Her rapturous reminiscences are interrupted by the sounds of an approaching storm and from the dark cloud there issues one of the Valkyrs, _Waltraute_, who comes to ask of _Brünnhilde_ that she cast back the ring _Siegfried_ has given her--the ring cursed by _Alberich_--into the Rhine, and thus lift the curse from the race of gods. But _Brünnhilde_ refuses:
More than Walhalla's welfare, More than the good of the gods, The ring I guard.
It is dusk. The magic fire rising from the valley throws a glow over the landscape. The notes of _Siegfried's_ horn are heard. _Brünnhilde_ joyously prepares to meet him. Suddenly she sees a stranger leap through the flames. It is _Siegfried_, but through the Tarnhelmet (the motive of which, followed by the Gunther Motive dominates the first part of the scene) he has assumed the guise of the Gibichung. In vain _Brünnhilde_ seeks to defend herself with the might which the ring imparts. She is powerless against the intruder. As he tears the ring from her finger, the Motive of the Curse resounds with tragic import, followed by trist echoes of the Motive of Siegfried the Protector and of the Brünnhilde Motive, the last being succeeded by the Tarnhelmet Motive expressive of the evil magic which has wrought this change in _Siegfried_. _Brünnhilde_, in abject recognition of her impotence, enters the cavern. Before _Siegfried_ follows her he draws his sword Nothung (Needful) and exclaims:
Now, Nothung, witness thou, that chaste my wooing is; To keep my faith with my brother, separate me from his bride.
Phrases of the pledge of Brotherhood followed by the Brünnhilde, Gutrune, and Sword motives accompany his words. The thuds of the typical Nibelung rhythm resound, and lead to the last crashing chord of this eventful act.
Act II. The ominous Motive of the Nibelung's Malevolence introduces the second act. The curtain rises upon the exterior of the hall of the Gibichungs. To the right is the open entrance to the hall, to the left the bank of the Rhine, from which rises a rocky ascent toward the background. It is night. _Hagen_, spear in hand and shield at side, leans in sleep against a pillar of the hall. Through the weird moonlight _Alberich_ appears. He urges _Hagen_ to murder _Siegfried_ and to seize the ring from his finger. After hearing _Hagen's_ oath that he will be faithful to the hate he has inherited, _Alberich_ disappears. The weirdness of the surroundings, the monotony of _Hagen's_ answers, uttered seemingly in sleep, as if, even when the Nibelung slumbered, his mind remained active, imbue this scene with mystery.