WOTAN [Thoughtfully.


		Rumours I have heard
		Of the Rhinegold;
		Runes of riches
		Hide in its ruddy glow;
		Pelf and power
		Are by the ring bestowed.



FRICKA [Softly to Loge.


		Could this gaud,
		This gleaming trinket
		Forged from the gold,
		Be worn by a woman too?



LOGE


		The wife who wore
		That glittering charm
		Never would lose
		Her husband's love—
		That charm which dwarfs are welding,
		Working in thrall to the ring.



FRICKA [Coaxingly to Wotan.


		O could but my husband
		Come by the ring!



WOTAN

[As if falling more and more under the influence of a spell.


		Methinks it were wisdom,
		Won I the ring to my service.
		But say, Loge,
		How shall I learn
		To forge and fashion it true?



LOGE


		A magic rune
		Can round the golden ring.
		No one knows it,
		Yet plain the spell to him
		Who happy love forswears.



[Wotan turns away in annoyance.


		That suits thee not;
		Thou art too late too.
		Alberich did not delay;
		Fearless he mastered
		The potent spell,



[Harshly.


		And wrought aright was the ring.



DONNER [To Wotan.


		We should all be
		Under the dwarf,
		Were not the ring from him wrested.



WOTAN


		The ring I must capture!



FROH


		Lightly now,
		Without cursing love it were won.



LOGE [Harshly.


		Just so:
		Without guile, as in children's games!



WOTAN


		Then tell us how.



LOGE


		By theft!
		What a thief stole
		Steal thou from the thief;
		How better could object be won?
		But with baleful arms
		Battles Alberich.
		Wary, wise
		Must be thy scheming,
		If the thief thou wouldst confound,



[With warmth.


		And restore the ruddy
		And golden toy,
		The Rhinegold, to the maidens.
		For this they pray and implore.



WOTAN


		The river-maidens?
		What profit were mine?



FRICKA


		Of that billow-born brood
		Bring me no tidings,
		For they have wooed
		To my woe
		Full many a man to their caves.



[Wotan stands silent, struggling with himself. The other Gods gaze at him in mute suspense. Fafner, meanwhile, has been consulting aside with Fasolt.



FAFNER [To Fasolt


		Worth far more than Freia
		Were the glittering gold.
		Eternal youth, too, were his
		Who could use the charm in its quest.



[Fasolt's gestures indicate that he is being convinced against his will. Fafner and Fasolt approach Wotan again.



FAFNER


		Hear, Wotan,
		Our word while we wait;
		Freia we will restore you,
		And will take
		Paltrier payment:
		The Niblung's red-gleaming gold
		Will guerdon us giants rude.



WOTAN


		Ye must be mad!
		With what I possess not
		How can I, shameless ones, pay you?



FAFNER


		Hard labour
		Went to those walls;
		How easy
		With fraud-aided force
		(What our malice never achieved)
		The Niblung to break and bind!




Fasolt suddenly seizes Freia and drags her to one side with Fafner





WOTAN [More quickly.


		Why should I make
		War on the Niblung?—
		Fight, your foe to confound?
		Insolent
		And greedily grasping
		Dolts you grow through my debt!



FASOLT

[Suddenly seizes Freia and drags her to one side with Fafner.


		Maiden, come!
		We claim thee ours!
		As pledge thou shalt be held
		Till the ransom is paid.



FREIA [Screaming.


		Woe's me! Woe's me! Woe!



FAFNER


		From your midst
		We bear her forth!
		Till evening—mark it well!—
		As a pledge she is ours.
		We will return then.
		But when we come,
		If the Rhinegold be not ready,
		The Rhinegold bright and red—



FASOLT


		The respite is ended,
		Freia is forfeit
		And bides among us for aye!



FREIA


		Sister! Brothers!
		Save me! Help!



[The giants hasten off, dragging Freia with them.



FROH


		Up! Follow fast!



DONNER


		Fall now the heavens!



[They look inquiringly at Wotan.



FREIA [In the distance.


		Save me! Help!



LOGE [Looking after the giants.


		Downward over stock and stone
		Striding they go;
		Through the ford across the Rhine
		Wade now the robbers.
		Sad at heart
		Hangs Freia,
		Thrown rudely over rough shoulders!
		Heia! hei!
		The louts, how they lumber along!
		Through the Rhine valley they reel.
		Not till Riesenheim's march
		Is reached will they rest!



[He turns to the Gods.


		How darkly Wotan doth dream!
		What ails the high, happy Gods?



[A pale mist, gradually increasing in density, fills the stage. Seen through it the Gods look more and more wan and aged. All stand in dismay and apprehension regarding Wotan, whose eyes are fixed broodingly on the ground.



LOGE


		Does a mist mock me?
		Tricks me a dream?
		Dismayed and wan,
		How swiftly ye fade!
		Lo! the bloom forsakes your cheeks,
		And quenched is the light of your eyes!
		Courage, Froh!
		Day's but begun!
		From thy hand, Donner,
		The hammer is falling!
		And why frets Fricka?
		Sees she with sorrow
		That Wotan's hair, growing grey,
		Has made him gloomy and old?



FRICKA


		Woe's me! Woe's me!
		What does it mean?




The Gods grow wan and aged at the loss of Freia.





DONNER


		My hand sinks down.



FROH


		My heart stands still.



LOGE


		I have it: hear what ye lack!
		Of Freia's fruit
		Ye have not partaken to-day.
		The golden apples
		Within her garden
		Restored you your strength and your youth,
		Ate ye thereof each day.
		The garden's guardian
		In pledge has been given.
		On the branches dries
		And droops the fruit,
		To drop soon and decay.
		My loss is lighter,
		For still did Freia,
		Stingy to me,
		Stint the delectable fruit.
		Not half as godlike
		Am I, ye high ones, as you!



[Freely, but quickly and harshly.


		But ye trusted solely
		To the fruit that makes young,
		As well both the giants wist.
		Your life they played for,
		Plotted to take;
		Contrive so that they fail.
		Lacking the apples,
		Old and worn,
		Grey and weary,
		Wasting, the scoff of the world,
		The Gods must pine and pass.



FRICKA [Anxiously


		Wotan, alas!
		Unhappy man!
		See what thy laughing
		Lightness has brought us—
		Scoff and scorn for all!



WOTAN [Coming to a sudden resolve, starts up.


		Up, Loge,
		And follow me!
		To Nibelheim hastening downward,
		I go in search of the gold.



LOGE


		The Rhine-daughters
		Thy aid invoked:
		Not vainly they hoped for thy help then?



WOTAN [Angrily.


		Fool, be silent!
		Freia, the fair one—
		Freia's ransom we go for.



LOGE


		Where thou wouldst go
		Gladly I lead.
		Shall we dive
		Sheer through the depths of the Rhine?



WOTAN


		Not through the Rhine.



LOGE


		Then swift let us swing
		Through this smoky chasm.
		Together, come, creep we in!



[He goes in front and vanishes at the side through a cleft, from which, immediately afterwards, sulphurous vapour streams forth.



WOTAN


		Ye others wait
		Till evening here;
		The golden ransom
		When got will again make us young.



[He descends after Loge into the chasm. The sulphurous vapour which rises from it spreads over the whole stage and quickly fills it with thick clouds. Those who remain behind are soon hidden.



DONNER


		Fare thee well, Wotan!



FROH


		Good luck! Good luck!



FRICKA


		O come back soon
		To thy sorrowing wife!



[The sulphurous vapour darkens till it becomes a black cloud, which rises upwards from below. This then changes to a dark, rocky cavern which keeps rising, so that the stage seems to sink deeper and deeper into the earth.








THIRD SCENE







From various points in the distance ruddy lights gleam out. An increasing clamour, as of smiths at work, is heard on all sides. The clang of the anvils dies away. A vast subterranean chasm becomes visible which seems to open into narrow gorges on all sides. Alberich drags the screaming Mime out of a side cleft.



ALBERICH


		Héhé! Héhé!
		Come here! Come here!
		Mischievous dwarf!
		Prettily pinched
		Promptly thou'lt be
		Hast thou not ready,
		Wrought to my wish,
		The dainty thing I desire!



MIME [Howling.


		Ohé! Ohé!
		Oh! Oh!
		Let me alone!
		It is forged;
		Heeding thy hest
		I laboured hard
		Till it was done!
		Take but thy nails from my ear!



ALBERICH


		Then why this delay
		To show thy work?



MIME


		I feared that something
		Might still be wanting.




MIME, howling.

"Ohé! Ohé!

Oh! Oh!"





ALBERICH


		What is there to finish?



MIME [Embarrassed.


		Here—and there–



ALBERICH


		How here and there?
		Hand me the thing!



[He tries to catch hold of his ear again. In his terror Mime drops a piece of metal-work which he has been clutching convulsively. Alberich picks it up hastily and examines it with care.


		Rogue, observe!
		See how all wrought is
		Well finished and feat,
		Done as desired!
		The simpleton wants
		Slyly to trick me
		And keep by cunning
		The wonderful work,
		Though all his skill
		Came alone from my craft.
		Thou art discovered, thief.



[He puts the Tarnhelm on his head.


		The helmet fits the head;
		But will the spell prosper too?



[Very softly.


		"Night and darkness,
		Seen of none!"



[He vanishes, and a pillar of cloud takes his place.


		Brother, canst see me?



MIME [Looks round in amaze.


		Where art thou? I see no one.



ALBERICH [Invisible.


		Then feel me instead,
		Thou lazy scamp!
		Take that for thy thievish thoughts!



MIME

[Writhes under the lathes he receives, the sound of which is heard without the whip being seen.


		Ohé! Ohé!
		Oh! Oh! Oh!



ALBERICH [Invisible and laughing.


		Ha! ha! ha!
		Ha! ha! ha!
		I thank thee, blockhead;
		Thy work has stood the test.
		Hoho! Hoho!
		Nibelungs all
		Bow now to Alberich!
		For he is everywhere,
		Waiting and watching;
		Peace and rest
		Are past for ever;
		Ye must all serve him,
		Though see him can none;
		Where he cannot be spied
		Look out for his coming;
		None shall escape from his thraldom!



[Harshly.


		Hoho! hoho!
		Hearken, he nears:
		The Nibelung's lord!



[The pillar of cloud disappears in the background. Alberich's scolding voice is heard more and more faintly. Mime lies huddled up in pain. Wotan and Loge come down through a cleft in the rock.



LOGE


		Nibelheim here.
		Through pale mists gleaming,
		How bright yonder fiery sparks glimmer!



MIME


		Oh! Oh! Oh!



WOTAN


		I hear loud groans.
		Who lies on the ground?




Mime writhes under the lashes he receives.





LOGE [Bends over Mime.


		Why all this whimpering noise?



MIME


		Ohé! Ohé!
		Oh! Oh!



LOGE


		Hei, Mime! Merry dwarf!
		Who beats and bullies thee so?



MIME


		Leave me in peace, pray.



LOGE


		So much is certain,
		And more still. Hark!
		Help I promise thee, Mime!



[He raises him with difficulty.



MIME


		What help for me?
		To do his bidding
		My brother can force me,
		For I am bound as his slave.



LOGE


		But, Mime, how has he
		Thus made thee his thrall?



MIME


		By evil arts
		Fashioned Alberich
		A yellow ring,
		From the Rhinegold forged,
		At whose mighty magic
		Trembling we marvel;
		This spell puts in his power
		The Nibelung hosts of night.
		Happy we smiths
		Moulded and hammered,
		Making our women
		Trinkets to wear—
		Exquisite Nibelung toys—
		And lightly laughed at our toil.
		The rogue now compels us
		To creep into caverns,
		For him alone
		To labour unthanked.
		Through the golden ring
		His greed can divine
		Where untouched treasure
		In hidden gorge gleams.
		We still must keep spying,
		Peering and delving:
		Must melt the booty,
		Which, molten, we forge
		Without pause or peace,
		To heap up higher his hoard.



LOGE


		Just now, then, an idler
		Roused him to wrath?



MIME


		Poor Mime, ah!
		My lot was the hardest.
		I had to work,
		Forging a helmet,
		With strict instructions
		How to contrive it;
		And well I marked
		The wondrous might
		Bestowed by the helm
		That from steel I wrought.
		Hence I had gladly
		Held it as mine,
		And, by its virtue
		Risen at last in revolt:
		Perchance, yes, perchance
		The master himself I had mastered,
		And, he in my power, had wrested
		The ring from him and used it
		That he might serve me, the free man,



[Harshly


		As now I must serve him, a slave!



LOGE


		And wherefore, wise one,
		Sped not the plan?



MIME


		Ah! though the helm I fashioned,
		The magic that lurks therein
		I foolishly failed to divine.
		He who set the task
		And seized the fruits—
		From him I have learnt,
		Alas I but too late!
		All the helmet's cunning craft.
		From my sight he vanished,
		But, viciously lashing,
		Swung his arm through unseen.



[Howling and sobbing.


		This, fool that I am,
		Was all my thanks!



[He rubs his back. Wotan and Loge laugh.



LOGE [To Wotan.


		Confess, our task
		Will call for skill.



WOTAN


		Yet the foe will yield,
		Use thou but fraud.



MIME [Observes the Gods more attentively.


		Who are you, ye strangers
		That ask all these questions?



LOGE


		Friends to thee,
		Who from their straits
		Will free all the Nibelung folk.



MIME [Shrinking back in fear when he hears Alberich returning.


		Hark! Have a care!
		Alberich comes!



[He runs to and fro in terror.



WOTAN


		We'll wait for him here.



[He sits down calmly on a stone. Alberich, who has taken the Tarnhelm from his head and hung it on his girdle, is brandishing his scourge and driving before him a band of Nibelungs from the gorges below. These are laden with gold and silver treasure, which, urged on by Alberich, they pile up so as to form a large heap.



ALBERICH


		Hither! Thither!
		Héhé! Hoho!
		Lazy herd!
		Haste and heap
		Higher the hoard.
		Up with thee there!
		On with thee here!
		Indolent dolts,
		Down with the treasure!
		Need ye my urging?
		Here with it all!



[He suddenly perceives Wotan and Loge.


		Hey! Who are they
		That thus intrude?
		Mime! Come here!
		Rascally rogue!
		Gossiping art
		With the pilgriming pair?
		Off, thou idler!
		Back to thy bellows and beating!



[Lashing Mime, he chases him into the crowd of Nibelungs.


		Hey! to your labour!
		Get ye all hence now!
		Swing ye down swift!
		From the virgin gorges
		Get me the gold!
		This whip will follow,
		Delve ye not fast!
		That labour ye shirk not
		Mime be surety,
		Or surely the lash
		Of my whip will find him;
		That where no one would guess
		I watch and I wander,
		None knows it better than he.
		Loitering still?
		Lingering there?




Alberich drives in a band of Nibelungs laden with gold and silver treasure.





[He pulls the ring from his finger, kisses it and stretches it out in menace.


		Fear ye and tremble,
		O fallen host,
		And obey
		The ring's dread lord!



[Howling and shrieking, the Nibelungs, among them Mime, scatter, and creep down into the clefts in all directions.





Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.


Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию (https://www.litres.ru/rihard-vagner/the-rhinegold-the-valkyrie-the-ring-of-the-niblung-part-1/) на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.


