“Die Feen” by Richard Wagner libretto (English)
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Contents: Roles; Act One; Act Two; Act Three
Roles

The Fairy King - bass
Ada, a fairy - soprano
Zemina, a fairy - soprano
Farzana, a fairy - soprano
Arindal, King of Tramond - tenor
Lora, his sister - soprano
Morald, her betrothed - baritone
Gunther, a courtier from Tramond - tenor
Gernot, Arindal's friend - bass
Drolla, Lora's friend - soprano
Harald, General of Groma the magician - bass
A messenger - tenor
Voice of Groma the Magician - bass

Chorus of Fairies.
Chorus of Morald's Fellowship.
Chorus of people.
Chorus of the Warriors.
Chorus of the earth spirits.
Chorus of brazen men.
Chorus of Groma's unseen spirits
Act One

Fairy Garden. Chorus of Fairies, including
Farzana and Zemina. Ballet

Chorus
Up you soar,
down you swing,
happy fairies of delicate figure!
Because unfading beauty
is never withered by the wind
blowing through these beautiful worlds,
that breath gently on this realm.
(Farzana and Zemina emerge)

Farzana
Why, Zemina, do I see you so sad?

Zemina
Should I, like you, rejoice in these festivals,
because their beauty will soon be gone for good?

Farzana
Do you already think our Ada is lost,
because in order to possess forever that
swashbuckling mortal with
whom she fell so deeply in love,
she voluntarily renounced immortality?

Zemina
You know that she can still be mortal,
as she indeed sprung from a fairy,
but her father is a mortal.

Farzana
But you know also what conditions she and her
husband had imposed on them by the Fairy king?
Believe me, the mortal cannot satisfy them,
And even Groma himself, the magician, his
friend, shall yield to our power,
and then Ada shall come back to us forever!

Zemina
Let us then strive together to save her!

Zemina and Farzana
You fairies all!
You spirits all!
Hear what we want!
(The fairies and ghosts gather around them both)
Help us in our work,
to separate the mortal
from our beloved fairy!

Chorus
We will help
and support you!
She will stay immortal!

Farzana and Zemina
Help us in our work,
To separate the mortal
from our beloved fairy!

Chorus
We will help you in your work,
to separate the mortal
from our beloved fairy!

(All leave.)
A transformation: Wild desert with rocks.
Gernot enters from one side, Gunther and
Morald from the other.

Gemot
Who do I see? Morald you, and Gunther, you?

Morald
What, Gernot?

Gunther
O come to my arms!
(They hug)

Gernot
What the devil; tell me how it is that you come here?

Gunther
Tell us how you have fared.

Morald
Yes, Gernot, report, tell me quickly,
where is thy Lord, where is Arindal?
From our homeland I come,
where I left all in sadness.
The old king died there
from grief for his missing son.
Murold the Wild, our enemy,
has devastated the kingdom,
demanding the sister of Arindal,
the beloved precious Lora!
The only remedy has not changed:
to seek Him, who is now king;
to do so, Groma offered us help,
as he, since ancient times
is the protector of the tribe;
he instructed us to find Arindal.
But tell us, what happened to you?

Gunther
Tell, friend, tell us!

Gernot
Well, then, both of you listen to me!
You know it was already eight years ago,
that I disappeared with Arindal.
We went out hunting,
and already night had begun to fall,
when a doe appeared,
as beautiful as ever you saw.
Arindal now hunted after it
in his tireless quest;
he had not caught up with it,
when we came to a river,
in which the doe vanished.
Full of despair Arindal stood,
until we heard a voice,
such a delightful sweet sound
that the king was irresistibly attracted to it.
Suddenly he jumped into the water,
and I, his faithful servant, followed.

Gunther
Unbelievable!

Morald
Go ahead, my friend!

Gernot
I almost died of fright,
but when at last I composed myself,
I was in a beautiful castle,
and Arindal was stretched out
at the feet of a beautiful woman.
Looking down she said to him,
"I love you, you love me,
but before I am all yours,
there is much you must survive.
Above all, for eight years
you must never ask me who I am!"
Despite my great reluctance
Arindal entered this alliance!
Who married them, I do not know,
but already they have two children as witness.
Eight years flowed along,

and if I have longed to go home,
still I have lived in joy and glory,
until yesterday when the amorous prince,
driven by fierce desire,
urged his wife to say
who she was and where she came from.
Suddenly we heard the sound of thunder;
she was gone, and with it,
the castle and her handmaidens.
In this barren rocky area
we have appeared, and Arindal
in despair seeks his wife.

Gunther
O miracle of all miracles!

Gernot
But, tell me at last,
does my dear Drolla yet live?

Gunther
She lives and often weeps for thee!

Morald
And soon you will see her again,
with Arindal you must follow us!

Gernot
Oh look, there he is coming near!
He looks like a man possessed!

Morald
So we must hurry away from here,
and you, keep our presence a secret from him!
(He leaves with Gernot and Gunther ...)
For know: Groma taught us the way from here.
(the last words behind the stage ...)
(Arindal arrives)

Arindal
Where can I find you, where is my comfort?
You have fled, and all my happiness with you.
In every region, in every place
I have directed my searching eye,
in every valley, in every height
my ardent longing sigh has penetrated!
Woe is me, all my efforts are in vain!
The wilderness rings with your name,
the echo mocks my pain,
just "Ada! Ada" it exclaims!
And comes no answer "Arindal!"
Your eye lights me no more,
your breasts, oh, warm me not!
No kiss quenches my thirsty lips!
Your arm embraces me no more,
only deathly chill I breathe!
Alas!
Was it all then a dream?
Where are you, oh, where are you,
where do you tarry far from me?
Where do I direct my gaze,
so that it reaches you?
With you is my sun,
with you alone is there life,
but away from you is death
and gruesome dreadful night.
Oh! Let me find life,
free me from the fear of death!
Where are you, oh where do you tarry,
where do you tarry far from me?
Oh end my pain,
and take me with you!
(Gernot comes and sees Arindal)

Gernot
Now you stand here, quite pitiful!
What good are all the complaints you have?
Leave this place, and follow me home!

Arindal
Should I leave my wife? Silence!

Gernot
Is she your wife? Did she not let you down?
She stayed with you as long as she enjoyed you,
now, when she tires of you, she runs away!

Arindal
What silly talk!

Gernot
In a word, she whom you call your wife
is a witch, an old evil sorceress!

Arindal
Be silent!

Gernot
Therefore you leave your kingdom and country,
because you are in love with a doe?

Arindal
You slanderer!

Gernot
Yes, as you can see now,
that was just lies and deceit!

Arindal
O such mockery of this beauty!

Gernot
Oh what beauty! Next time I see you
you'll have stately antlers!

Arindal
You provoke my wrath!

Gernot
I can go hunting for stag no longer,
for who would stand for it if I slew the king?

Arindal
Stop, you rogue!
The rudeness of your jokes
can never relieve my torment!

Gernot
Have you heard of Dilnovaz?

Arindal
What does she have to do with it?

Gernot
Listen, I want to tell the story!
(Arindal falls exhausted on a boulder)
(Romance)
Once there was a well known wicked witch
called Lady Dilnovaz,
who was as ugly and as old,
as anyone has ever known!
But she wore a ring on her finger,
which made her young and beautiful,
more beautiful than anyone has ever seen.

A king she so completely beguiled,
that he made her the queen,
he took her for a wife!

He was so blind in his foolishness,
that he neither heard nor saw,
and that he never perceived,
what was happening around him.
Once he found her in another's arm,
in a wicked passion;
he drew his sword quickly
and slashed at her with rage!
But he struck only her little finger,
on which she wore the ring;
then he soon saw in his beloved
an old and ugly thing.

(Gunther enters in the form of an old,
venerable priest, his song accompanied by
solemn gait and voice.)

Gunther
Arindal!

Arindal
Oh, venerable figure!
Tell me who you are, and what you desire?

Gernot
O what a roguish prank!
Who may recognize the mischief-maker?

Gunther
I am called the holy priest
and love drives me to you!

Arindal
I am amazed! Speak, holy one!

Gernot
(to himself)
I myself would take him for holy!

Gunther
O king, you are in a bad way,
beset by an evil woman!
I came here to warn you,
to save you from her evil bonds:
(with great pathos)
Who indulges himself in
this, forever loses God and His Kingdom!

Arindal
Dreadful! What must I do!

Gernot
(to himself)
What nice words this guy speaks!

Gunther
You see the wild animals who
take refuge in these crevices!
They were human once, but now
they are condemned by this woman.
If you do not follow me from here at once,
you will be threatened by the same fate!

Gernot
You know, you know! The antlers!

Arindal
Oh heavens, can it be possible,
that I was deceived by her?

Gernot
(to himself)
Haha! This is laughable,
such mad deception!

Gunther
If you will follow me now,
you shall be saved!
If you delay any longer,
you must perish.

Arindal
So should I run away from her,
whom I loved so passionately.
(Arindal is drawn away by Gunther, who
amid sudden thunder and lightning is
transformed again into his own form.)
What do I see? Gunther, you?

Gernot
What the devil!

Gunther
Alas! What has happened to me?

Gernot
Now all the fun is over!

Arindal
What unheard of outrage,
to cheat me so miserably!
Oh thanks, beloved Ada,
you surely love me still!
I see the illusion destroyed
by the power of your love!

Gernot
Now the well-intentioned ruse
is undone!
He has not changed his mind
and surely he will not follow us.
(Twilight is breaking: Morald appears in the
form of Arindal's deceased father.)

Morald
Arindal!

Arindal
God, what do I behold!
My father there!
What new deception is taking place?

Gunther and Gernot
How deceptive it is, the shape!

Arindal
Tell me, are you not my father?

Morald
Your father I am no more,
I'm just your father's spirit!
I died of grief for you,
because I thought you were lost!

Arindal
Here reigns deception no more!
O God, my father is here!

Gunther and Gernot
Truly a horror touches me,
he looks so similar to his father!

Morald
As a spirit I come to exhort you,
because your kingdom is in dire need!
The wild king Murold fell
upon our realm after my death,
all around it is destroyed,
only one city remains standing;
your sister now
with her last strength protects it;
meanwhile in amorous delusions
you indulge your sluggish idleness!

Arindal
Oh, what a terrible fate!
Your accusation, Father, hits me hard!

Gunther and Gernot
How it affects him! Go on! Go on!

Morald
For that reason you must leave this place
and follow me to your kingdom!
Your country misses your strength
and your sister calls to you!

Arindal
O heaven, can it be so?
Fate hits me so hard!

Morald
If you follow me at once,
you can rescue your kingdom
If you delay any longer,
everything must perish!

Arindal
So I must leave her,
the strictest duty is calling me!

Gunther and Gernot
This will soften him,
he certainly will follow us now.
(As Arindal is about to follow Morald,
suddenly amid thunder and lightning he
transforms back into his own form.)

Arindal
How? Morald? Deceit once again?

Gunther and Gernot
Alas! He too is unsuccessful!
Now all the fun is over!

Arindal
O, Morald, dear friend,
you also mock me with such deception?

Morald
O Sir, forgive me! Our best ruse
is now frustrated by a strange power.
Fret not, and let me speak now
as one friend to another!

Arindal
So it is true, my father died?

Morald
From bitter grief over you.

Arindal
O cruel fate! Woe is me!

Morald
What I in that false shape
reported to you of your homeland,
I now repeat to you
as the terrible truth!
In ruins lies your beautiful kingdom!

Arindal
Enough, stop! I'll follow you!
Ah, what alone held me back,
has now indeed vanished forever!
Stand aside and rest,
tomorrow I will follow you from here!

Morald and Gernot
Oh what joy, he agrees!

Arindal
Duty calls me away from here!

Morald and Gernot
He has changed his rigid mind!

Arindal
I hesitate no longer!
I will hesitate nevermore!
O, who comprehends my pain,
that I will see my wife no more!

Gunther
Off to my homeland, to
see our pretty girls.

Morald
Off to my homeland, to
see my much-loved Lora!

Gernot
Off to my homeland, to
see my faithful Drolla!

Morald and Gernot
Oh what joy, he agrees to it,
he has changed his rigid mind!
(All exit. The night has broken. Arindal is left
alone.)

Arindal
(Alone)
Now shall I forever be parted from you,
and you, beloved wife do not show yourself?
Not a kiss, not a single tear
do you have for your departing lover!
O Cruel One, farewell, farewell forever,
I go to fight for my country,
and my only hope is death!
(As he turns to leave,
he suddenly feels faint and
gradually sinks down on a stone.)
But what seizes my limbs? I want to leave, but
my foot refuses! My eye closes! Is this
slumber approaching?
I feel it! Farewell, my dear,
so your husband leaves! Ada!

(He falls asleep.)
The scene turns into a lovely fairy garden. In
the background, a gleaming palace. During the
ritornello Ada steps out from the palace in the
richest Fairy jewelry.

Ada
How can I complain,
what else is so sublime, so beautiful.
But for me immortality
is a sad, hard lot!
Because him alone I love,
I would give so much to him!
But to win him over completely,
how is it so hard, so hard!
For me remains now nothing but lament
and I weep for my fate!
I'm going to lose him,
in order to be mortal
(Arindal gradually awakens.)

Arindal
Where am I? In what blessed land
has my beautiful dream transported me!
And there, ha, am I not dreaming, is it my wife?

Ada
Do you recognize me? Beloved, ingrate!
You want to desert me?

Arindal
Ada, do I see you again?
Excess of bliss!
Mine is the greatest happiness,
to have you all over again,
all my heavy, bitter sorrow
is forgotten in your arms!

Ada
O cool your ardor,
calm your rapture!
It is to new, bitter agony
that I appear to you now!

Arindal
O why torment, o why torture?
You are mine forever,
and all my joy is only with you!

Ada
Unfortunate man! Just a short time,
then I will be forever separated
from Arindal!

Arindal
I'll never leave you again
and never forsake you!

Ada
(with fear)
Only one single day,
and you will forsake me!

Ada and Arindal
Still I hold you in my arms,
but fate tears you from me.
Destruction will threaten us both,
if the power of our love does not triumph!
(Gunther, Morald, Gernot and the Chorus of
their companions enter.)

Morald
Away, Arindal, come with us now!
What do I see? God, where are we?

Gunther
And there, that beautiful woman!

Gernot
I understand now!
His wife, the beautiful witch, she's back,
now it is over, he surely will not follow us!

Chorus
Truly, what a divinely beautiful woman!

Morald
Such enchanting gentleness I never saw!

Chorus
Have I ever seen such great charm?

Morald
I can well understand the King!

Arindal
Woe is me, I've already promised,
to go with them to my homeland!

Morald and Gernot
How her beauty blinds me,
with the sweet glow of her cheeks!

Gernot
Oh, none of that is real,
and her cheeks are painted!

Arindal
Woe is me, I've already promised,
to go with them to my homeland!
How shall I keep my promise!
How can I leave, what should I do?

Morald and Gernot
I will try to remind the king that he should
follow us from here.

Guiding truth, what a divinely beautiful woman!
Have I ever seen such great charm?
Such enchanting gentleness I never saw,
I can well understand the King!!

Ada
Woe is me! Already the beginning of my suffering approaches!
They come to proclaim my father's death to me!
(A festive train of fairies from Ada's kingdom
appears, and before them, Farzana and Zemina.)

Farzana
Your father has shared
the fate of mortals.

Zemina
From the remote regions of your kingdom
all the people are streaming
to greet you as queen!

Chorus
Hail to our Queen!
Hail to you, beautiful Ada!
Greetings to our ruler
from your people's flock!
From afar hear the cheers
of our joyful homage.
Hail to our Queen!
Hail to you, beautiful Ada!

Ada
Oh that I had never heard these
rejoicing sounds!
I feel only a new fetter
to my miserable fate!

Zemina and Farzana
This ties her with new bands
to immortality,
because if she really wants to be mortal,
she loses her kingdom.

Gunther
I've never seen anything
like what is happening!

Morald
What should I think about all this,
I can hardly comprehend it.

Gernot
It's just all a great fuss,
deception and hypocrisy!

Arindal
Tell me, my wife,
what is behind all this?

Ada
You hear me called Queen,
so that you know, but do not ask!
Because what seems joyful to you,
to me is bitter pain!
I must now go away from you again,
and you follow your friends to your country
... for now, if not for ever!
Oh, if I could but confide all in you!
But my fate forbids it.

Arindal
Speak!
When will I see you again?

Ada
Tomorrow! A bitter goodbye!

Arindal
Already tomorrow, tomorrow! What good fortune!

Ada
It is to your misfortune that you see me!

Zemina
(aside to Farzana)
You know, he must now swear
on no account to curse her!

Farzana
(aside)
But as he can never keep this promise,
so the false oath must destroy him!

Ada
Hear, then, what I preach to you,
whatever you may see tomorrow
what ever terrors threaten you,
what ever disaster you may meet,
O Arindal, let you never be misled so far as
to curse me, your wife!

Arindal
What do I hear, you mock me!

Ada
Be firm then and swear to me,
(quickly)
ah, don't swear!

Arindal
I swear it to you!

Zemina and Farzana
Did you hear? He swore!

Morald and Gernot
He swore it!

Ada
(turns away in horror)
Woe is me, he swore it!

Morald and Gernot
A terrifying secret
is hidden in this oath!
She who prevailed upon him,
now stands distressed!

Zemina and Farzana
He really swore it
and cannot go back;
the oath will bring him destruction
and separate him from Ada.

Arindal
What I have sworn,
also proves me faithful!
As passionately as I love her,
so sacred remains my oath.

Ada
Oh, that he had never sworn
the harsh oath of terror!
He will never be able to keep it
and will perish because of it!

Chorus
How our jubilation joyfully rang out
when our princess was greeted!
It sounds through all space
the song of praise to our Queen!
Hail, beautiful Ada! Hail to our Queen!

Morald and Gernot
Away, come with us to your country,

return home to your kingdom,
if you stay here any longer,
land and sister must perish!
Away, King, follow us
back to your home!

Arindal
So I release you from my arms
until the blissful reunion,
I swear to remain true and will keep my
promise if I should not die!
Farewell, my spouse,
I remain forever faithful!

Zemina and Farzana
So tear yourself from his arms,
the people want to see you crowned!
Let nothing hold you back any longer,
go to meet the homage!
Away, come!
Away, Ada, follow us
back to the joyous celebrations!

Ada
So I release you from my arms,
we will soon meet again;
O may you keep your oath,
otherwise you must perish with me.
Farewell, my Arindal,
and stay forever true!
(Ada is pulled away in a chariot).
Act Two

The vestibule of the palace in the capital of
Arindal's Kingdom.
Chorus of the warriors and the people

Chorus
Woe to us, we are beaten
and have flown from the enemy!
Already he is raging outside the walls
and threatening us with ruin!
To you above, O mighty God,
we sound our cry of deep distress!
Hear us and help us!
The fear of death urges us,
we call for help in vain!
Doom awaits us
and threatens torturous death!
(Lora appears in armor.)

Lora
What strikes you so hard with fear of death,
that you fill the air with such cries?

Chorus
We are defeated once more,
we are doomed!

Lora
Faint of heart! Why despair so soon?
Who has been surrounded with more
misfortune
than myself, who is but a weak woman?
My father died, my brother is far away,
and his dear friend missing!
Have you forgotten Groma's prophecy,
that this empire will never be lost,
once Arindal has returned?

Chorus
But who can say to us,
that he will ever return?

Lora
Did I not send dear Morald himself
to seek him and to bring him back?

Chorus
Unfortunate woman! Arindal has been gone so long!

Lora
What are you saying! Woe to me if it were possible!
You awaken in my heart a dark suspicion:
they will never return to me
Oh! Hope! must you dwindle,
you who have been my only consolation,
you who, in my painful suffering,
embraced me with your comforting arm!
To see my brother soon,
was for me a happy hope,
to embrace my friend soon,
was for me supreme bliss!
And if neither returns,
what a painful fate!
So I, completely abandoned,
must perish alone!
(A messenger enters.)

Messenger
Hail all! I bring good news:
Morald returns to us with Arindal!

Chorus
What does he say? God, can it be possible?

Lora
I scarcely trust my ear! Where did you see them?

Messenger
I went with them to seek the king,
we found him and persuaded him to return!

Lora
They return to me!
How can I contain my great delight!
How can I contain my blazing bliss!
I feel my bosom swell,
and joy shakes my burning heart!
My dear brother, I will see,
whose downfall I was lamenting!
Beloved Friend, you return again,
and rush into the arms of your faithful one!

Chorus
What a great joy to us again,
the dear one has returned to us,
hope will raise us once again!
Every heart beats in full delight!
(Lora rushes off and comes back
with Arindal and Morold.)
O king, be greeted by your faithful people! The
jubilation of your return eases their pain!

Arindal
O restrain these jubilant sounds,
they impress on me a warning of terror,
For alas! The rich royal mantle
is to me my father's funeral shroud!

Morald
O Lora, look, what I promised
I held to in spite of dangers:
your dear brother I have brought back again,
are you mindful of my sweet reward?

Lora
O, what reward shall I give you
for this supreme delight!
My friend and my brother, I have back:
All suffering is past!

Lora and Morald
I see fate countered by joy
and feel newly prepared for battle;
for rescue approaches the Fatherland
and love beckons in your arms!
All suffering has fled
and is replaced by joy!
Let us then march to the last battle,
which will lead us to happiness!

Arindal
I fear that fate is turning against me
and feel almost discouraged;
so much misery in the homeland
and new torments await me.
How do I bear all these sorrows,
how can I be strong for battle!
Already the present oppresses me,
and greater horrors await!
(All leave.
Gernot and Gunther come.)

Gernot
How is it, Gunther, that you can still stand on
your own feet?

Gunther
O what a bad night it was!
I have never dreamed of such abominations!

Gernot
But this morning! Was it not
as if the bloody sun wanted to scorch
everything? The earth shook under my feet,
the lightning blinded my vision,
the thunder my hearing!

Gunther
The King himself, how he was shaken!

Gernot
And what do I find here now?
Everywhere full of enemies,
barely a foot's width of land belongs to us!

Gunther
O evil signs, evil times!

Gernot
To me it is as if after a long bout of drink,
the misery shooting through all my limbs!
If only I could find my Drolla!
Tell me: is she still young?

Gunther
That's a stupid question;
since last you were with us, she is eight years
older, then ... she was a child!

Gernot
I mean, pretty?

Gunther
Certainly!
I was often tempted.

Gernot
How?

Gunther
Now, to comfort her!

Gernot
You dared do that!
Did she remain faithful to me?

Gunther
I believe so; ask her yourself,
she is coming here,
I'll leave you two alone!
(Exits. Drolla enters).

Drolla and Gernot
What? Do I see right, is this not Gernot?
(Drolla?)
It's you! Oh what joy!
Ah, after such a long time
we finally see each other again!
To press you to my heart
is a complete delight!
O tell me, tell me,
how have you fared?
O tell! O tell!

Gernot
Things go well with me!
I was with my Lord for so long
with a beautiful queen.
In her castle, the choice among all
the pretty girls was really difficult.
They were all made to be kissed,
one blonde, the other brown,
with black and with blue eyes!

Drolla
Certainly, certainly, quite charming!

Gernot
And since I am also a handsome fellow,
they all fell in love with me,
and I, well, and I..

Drolla
aside
Now truly his words falter!
O wait, you wicked rogue!
To say this to my face,
that's truly outrageous!

Gernot
aside
Now I will learn from her,
whether she really still loves me.
Her jealousy will tell me,
if she believes what I have said!

Drolla
So let me also tell you about myself,
and how I fared for this long time!
At court I've been here so long
as Lora's chief servant.
To court her a large number
of the finest knights moved here,
they were all made to be kissed,
one blonde, the other brown,
with black and with blue eyes

Gernot
I'll turn black and blue myself!

Drolla
And since I'm not ugly,
they all fell in love with me,
and I, well, and I...

Gernot
aside
Now truly her words falter!
O wait, you wicked wench!
To say this to my face,
that's truly outrageous!

Drolla
aside
He can barely control himself for anger!
So he should be with his flighty spirit!
May he quietly despair from jealousy,
if he believes what he heard from me!

Drolla and Gernot
Depart from me, you liar!
I want to see you no more!
So you kept the faith,
that you so often swore to me?
You fall in love with strange men (girls),
while I am far away,
truly I call that cheating,
to do this to your beloved!
(They run away to different sides, but remain
at the extreme ends, and look shyly at one
another from a distance.)

Gernot
Drolla!

Drolla
Gernot?

Gernot
Are you not yet gone?

Drolla
Are you still there?

Gernot
I think, you are crying?

Drolla
What do you care, faithless man!

Gernot
I faithless? Oh indeed, I'm not!

Drolla
Did you not tell me so yourself?

Gernot
Lies, oh, I lied!
No one has fallen in love with me,
and I have yearned only for you,
I wanted to discover how things stood with you?

Drolla
And I truly also have lied
No one has fallen in love with me,
nor I with anyone.
I have remained faithful to you!
To punish you, I lied to you before.

Gernot
What do I hear? Let us embrace at once!
(Embrace)
Forgiveness!

Drolla and Gernot
So we are united,
never more to be separated,
no mistrust, no suspicion
will ever be able to separate us
You love me, what joy,
oh what bliss!
Fabrications and lies
were what divided us!
(Embrace and kiss.)
They will separate us never more,
so to be eternally happy!
(They go out. Ada, Farzana and Zemina appear.)

Ada
O cruel ones, have you no mercy
to drive me coldly to these horrible deeds?

Farzana
Forgive us, we are not to blame for the fate
that you have forged with your own will.

Ada
But since you know what painful fate awaits me,
if I am defeated, do you rejoice so in my pain?

Zemina
O do not believe it, it beings me to tears!
But listen: you can easily withdraw from all
this still,
as soon as you renounce the mortal!

Farzana
There is still time and the choice is clear:
here, long death, and there, eternal life!

Zemina and Farzana
Remember, your choice becomes your fate!
(They disappear.
Ada alone)

Ada
Woe is me, the terrible hour is close,
when all my happiness and all my misery will be revealed!
O why do you wake in my soul
doubts about that bitter choice!
Unhappy, where shall I turn?
My downfall seems so sure,
and oh, how uncertain my victory!
I myself pile up the horrors,
the torments that I lead him to,
I awaken in him doubts,
that no mortal can bear!

From all sides, misfortune storms,
his last star, my love, falls.
The night confuses his mind,
he takes revenge and curses his wife!
Woe is me! And this curse separates me from him,
and ages come between us!
Despair, madness, then death is his lot,
and mine, terrible: for one hundred years
turned into stone!
I could avoid all this,
am I not free to do so? Eternal beauty,
immortal, in bloom unfading?
The fairy world pays homage to me,
I am their splendor and their treasure!
The everlasting kingdom honors
me, its high queen!
I could avoid all this,
and bloom forever in the magnificence of the fairies!
Deceived, unhappy woman!
What is immortality?
A boundless, eternal death!
Yet every day with him
is a new, eternal life!
So be it! The choice is made,
for that life I will sacrifice everything!
My Arindal!
Love will also inspire him
and bestow courage in battle,
boldly he will defeat the doubts
and free me from my bonds!
The false malice will be destroyed,
which aims to separate him from me!
All your efforts will be in vain,
you who want to kill my love!
Yet should he be defeated,
and I be shut up in the rock,
(with great sadness)
so should my love make the stone itself
cry tears of longing!
And these tears would my husband feel,
that sigh would reach to him,
the lament would shake him,

not let him rest, drive him here!
Love will also inspire him
and bestow courage in battle,
boldly he will defeat the doubts
and free me from my bonds!

(Exits)
The stage remains empty for a while.
The chorus of the people and the warriors
appear from different sides.
Lora, Drolla, Arindal, Gunther, Morald and
Gernot enter.

All
Do you hear the tempest roar,
the raging outside the walls?
It is the hordes of the enemy
awakening to new rage!

Arindal
How my heart is filled with fear!

Lora
Up then, my friends, move out!

Arindal
Oh, how can I endure all this misery!

Lora
Free us from this misery!

Drolla
So march out gladly
to the struggle for freedom!

Chorus
So we march out
to the final battle of death!

Arindal
To fight, oh, I can not!

Morald
You warriors, come, I will lead you!
(Exits with the warriors)

Lora
Brother, how is it that you can
withdraw from the holy battle?

Arindal
O Lora, my soul is sick,
and sickly lies my courage!

Drolla and Gernot
Do you see the king's gloomy gaze,
as he struggles in vain to remain calm?

Arindal
How should I endure this further torment,
if mine is already unbearable?

Lora
How should I interpret his mood,
which weighs so heavily on him!
(As Arindal turns away, he confronts Ada.)

Ada
Woe to you, if this is the hardest thing you will
face!

Arindal
Oh heavens, my wife!

All
What, is this his wife?

(Ada gives a sign; her two children appear and
rush into Arinda's arms.)

Ada
Now, Arindal, remember your oath!

Lora, Drolla, Gunther, Chorus
Oh, see the sweet little ones,
how lovely to behold!

Gernot
These are the pretty things,
which she gave to him!

Arindal
Oh, I see my children again,
what a joyous unexpected good fortune!
I will never be robbed of them,
and no cunning will snatch them from me!

All
Behold, O see the lovely little ones, etc.

Ada
O that you had never seen them!
The sight will lead you to grief!
(On her nod, a fiery abyss opens.)

Gunther
and

Gernot
What the devil do I see there?

Chorus
Horror! What is happening?

Arindal
Ha, what are you about?

Ada
Give me back my children!

Arindal
Ha, never! What would you do?

Ada
Let me be, as they are not yet yours!
(She wrests the children from him)

Arindal
Terrible! Are they not mine?

Ada
The fiery abyss will receive them!

Lora, Drolla, Gunther, Chorus
Ha, what does she dare!
Attack and hold them back!

Ada
Back from me, bold man!

Arindal
O woman, I'll not let you do this!
Get away!
(She throws the children into the abyss;
they disappear immediately.)

All
Oh God, what have we seen?
Was it deception, was it the truth?
Horrible woman, what have you done?
Can anyone call you a mother?

Arindal
How powerfully my heart is perturbed
with a mixture of reproach and suspicion!

Ada
How powerfully his heart is perturbed!
Heavens protect him from suspicion!
(Refugees from the Chorus of the Warriors enter.)

Chorus
Flee, we are defeated!

All
What new evil rushes upon us
and threatens us with destruction!

Ada
This disaster is worse for me than for him!
It ordains my doom!

Arindal
Here is discord, outside is destruction,
what new evil!
Oh, Ada, have you no comfort
for me in these grievous sorrows?

Ada
I did not come for your consolation,
for your torment have I appeared!

Arindal
She coldly rejects me.
How could she comfort her husband,
when she has murdered her children?

Lora
My last hope is sinking!
The faithful Harald has failed to appear with

the help which he promised to procure from the
neighboring shores!
O, help, now or never!

Chorus of the people
The storm passes even closer,
do you hear the awful noise?
New refugees appear

Chorus of the warriors
Lost, alas, lost,
nothing can save us now!

Lora
You cowards, why do you flee,
does not the brave Morald lead you?

Chorus of the warriors
He has vanished from us,
trapped or dead!

Lora
(with a cry)
Dead!

All
Everything is falling to ruin,
The bravest have fallen!

Ada
He still does not suspect that I am to blame
for all his misery!

Chorus
Behold, here comes Harald,
with the aid promised us!

Arindal
The last ray of hope!

Ada
It will be my downfall!

Lora
Speak, where are the warriors,
that you bring to save us?

Harald
Woe to you, I bring nothing!
My work is destroyed!

All
What does he say? No help,
only new destruction?

Harald
The best warriors I had recruited;
we were barely out of the city,
when appeared to us an army before us,
at its head an armed woman.
They attacked us with unprecedented might,
and we all were dispersed in a short time.
Then the woman said, "Go home to Arindal,
tell him I am Ada, the Queen!"

Ada
(for herself)
Oh, must I yet endure this!

Arindal
What do you say? Is it this woman,
who gave you the order?

Harald
My king, yes, it is!

All
Dreadful! His wife
is in league with the enemy!

Arindal
Ha, now I see the awful truth!
I was betrayed in everything!
Ha, shameful woman, now you are exposed,
and the goal of your wicked malice!
You are one of those sorceresses,
who ensnares us with love to our ruin!
You held me firmly in vile fetters,
seducing me with evil deception!

Ada
My Arindal!

Arindal
To cruelly torment me,
you sent my children to a fiery death,
shattered my kingdom with monstrous evil,
I myself am abandoned to despair!

Ada
Stop it!

Arindal
Why do I protect you anymore;
to punish you, you gave me the power!
Infamous woman, be then cursed!

Ada
Arindal, stop! Ah!
(Horrible scream)
Perjurer, what have you done!
(Zemina and Farzana appear.)

Zemina und Farzana
Ada, the bonds are dissolved;
you remain immortal, as before!

All
Oh God, what do we hear,
what does it mean?

Ada
(with raging pain)
Monstrous! Is this how you keep your oath?
With such courage do you prove your faithfulness?
Lost, oh, lost! Alas, unhappy
you have made your wife forever!
Know therefore how great the outrage is!
From a mortal and a fairy
did I spring, and so was immortal like my mother.
Since I saw you, it was to you, unfaithful one,
that I turned all my burning love!
It was so great that in order to be yours,
I voluntarily renounced immortality!
The fairy king was angry with me over this,
and since he could not oppose it,
he sought to discourage me;
he set this condition:
for eight years to conceal from you who I was,
and then on the last day to heap upon you
so much agony and terror,
as might convince you to curse me!
Only if your heart were steadfast in love
would I be rewarded the fate of mortality.
If not, I should remain immortal
and then atone for my desires by being for one
hundred years transformed into stone!
Well, now you know my fate!

Arindal
O God, how it roars in my brain!
Tell me, are you not responsible
for the ruin of my kingdom?

Ada
It will be over faster than it started!

Arindal
Well, are those warriors slain,
who were sent to my aid?

Ada
I did it all! Those were your enemy's warriors,
with whom Harald wanted to betray you.
(Harald is seized and taken away.)

Arindal
And Morald, he did not fall, it was only an illusion?

Ada
By my power, he has now defeated the enemy!

Arindal
What more can I ask? Already the madness
touches me!
But my children's murder condemns you!
(At Ada's gesture their two children rush into
Arindal's arms.)

Ada
Pure since their birth, take them,
the world's most beautiful destiny gladdens them;
I alone suffer boundless misery!

Arindal
(Falls at Ada's feet)
Now, in despair, I hear you!

Chorus of the warriors
(Behind the stage)
Triumph! We are free,

the enemy is slain!
(Morald enters with the warriors.)

Morald
I bring joy and victory,
the enemy is destroyed!

All
What do I hear? We are free!

Chorus, Drolla, Gunther, Gernot
Ring out, sounds of exultation
to the sky high above,
now the chants of victory
alone resound!

Lora and Morald
I press you victorious
to my joyful breast!
Such unspeakable joy
(to be freed by you)
(to free you, fairest!)

Zemina and Farzana
So she is saved,
and returned to us.
After suffering exile
she will be immortal!

Ada
Depart from me, traitor,
I thrust you from me!
Ere the day ends
I will be surrounded by stone!
(Arindal writhes at Ada's feet.)

Arindal
Oh Ada, have mercy,
do not send me away from you!
Despair must take me,
madness must be my end!
(The stage darkens Ada sinks with Zemina and
Farzana amid thunder and lightning. Then the
curtain falls quickly.)
Act Three

Festive Hall. Morald and Lora on the throne,
Drolla, Gernot and Gunther next to them.
Chorus of men and maidens, festively dressed.
Victory dance.

Chorus
Hail to the fair peace
in the gently shining heavens!
Hail to the great victory,
which gave us peace!
To you that led us to victory,
be greeted now as our King!
To you that comforted us in our suffering,
be greeted now as Queen!
Hail to you, victorious Morald!
Hail to you, virtuous Lora!
Hail to you!

Morald
(Descends from the throne)
Enough; end this festive celebration!
My heart beats not with joy, but with sadness!
Your joyful greeting of the king does not belong to me!
Since conferring his title on me,
he has fallen into a most unfortunate state.
The dread night of madness has enwrapped him,
and embraces his suffering soul.
Though his will made me king,
yet I remain ruler only so long
as the gloomy Arindal succumbs to madness!

Lora
Oh, my brother! What deplorable fortune!
Now, while joy swells each bosom,
must I weep for your terrible fate!

Chorus
We respect your pain!
Our celebration will cease!

Lora and Morald
Almighty God,
to you in heaven
I send my fervent entreaties!
Let the mind of my
(brother) (Friend) (King) avoid
the terrifying power of madness!
May a beam from your radiance
enlighten the darkness of his soul!
(All leave)

Arindal
(Madly, behind the stage)
Hello! Let all the dogs out!
There, there! The deer! Look!
Here!
(Arindal enters)
You hunters, ever here!
You, huntsman, wander ahead!
Hurrah, sound the horn!
Oh look, the beast is already tired!
Grab it! I'll shoot the arrow!
See how it flies! I aimed well!
Haha! That struck the heart!
Oh look, the animal can cry!
A tear shines in its eye!
Oh, how crushed it looks to me
How beautiful she is!
Horrors! Ha, it's not an animal,
look! It is my wife!
(Collapses)
I see the heavens open,
the brilliant doors burst apart!
O what fragrance, o what splendor!
Am I a God, to feel this?
Elated, my spirits are lifted!
Ha, how the ground sinks away!
A hand is offered to me,
lovingly it leads me up,
I breathe the gentle air of gods!

So what? I'm still human!
You are cursed!
Haha! It's done!
Now I'm dust once more!
(Feeling faint)
Lie down to rest, dust,
the earth gladly holds you!
(He sinks down gradually on the steps of the
throne)
Ha, how it darkens around you!
It is the tender night.
O frightening, sweet air,
do you imprison my soul?
I lay in your arms,
so gentle was my rest,
I can not embrace you,
you're so far away, so far!
Yet you draw near to me,
yes, yes, I see you!
Why the deep grief
in your tearful glance?
(He falls asleep. As if from a great distance
one hears Ada's voice, then, from nearer, Groma's.)

Ada's Voice
My husband Arindal,
what have you done to me?
A cold stone
encloses my passionate love.
Only my tears soften the embrace
of this harsh prison
but through all the barriers
my love still reaches to you,
and if you hear my lament,
hurry forth unto me!

Groma's Voice
(From a different side behind the stage)
Get up, Arindal what are you waiting for?
Look, that shield and that sword
can give you victory, yet that lyre
can bring you greater fortune.
If you are filled with courage and love,
then you shall reach your highest goal!

Farzana
So would our Ada be saved
and her immortality returned!
Well, we must complete this final deed,
and never think of hesitating:
though it means the mortal's certain death!

Zemina
Truly, I have compassion for Arindal's skill;
already he makes amends for his perjury with
the terror of madness.

Farzana
O not just his perjury, his arrogance
ordains his death!
Shall an audacious mortal with impunity
rob us of the pride of the fairy realm?
Let us lead him on the path to Ada,
and encourage him to free her.

Zemina
What will you do? Accompany him on the
road, where he can really save her?

Farzana
What do you fear, fool? Because he could not
win as a man, how can he prove
himself where fairy power alone can win?
In battle, he will certainly lose!

Zemina and Farzana
Get up! Awake, Arindal!

Arindal
Who is calling me? Ha, where did my wild
delusion carry me?
I heard my wife call!
Oh God, how her voice brightened the gloomy
night into day!

Zemina and Farzana
Well, Arindal, do you recognize us?

Arindal
I see you again, dear fairies,
as you were to my wife.
Alas, my wife, where is she?

Zemina and Farzana
Do you have the courage to free her?

Arindal
What do I hear? Can I succeed
in freeing her by my courage?

Farzana
Why do you boast of your courage?
Is she not a victim of your cowardice?

Arindal
O, turn your scorn from me!
Tell me, can she still be freed?

Zemina
Trapped in the cold stone
she despairs of her rescue.

Arindal
You torture me! I have courage!
Who guides me to her then?

Zemina and Farzana
Well, we will take you to her!

Arindal
Oh God, I take the chance, for her!
(he takes the shield and lyre)
Oh to liberate my wife,
it fills me with embers of joy!
O, lead me to her,
for her I sacrifice all my life's blood!

Zemina and Farzana
Ha, this rash expression of joy
will ordain him to certain death.
We are glad to lead him to her,
because we will enjoy his downfall!
The scene transforms. Terrible chasm of the
underworld kingdom. Earth spirits and hideous
larvae roam this bustling place.

Chorus of Spirits
You spirits, up, guard loyally
the dark terrible gate,
which encircles the chasm!
Defend the way from the uninitiated!
It leads to the highest sanctuary!
Up, you spirits! Guard faithfully!

Arindal
Where are you leading me? Does my wife
languish here?

Chorus
Who comes there?

Farzana
A mortal desires of you to enter!

Chorus
Woe to him!

Zemina
Well, Arindal! Fight these spirits!

Arindal
O, these monsters have superior numbers!

Farzana
Coward, are you afraid?

Arindal
Love triumphs!
(he begins to fight the earth spirits and is soon
forced to give way)
Woe is me, I am already defeated!

Groma's Voice
The shield!
(Arindal holds the shield, the spirits disappear)

Zemina and Farzana
Terrible, ha, he has won!
Through a strange power, he defeated them,
but he will never again win!

Arindal
Oh what joy, victory is mine!
Thanks, Groma, to your high power!
(On a sign from the two fairies, Arindal follows
them)

Gunther and Gernot
Hail Arindal and take heart,
you progress to victory!
The stage is transformed into a different part
of the underground kingdom. Chorus of brazen
men: solidly lined up together.

Chorus of the brazen men
Close tightly together, and stay strong,
we defend the entrance to the highest
sanctuary!

Chorus
What is the stranger doing here?

Zemina
He defies your strength
and challenges you to fight!

Chorus
Woe to him!

Arindal
I am not frightened by your bronze shield,
my power will destroy you!
(He begins the fight by holding up the shield,
and is soon forced to yield)
Woe is me, the shield loses its strength!

Groma
The sword!
(Arindal fights with the sword.
The bronze men disappear.)

Zemina and Farzana
Ha, woe to us, the victory is his!
Instead of the insolent mortal's destruction,
our object is his greatest fortune!

Chorus of Groma's invisible spirits
(invisible)
Heil, Arindal, and take courage,
you progress to victory!

Farzana
But now his power weakens!

Arindal
Tell me! Where can I find my wife?

Farzana
So be it! Now you shall free her!
(On their sign a rock opens: in a small,
magically illuminated grotto appears a stone
the size of a person.)

Zemina
Look, Arindal your wife languishes there!

Arindal
Almighty god, how can I bear this sight?
What do I call this feeling that makes me tremble?
Is it bliss that I am near her?
Is it horror that I behold her like this?
Ah, what sadness fills my poor heart.
O Ada! How do I destroy the curse?

Zemina
Is it fitting to cry here?
You came here to free her!

Arindal
O tell me, how can I finish this?

Farzana
Disenchant this stone, and she is free!

Arindal
Woe is me!
Can mortal power ever accomplish this?

Farzana
Try it, but know what threatens you!
With bold presumptuous force
you have penetrated far into
the Fairies' sanctuary, and if you can not
now entirely complete your work,
you will atone for your wanton desire
with eternal transformation into stone!

Arindal
Ha, terrible! This is my lot!
Alas, it overcomes my courage
and my desire is paralyzed.
I cannot finish my task
and long suffering is her fate!

Farzana and Zemina
Ha, finally courage is defeated
and his desire is paralyzed.
He has not completed his task,
so eternal death is his lot.

Chorus of Groma's invisible spirits
(invisible)
Courage Arindal, and be strong,
you can free your wife yet!

Groma's Voice
Seize the lyre!

Arindal
Oh God, what do I hear?
Yes, I have divine power!
I am well aware of the sweet sounds of
divine power which the mortal possesses!
You, passionate love, longing and desire
charm this stone with your song!

Zemina and Farzana
Alas, this is Groma's work!

Arindal
(plays the lyre)
O you, the rapture of my heart,
sweetly wrapped in love!
And you, longing, hotly craved
with your blissful sweet pain!
You I call on, from my heart,
from my soul you soar!
May all feeling flow together
in sweet music of magic power,
and entreat the cold stone:
Give me back my wife!
(The stone transforms gradually into Ada, who
falls delighted into Arindal's arms.)

Ada
Now no power can rob you of me!
Farzana and Zemina turn away horrified. The
scene changes to a wonderful fairy palace,
surrounded by clouds. On a throne sits the
fairy king, around him the chorus of fairies and
spirits.

Fairy King
You, mortal, invaded our kingdom,
and the infinite power of love
gave you that high power that only
to immortals is bestowed!

Know therefore: by your actions as a man
Ada remains now immortal, as she was,
but as she was wrested from us by divine
power, you are more than a man: be immortal, like her!

Chorus
Greetings, Arindal in the high fairy kingdom,
your immortality is bestowed by your strength!

Ada
Renounce your earthly kingdom,
rule my fairyland now!

Arindal
Yet I feel mortal enough myself,
and I can not believe it for joy!

Zemina and Farzana
Delight returns again,
as both have now won!

Arindal
(Morald, Lora, Drolla, Gernot and Günter enter)
I'll give you two now my earthly country,
a higher realm is blessedly bestowed on me!
Be happy always, because I'll protect you!
(Ada leads him to the throne.)

Chorus
He has gained a high destiny,
he has shaken off the dust of the earth!
Therefore let us sing in eternity,
how much he is blessed by love!