Richard Wagner
Lohengrin
Act III
Translated by Abigail Dyer © Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved.
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Contents
Act III, Scene 1
Elsa’s bridal chamber. Richly decorated with a bridal bed Center and a window overlooking a garden. Singing is distant at first and grows closer. Women enter Right with Elsa; Lohengrin the King and Men enter Left. Pages with lights are positioned throughout.
CHORUS May every step lead you to take
Refuge where blessings of love are enshrined.
In you are joined courage and faith.
May they be happily always entwined.
Champion of youth, step forward with joy!
Flower of youth, step forward with joy!
Go, leave the noisy festival behind you
So that your heart’s desire may find you!
Doors open; processions meet Center. Lohengrin and Elsa embrace. Women remove an outer garment from Elsa and men remove Lohengrin’s cloak and sword. A group of eight women walk slowly in circles around Lohengrin and Elsa.
EIGHT WOMEN As God has blessed your union
We bless you all your days.
This hour of your communion,
Remember it always.
Fragrant and soft, we’ve made up the bed.
Flee from the crowd and stay here instead.
King blesses Elsa and Lohengrin. Page gives the crowd the signal to leave and everyone but Elsa and Lohengrin files out of the room, singing.
CHORUS May every step lead you to stay
Here where the blessings of love are enshrined.
In you are joined courage and faith.
May they be happily always entwined.
Act III, Scene 2
Alone for the first time since I saw you
LOHENGRIN The sweet song lingers on. Alone, we’ll stay
Alone for the first time since I saw you.
Here in our own cozy, happy hideaway,
No listening ear can hear our hearts beat true.
Elsa, my wife! My sweetest, purest bride!
Confide in me, are you as content as I?
ELSA Contentment is too poor a word to name it.
I feel that I am filled with heaven’s bliss!
My heart sings out for you to come and claim it,
Glowing in wonder at God’s gracious gift.
LOHENGRIN My dear, contentment is just the word to name it,
For you fill me as well with heaven’s bliss!
LOHENGRIN AND ELSA My heart sings out for you to come and claim it,
Glowing in wonder at God’s gracious gift.
LOHENGRIN We love each other with sublime emotion!
Before we met, we’d sensed each other’s hearts.
I sallied forth as champion, but devotion
And love for you called me to play that part.
Your eyes proclaimed your innocent distress;
It was your gaze belied your tenderness.
ELSA But in my vision you’d already met me.
In joyful dreams, I saw you take my hand.
When I awoke and you’d come to protect me,
I knew you’d been sent at God’s command.
There in the sunlight of your eyes, I melted,
Turned into water flowing at your feet.
Into a flower blooming in the meadow,
Waiting for you to trample underneath.
But did I love you?
What else could overcome me?
This so unutterably joyful word, like - ah!- your name, dear,
That you keep secret from me,
That from my lips, my dear, you’ve never heard.
LOHENGRIN Elsa!
ELSA How sweet my name sounds on your lips, my lover!
Would you deny yourself the same sweet sound
Just when we’re snuggled underneath the covers,
Just when we know there’s no one else around?
LOHENGRIN My darling wife!
ELSA Whisper your name, my dear.
There’s not a soul around to overhear.
Lohengrin gives Elsa a friendly hug and points through the open window to the flower garden.
LOHENGRIN Let’s stop, my love, and smell the blooming flowers.
How they enchant and charm us with their scent.
I fall, unquestioning, to their magic powers,
Trust and delighting in their innocence.
Thus, is the magic of the tie that binds us
Vital to our love and to our own good.
When we first met, I didn’t ask your title.
I saw your eyes and my heart understood.
Just as the flowers here enchant and charm me
On this night mysterious and sublime
Your innocence and purity disarm me
Though you once stood accused of dreadful crime.
Elsa hides her shame and humbly nuzzles against him.
ELSA If only I could be your equal
Instead of melting at your gaze!
Instead of being such a meek girl
I want to suffer for your sake!
You saved me from disaster certain --
If only I could rescue you!
I’d bravely bear your heavy burden
If what that was, I only knew.
What secret spell was cast upon you?
What can’t you tell a single soul?
What evil pact have you been sworn to?
And would would happen if you told?
If that’s so, and if you tell me,
I’ll keep your secret locked away.
No threat of violence could compel me --
I’d die before your trust betray!
LOHENGRIN My darling!
ELSA Oh make me proud and show you trust me,
That I’m not some unworthy maid!
So share your dark secret with just me,
That I might know and lend you aid!
LOHENGRIN Enough, Elsa!
ELSA Give your faithful one the glory of your noble name!
Without remorse, say where you come from!
I’ll keep my silence to the grave!
LOHENGRIN (forcefully, seriously, moves back a few steps)
You’ve had my trust since I began my mission.
The oath you swore, I took it to be true.
If you can keep my only prohibition,
A treasure among wives I will call you.
Come to my arms and feel my heartbeat,
Feel how it burns with loving fire.
Shine your bright eyes soft upon me
For they reflect my heart’s desire.
Oh let me breathe the air that you breathe
As one our breath may rise and fall.
Press, darling, press yourself unto me
For you’re my everything and all!
Because your love is treasure beyond worth
I gave up all I had before.
No destiny in all God’s green Earth
Was nobler than what I foreswore.
Offer me kingdoms as my prizes,
I’ll rightfully reject them all.
The one thing worth my sacrifice is
To hear you answer my love’s call.
Rid yourself now of doubt insidious.
Your love’s the only thing I need.
My secret is not dark and hideous
But bright and wonderful indeed!
ELSA Dear God, tell me this can’t be!
How could you be so cruel?
You wanted to enchant me,
To play me for a fool!
The glory that you gave up,
Oh how can I compare?
From Wonderland you came up,
Now you’re wishing you were there!
My womanly fidelity could never compensate!
One day you’ll take it all away
And leave me desolate!
And leave me desolate!
LOHENGRIN Stop torturing yourself so!
ELSA Why do you torture me?
Am I to count the hours till you decide to leave?
From fear that you’ll abandon me
I grow pale and gray
Then, bored with me, you’ll summon
Your swan and sail away!
LOHENGRIN You’ll keep your beauty always if you keep free from doubt!
ELSA Ah! How to find the subtle way to keep you in my power?
A magic swan brought just you
And miracles to me
How can I ever trust you
Without a guarantee?
(startled, as if listening to something)
Listen to that! Ah, can you hear him coming?
LOHENGRIN Elsa!
ELSA Ah, no. He’s there --the swan! The swan!
I see him on the water, swimming toward us.
You’ve summoned him and soon you’ll both be gone!
LOHENGRIN Elsa, calm down!
That’s madness and it’s wrong!
ELSA No words can stop my crying.
To madness I will cling!
Ev’n at the risk of dying,
I must know this one thing:
LOHENGRIN Elsa, you wouldn’t dare to--
ELSA Ill-fated, noble man, you’ll answer what I ask you:
Now say your name and whence you come afar
And what you are!
LOHENGRIN Stop now! Oh no! What have you done to us?
ELSA (sees Friedrich and his four nobles enter from a backdoor, Up, swords drawn.)
Save yourself! Your sword! Your sword!
Elsa gives Lohengrin his sword, which had been lying on the couch. Friedrich rushes Lohengrin, sword raised, but Lohengrin kills him with a single blow. The Four Nobles, horrified, drop their swords and kneel before Lohengrin. Elsa, who had thrown herself at Lohengrin, falls fainting to the floor.
Friedrich and his four nobles enter from a backdoor
LOHENGRIN Woe betide us. All our joy is gone!
ELSA (dully closing her eyes)
Almighty God, oh pity me!
The Four Nobles take Friedrich’s body out through the door Right. Lohengrin rings a bell. Two ladies enter from Left.
LOHENGRIN Dress Elsa in her finest vestments.
Before the King she shall be led.
There I will answer all her questions
So she may know to whom she’s wed.
He exits mournfully. The two ladies accompany Elsa, incapable of speech, off Left. Day has slowly begun to break. The candles are extinguished.
Act III, Scene 3
At the Riverbank, as in Act I. Dawn. The nobles assemble with their troops, bearing their standards, ready to march to battle. The King and his retinue enter Left.
MEN Hail to you, King Heinrich!
To King Heinrich, hail!
KING My thanks, good people of Brabant!
No nobler subjects could I want!
I’d wish for every German land
So strong and fierce a fighting band!
Now, should our enemy advance
We’ll tell him to make other plans.
He’d best stay in his wild west
And never put us to the test!
Raise German swords o’er German lands!
Strong may our glorious empire stand!
MEN Raise German swords o’er German lands!
Strong may our glorious empire stand!
KING Where is the man whom God has sent
To glorify our dear Brabant?
Murmurs from the crowd. The Four Nobles enter bearing Friedrich’s body, covered, on a bier. They set it down, Center.
ALL What do they bring?
We stand here stunned --
Those are the friends of Telramund!
KING Whom do they bring?
Which man is dead?
The sight of you fills me with dread!
FOUR NOBLES The Guardian of Brabant has said
That he’ll make known which man is dead.
Elsa enters with several women. She walks unsteadily Down.
MEN Look! Elsa comes, so pure, unstained!
Why does she look so pale and pained?
KING My dear, you look so sad and wan!
Is it because he’ll soon be gone?
Elsa tries to look up to answer him but cannot. Noises heard from Upstage, Off.
MEN Make way: the Hero of Brabant!
Hail the Hero of Brabant!
Lohengrin enters alone, dressed exactly as he was at his first appearance in Act I, steps sadly and solemnly Down.
KING (seated at the Oak, as at the start of Act I)
Hail and welcome, noble knight!
These gallant men you’ve called to fight
Pledge to follow where you lead.
With you, their victory is guaranteed!
MEN We pledge to follow where you lead.
With you, our victory is guaranteed!
LOHENGRIN My lord, oh Sire, I must inform you,
Those men I called, these bravest warriors,
To lead them forth is not my place!
MEN My God! What cruel words he says!
LOHENGRIN I did not come to lead these knights courageous.
Instead, I stand before you as a plaintiff!
Uncovers Friedrich’s body and remains standing in front of it.
The first charge I’ll pronounce before you knights brave
And ask you what the law has said:
By dark of night he ambushed me, the vile knave.
Did I do right to strike him dead?
KING AND MEN (solemnly pointing at the dead body)
Your hand decreed his judgement earthly
But you rendered God’s own verdict.
LOHENGRIN The next charge is against one who entrusted
Me with both her fortune and her life.
There was betrayal against her loyal husband
By her whom God gave me as wife!
KING Elsa! How could you do this awful thing?
MEN Elsa! Oh, what a charge he brings!
How could you do this awful thing?
WOMEN Woe betide you!
LOHENGRIN All of you heard it --how she made a promise
That she would never ask me who I am.
This woman was both faithless and dishonest.
She broke her oath! Now hear her reprimand:
The wages of her faithless, doubting question
Are in the answer I must give her now.
The threats of enemies made no impression;
To her alone was my answer vowed.
So hear and judge if I am meritorious.
Before you all, Your Majesty, you knights,
I joyfully divulge my secret glorious.
Now tell me if I’m honorable and right!
KING AND MEN Oh, what outrageous thing will come to pass now?
Why could he not refuse to give an answer?
LOHENGRIN Off in a land your feet can never enter
Lies a castle known as Montsalvat.
A brilliant temple lies at its center.
On Earth there’s none more sacred than this spot.
Inside, a vessel filled with blessed spirit
Is guarded as the most holy of sacred things.
It’s kept only by men of purest merit.
It came from heaven, delivered on angel’s wings.
Each year a dove descends to earth from heaven,
Replenishing the vessel’s miraculous strength:
It is the Grail, and members of its company
Imbibe through it the purest, strongest faith.
Who heeds the Grail’s call of holy service,
The vessel fills with supernatural breath.
Against him, every evil plot must fail.
His holy light defies the shadow of death.
Even when he’s called to distant kingdoms
For Truth and Justice to fight as champion,
The Grail’s holy power will be within him
As long as he remains a nameless man.
To keep the Holy Grail from doubt’s peril,
Its ways are hidden from unenlightened eyes.
The knight must do his work unnamed, unheralded,
And must depart if he is recognized.
Now hear the fateful answer you insist on.
The Grail sent me to champion your claim.
My father Parsival rules oe'r its kingdom.
Its knight I am and Lohengrin, my name!
KING AND MEN When I hear how you prove your noble calling
I weep with joyful tears of wonder falling.
ELSA The earth is spinning! Night descends! Oh, air! Give air to this doomed maiden!
Lohengrin catches her as she collapses.
LOHENGRIN Oh, Elsa! How could you betray me so?
When I first saw you there, so pure, so alone,
The world brightened; with love for you I burned!
The meaning of true joy and bliss I learned.
The holy power, the wonder of the world,
Whose secret I protect and which I serve,
I could have used to serve you and adore,
If you had kept my secret as you swore.
Now must we--ah!--be parted evermore.
KING AND MEN Grief! Misery! Must you go and leave us,
You noble man whom God had sent?
Will heaven’s blessing also flee us?
And who will hear our sad lament?
ELSA My husband! No! Your loss means ruination!
As witness to my penance, ah, remain!
You must not flee my bitter lamentation!
Stay and berate me! Treat me with disdain!
WOMEN Grief! Now he must go and leave you!
LOHENGRIN I must, I must, beloved bride.
The Grail demands my presence at its side.
ELSA If you’re as holy as I heard you say,
The Grace of God you must not throw away.
As for her grievous sin she makes amends,
Stay with your wife, your gracious love extend.
Don’t cast me out, however great my crime was!
Don’t leave me, ah! Don’t leave your wretched wife!
LOHENGRIN There’s just one sanction for your grievous error.
Ah, yes, I also feel its bitterly:
That parted from you I'll remain fore'er,
This must your punishment and penance be!
Elsa screams and sinks to the ground.
KING AND NOBLES (surround Lohengrin)
Oh stay and never leave our borders!
Oh lead us! We await your orders!
LOHENGRIN Oh, Sire, hear! I cannot lead your forces!
The Grail’s champion, once he is recognized,
If he should disobey his holy orders,
With loss of all his strength he’ll be chastised.
But, Royal Sire, I’ll make one prediction:
Your Majesty will win a victory great!
In German lands, in German jurisdictions,
The Eastern hoards will meet a deadly fate!
CHORUS (excited, from Upstage)
The swan! The swan!
See there how he returns!
ELSA (has awakened and noticed the Swan)
Oh, horror! Ah, the swan!
She sits up and remains frozen in place.
LOHENGRIN Already it has sent for me, the Grail!
Everyone watches as Lohengrin goes to the riverbank.
Beloved Swan, I wish you had not had to make
This final journey we will take.
Beloved Swan, I wish you had not had to make this final journey
In just a year, when you complete your time in service to the Grail
Then through its power you will be freed.
Oh, how I wished to see that day!
Turns to Elsa, wracked with grief.
Oh, Elsa, if I could have seen your gladness!
Exactly one year after we were wed
You’d witness, traveling with the Grail’s companions,
Your dearest brother, who you thought was dead.
General astonishment.
Lohengrin hands Elsa his horn, sword and ring.
When he returns and I am gone and distant,
This horn, this sword, this ring, keep them to give him.
The horn lends him aid when he’s in danger.
In battle fierce, the sword grants victory.
But may this ring remind him of the stranger
Who freed you, too, from shame and misery.
Lohengrin kisses Elsa again and again but she is unable to respond.
Farewell, farewell, my dearest bride!
Farewell, the Grail calls me from your side.
Elsa had been clinging to Lohengrin but loses her grip and sinks into the arms of the Women. Lohengrin hurries to the riverbank.
King and Chorus stretch their hands out to Lohengrin.
KING AND CHORUS Stay! Stay, you noble-hearted man!
It would be cruel to leave Brabant!
ORTRUD (appearing Downstage with exultant gestures)
Ride home! Ride home, you prideful hero,
So to this fool I can reveal now
By whom your little boat was drawn!
The chain I wound around his throat
Tells me the swan who steers your boat
Is really Gottfried of Brabant!
ALL Ha!
ORTRUD (to Elsa)
Now that you’ve chased away your savior
He’ll sail off into the blue.
Too bad, for if he’d stayed much later
He would have freed your brother, too.
ALL Deceitful shrew! The criminal act of one depraved!
ORTRUD Observe how well the gods take vengeance
On those who spurn their ancient ways!
She stands in wild ecstasy, while Lohengrin, who has heard every word from the Riverbank, sinks to his knees in prayer. The white Grail-dove appears and hovers over the boat. Lohengrin sees it, jumps up and takes the gold chain from the swan’s neck. The swan sinks underwater and rises again in the form of Gottfried, wearing silver armor. Gottfried steps ashore.
LOHENGRIN Behold! Duke Gottfried of Brabant returns to lead his people forth!
Ortrud sees Gottfried and falls to the ground. Lohengrin jumps on the boat, which is pulled away by the dove. Elsa, transfigured with joy, watches as Gottfried bows to the King and the Brabantian Nobles bow before Gottfried. Gottfried rushes to Elsa’s arms and after a joyful but brief embrace, Elsa looks at the riverbank and sees that Lohengrin has gone.
ELSA My husband! My husband!
Lohengrin, on the boat, becomes visible in the distance, standing mournfully with his head on his shield. Elsa sinks out of Gottfried’s arms and falls dead on the ground. Lohengrin recedes into the distance.
FINAL CURTAIN