not alone of brother and sister but of lover and mistress,--the union
which is destined to beget Siegfried, the hero. Seizing her in his
arms, Siegmund disappears with her into the depths of the forest, and
the curtain falls.

The second act opens in the mountains of the gods, and discloses Wotan
with spear in hand in earnest converse with Brünnhilde, his daughter,
who is arrayed in the armor of a Valkyr. He tells her of the
approaching combat, and bids her award the victory to Siegmund the
Volsung, beloved of the gods. As she disappears among the rocks,
shouting the weird cry of the Valkyres, the jealous Fricka, protector
of marriage vows, comes upon the scene in a chariot drawn by rams. A
stormy dialogue occurs between them, Fricka demanding the death of
Siegmund as compensation for the wrong done to Hunding. Wotan at last
is overcome, and consents that the Valkyres shall conduct him to
Walhalla. As he yields, Brünnhilde's jubilant song is heard on the
heights, and Wotan summons her and announces his changed decision.
Siegmund must perish. As he stalks gloomily away among the rocks,
Brünnhilde falls into deep dejection, and turns away moaning: "Alas!
my Volsung! Has it come to this,--that faithless the faithful must
fail thee?" As she enters a cave for her horse, the fugitives Siegmund
and Sieglinde hurriedly approach, pursued by the infuriated Hunding.
They stop to rest, and Sieglinde falls exhausted in his arms. The
scene is marked by alternations of passionate love and fear, hope on
the one side, despair on the other, vividly portrayed in the
instrumentation. As the music dies away and Sieglinde rests insensible
in his arms, Brünnhilde, with deep melancholy in her visage, shows
herself to Siegmund. In reply to his question, "Who art thou?" she
answers, "He who beholds me, to death in the battle is doomed. I shall
lead thee to Walhalla." Eagerly he asks, "Shall I find in Walhalla my