Vassals and Women.
Time—Legendary.
Place—On the Brünnhilde-Rock; Gunther's castle on the Rhine; wooded district by the Rhine.
THE PROLOGUE
The first scene of the prologue is a weird conference of the three grey sisters of fate—the Norns who wind the skein of life. They have met on the Valkyrs' rock and their words forebode the end of the gods. At last the skein they have been winding breaks—the final catastrophe is impending.
An orchestral interlude depicts the transition from the unearthly gloom of the Norn scene to break of day, the climax being reached in a majestic burst of music as Siegfried and Brünnhilde, he in full armour, she leading her steed by the bridle, issue forth from the rocky cavern in the background. This climax owes its eloquence to three motives—that of the Ride of the Valkyrs and two new motives, the one as lovely as the other is heroic, the Brünnhilde Motive,
[[Listen]]
and the Motive of Siegfried the Hero:
