language of the birds. They tell him to
seek for the Tarnhelm and for the ring, which he finds in the cavern.
Meanwhile the brothers, Alberich and Mime, quarrel over the treasure,
which they hope to gain. When Siegfried returns with ring and helmet,
he is again warned by the voice of a wood-bird, not to trust in Mime.
Having tasted the dragon's blood, Siegfried is enabled to probe Mime's
innermost thoughts, and so he learns that Mime means to poison him, in
order to obtain the treasure. He then kills the traitor with a single
stroke.--Stretching himself under the linden-tree to repose after that
day's hard work, he again hears the voice of the wood-bird, which tells
him of a glorious bride, sleeping on a rock surrounded by fire; and
flying before him, the bird shows Siegfried the way to the spot.

In the third scene we find Wotan once more awakening Erda, to seek her
counsel as to how best to avert the doom, which he sees coming, but she
is less wise than he and so he decides to let fate have its course.
When he sees Siegfried coming, he for the last time tries to oppose him
by barring the way to Bruennhilde, but the sword Nothung splits the
god's spear. Seeing that his power avails him nothing he retires to
Walhalla, there to await the "Dusk of the Gods".

Siegfried plunges through the fire, awakes the Walkyrie and after a
long resistance, wins the proud virgin.

{310}

SILVANA.

Romantic Opera in four acts by WEBER.

Text by ERNST PASQUE.

This opera was left unfinished by Weber. It has however recently been
completed, the text by Ernest Pasque, and the music by Ferdinand
Langer, who rearranged the manuscript with loving care, interweaving
different compositions from Weber, as for instance his "Invitation a la
valse", and his "Polonaise", which are dexterously introduced into the
ballet of the second act.

The action is taken from an old German legend which comes to us from
the land of the Rhine. There we may still find the ruins of the two
castles Sternberg and Liebenstein.

Of these our legend says, that they belonged to two brothers, who hated
each other, for the one, Boland, loved his brother's bride and was
refused by her. By way of revenge he slew his brother and burnt down
his castle. But in this fray the wife he coveted disappeared with her
child and both were supposed to have perished in the flames.

Since then Boland has fallen into deep melancholy and the consequences
of his dr