Blogger deleted all the posts I published yesterday May 12, 2011 as part of maintenance it performed on this site. I will retype the lost posts and publish new material on Monday May 16.
Einsam in trüben Tagen (Elsa's Dream) is a famous aria from the first act of Richard Wagner's opera, Lohengrin. Wagner's wife Cosima recorded in her diaries that Wagner told her that he had written an earlier version of the aria, but lost it. The present aria was an inferior rewrite from the composer's memory. Wagner told his wife that he always mourned the loss of the original version. Remember, those were the days before backup!
6:26 PM May 13, 2011. I notice that Blogger has restored the lost blog posts. I think I'll keep the rewrites and the original posts.
Incidentally, the character Lohengrin -- like Superman -- is a mysterious stranger who conceals his name and origins. He is Elsa's knight in shining armor who defends her against defamation.
ReplyDeleteELSA
ReplyDelete(quietly transfigured
staring ahead of her)
Lonely, in troubled days
I prayed to the Lord,
my most heartfelt grief
I poured out in prayer.
And from my groans
there issued a plaintive sound
that grew into a mighteous roar
as it echoed through the skies:
I listened as it receded into the distance
until my ear could scarce hear it;
my eyes closed
and I fell into a deep sleep.
ALL THE MEN
How extraordinary! Is she dreaming? Is she enraptured?
THE KING
(as though trying to wake Elsa from the dream)
Elsa, defend yourself before the court!
(Elsa's expression goes from one of dream-like detachment to one of frenzied transfiguration)
ELSA
In splendid, shining armour
a knight approached,
a man of such pure virtue
as I had never seen before:
a golden horn at his side,
leaning on a sword -
thus he appeared to me
from nowhere, this warrior true;
with kindly gestures
he gave me comfort;
I will wait for the knight,
he shall be my champion!
ALL THE MEN
May the grace of Heaven preserve us,
that we may clearly see who is guilty here!