“Die Feen” by Richard Wagner libretto (English)

Contents: Roles; Act One; Act Two; Act Three

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).

libretto by John McKenna, Feb. 2013

Contents: Roles; Act One; Act Two; Act Three