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

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Рихард Вагнер

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Зарубежная классика

Год написания книги

2018

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[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.

Was the offence
So shameful and foul
That to such shame the offender should be
doomed?
Was what I did
So base and so vile
That I must suffer abasement so low?
Was the dishonour
Truly so deep
That it must rob me of honour for aye?

[She raises herself gradually to a kneeling posture.

O speak, Father!
In my eye looking,
Calming thy rage,
Taming thy wrath,
Explain why so dark
This deed of mine
That in thy implacable anger
It costs thee thy favourite child!

WOTAN [His attitude unchanged, gravely and gloomily.

Ask of thy deed,
And that will show thee thy guilt!

BRÜNNHILDE

I but fulfilled
Wotan's command.

WOTAN

By my command
Didst thou fight for the Wälsung?

BRÜNNHILDE

Yea, lord of the lots,
So ran thy decree.

WOTAN

But I took back
The order, changed the decree!

BRÜNNHILDE

When Fricka had weaned
Thy will from its purpose;
In yielding what she desired
Thou wert a foe to thyself.

WOTAN [Softly and bitterly.

I thought thou didst understand me,
And punished thy conscious revolt;
But coward and fool
I seemed to thee!
If I had not treason to punish
Thou wouldst be unworthy my wrath.

BRÜNNHILDE

I am not wise,
But I knew well this one thing—
That thy love was the Wälsung's;
I knew that, by discord
Drawn two ways,
This one thing thou hadst forgotten.
The other only
Couldst thou discern—
What so bitterly
Wounded thy heart:
That Siegmund might not be shielded.

WOTAN

And yet thou didst dare
To shield him, knowing 'twas so?

BRÜNNHILDE [Beginning softly.

Because I the one thing
Had kept in my eye,
While by twofold desire
Divided wert thou,
Blindly thy back on him turning!
She who wards thy back
From the foe in the field,