S918E52
1910 ?»mC£ EiaHTE£
MUSIC
BERLIN, ADOLPH FtfRSTN ER
KT K/V
RICHARO STRAUSS
Presented to the
LIBRARY of the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
from
the estate of
Robert A. Fenn
&***
ELEKTRA
ELEKTRA
TRAGEDY IN ONE ACT By
HUGO VON HOFMANNSTHAL
<ENOLISH VERSION By ALFRED KALISCH)
MUSIC BY
RICHARD STRAUSS
OP.LVIII
PRICE sh I/- NET
PROPERTY OF THE PUBLISHER FOR ALL COUNTRIES
ADOLPH FQRSTNER
BERLIN W. - PARIS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COPYRIGHT INCLUDING RIGHT OF PERFORMANCE 1910
BY ADOLPH FQRSTNER
A. 5845 F.
ALL RIGHTS OF PUBLIC PERFORMANCE RESERVED.
DR. RICHARD STRAUSS.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Klytemnestra Mezzo soprano
Elektpa 1TT ~ f Soprano
^ 4.1. 4 ?Her Daughters < c *
Chrysothemis / V Soprano
Aegistheus Tenor
Orestes Baritone
The Guardian of Orestes Bass
The Confidante Soprano
The Trainbearer Soprano
A young Servant Tenor
An old Servant Bass
The Overseer Soprano
f 1. Contralto
Five Maid Servants J 2. 3. Mezzo soprano
[ 4. 5. Soprano
Men Servants and Maid Servants.
Scene: Mykene.
The inner courtyard t bounded by the back of the palace, and
low buildings in which the servants live. Maid servants at the
draw-well at the front of the stage to the left. The Overseer is
among them.
First Maid Servant
(lifting her pitcher).
Where stays Elektra?
Second Maid Servant.
Is it not the season,
The season when she for her father howls,
That all the walls re-echo?
{Elektra runs out of the house which is already growing dark.
All turn to look at her. Elektra darts back like an animal to
its lair, one arm held before her face.)
First Maid Servant,
Did you not see what looks she gave us?
Second Maid Servant.
Surely poisonous,
Like a wild cat's.
Third Maid Servant.
Yesterday she lay there
Groaning.
First Maid Servant.
Always when the sun is sinking,
She lies and groans.
Third Maid Servant.
And then we went, we two,
Approaching her too near.
First Maid Servant.
It maddens her
To know we watch her.
Third Maid Servant.
Yes, too closely we
Approached: she spat at us just like a cat
At a dog. "Hence, foul flies," cried she, "hence!"
Fourth Maid Servant.
"Foul horse-flies, hence!"
Third Maid Servant.
"Feed not on my sore places!"
And with wisps of straw she tried to smite us.
Fourth Maid Servant.
"Foul flies, away!"
Third Maid Servant.
"Buzz not about me,
Sucking sweetness from my pain. Nor shall my
writhings
Make you to smack your lips."
Fourth Maid Servant.
"Away", she cried,
"Back to whence ye came. Eat carrion and eat
sweetmeats!
Away to bed; your men await you" cried she,
And she —
Third Maid Servant.
I was not slow —
Fourth Maid Servant.
She gave her answer!
Third Maid Servant.
"Surely when hunger calls", thus I made answer
"You too will eat." Then up she leaped, her eyes
Flaming with passion, stretching out her fingers,
Like crooked claws at us, and cried: "A vulture
Battens on my flesh."
Second Maid Servant.
And what said you?
Third Maid Servant.
"Therefore you ever crawl", I answered back,
Where carrion stench is worst, and dig, and seek
An ancient carcase!"
Second Maid Servant.
And what said she then?
Third Maid Servant.
She did but howl again and flung herself
Into her corner.
— 10 —
First Maid Servant.
That the Queen should still
Suffer a demon like to her to roam
Abroad is passing strange.
Second Maid Servant.
'Tis her own child!
First Maid Servant.
Were she my child, I'd hold her, I — by Heav'n!
Safe under lock and key!
Fourth Maid Servant.
Dost thou not think
Them hard enough with her? Is not her platter
Set, full of offal, in the kennel?
Does not
The master lay hands on her?
Fifth Maid Servant
(quite young, with trembling agitated voice).
Let me
Before her do obeisance, and her feet
Cover with kisses. Is she not a child
Of Kings, yet suffers shame? To bathe her feet
Be my office, mine too with my hair to wipe them.
The Overseer
(flushes her back).
Within with theel
Fifth Maid Servant.
There is naught in the world,
More king-like, more divine than she. She lies
In tatters on the threshold, but yet no one,
Is there in all the court, but quails before
Her glance! »
— 11 -
Overseer.
Within!
Fifth Maid Servant
(caught in the doorway).
You are unworthy all,
To breathe the same air that she breathes! Ah me!
Could I but see you all in some dark dungeon,
Hung by the neck and dead, meet punishment
For all the evil that ye to Elektra
Have wrought!
Hear ye that? We to Elektra — ,
She who her platter from our table tossed,
When once they bade her eat with us, and spitting
On us, miscalled us curs and mongrels.
First Maid Servant.
What?
She said: "No mongrel cur can ye so lower,
To live for aye, as we, in degradation,
To wash with water, ever more fresh water
The everlasting stain of murder from
This palace."
Third Maid Servant.
"And the shame," so went she on,
"The shame that daily, nightly is renewed,
Sweep back to darkness" —
First Maid Servant.
"All our bodies", cries she,
"Reek with the foulness that enslaveth us."
(The maids carry the vessels into the house L.)
— 12 —
The Overseer
(who has opened the door for them).
And when she sees us with our babes abroad
Then cries she: "Nought is so accursed, nought,
As children thus conceived and thus born,
Here in the palace where the pavements all
Are slippery with the taint of bloodshed." Says
she this
Or not?
The other Maids
(as they go in).
Yes, yes!
The Overseer.
Says she this? Yes or no?
(She goes in, the door closes!)
The Four Maids
(within).
Yes, yesl
The Fifth Maid.
They beat me — help!
Elektra
(appears from the house).
Alone! Woe! Quite alone! My father gone
To dwell affrighted in the tomb's chill darkness!
Agamemnon! Agamemnon!
Where art thou, Father? Hast thou not the strength
To lift thy countenance to me, thy daughter?
(Softly)
The hour approacheth, sacred to us twain,
The very hour, when thou wert foully slaughtered,
By her, thy queen, and him who now supplants thee,
And on thy royal couch doth toy with her.
— 18 —
There in the bath they murdered thee. Thine eyes
With thy red blood were deluged. From the bath
The steam of blood arose. Then took he thee,
The craven, by the shoulders dragging thee,
Headforemost from the hall, thy feet the while
Behind thee trailing on the ground, thine eyes
Distended open, glaring at the house.
So thou return'st, with slow relentless step
Unlooked for, stand'st thou there, with vengeful
eyes,
Wide-open: on thy royal brow a round
Of crimson gleams, that groweth aye more dark.
From the blood thy wound distilleth.
Agamemnon! Father!
Let me behold thee, leave me not this day
Alone! But as thy wont is, like a shadow,
From the wall's recesses come to greet thy child!
Father! Agamemnon! Thy day approacheth. As the
seasons all
From the stars rain down, so will an hundred throats
Of victims rain their life-blood on thy tomb.
And, as from vessels overturned, blood
Will from the fettered murderers flow
And in one wild wave, one torrent
From them will rain their very life's red life-blood,
And drench the altars.
(With solemn pathos.)
And we slay for thee
The chargers that are housed here — We drive them
All to the tomb together, and they know,
'Tis death, and neigh in the death-laden breeze,
And perish. And we slaughter all the hounds
That once did lick thy sandals,
That went with thee to hunt, and fawned on thee
For dainty morsels. Therefore must their blood
Descend to do thee homage meet; and we,
Thy son Orestes and thy daughters twain,
We three, when all these things are done, and steam
— 14 —
Of blood has veiled the murky air with palls
Of crimson, which the sun sucks upwards,
Then dance we, all thy blood, around thy tomb
(In ecstatic pathos.)
And o'er the corpses piled, high will I lift,
High with each step, my limbs; and all the folk
Who see me dance — Yea all who from afar
My shadow see, will say: "For a great King
All of his flesh and blood high festival
And solemn revel hold; and blessed he
That children hath who round his holy tomb
Will dance such royal dance of Victory!"
Agamemnon! Agamemnon!
Chrysothemis
(the younger sister, standing at the door of the house, softly).
Elektra!
Elektra
(starts as though waking from a dream and gazes at Chrysothemis).
Ah, 'tis her face.
Chrysothemis
(stands close to the door, softly, quietly).
Dost thou then hate my face so much?
Elektra
(vehemently).
What wouldst thou? Speak then, quick, pour forth
thy soul,
Then go and leave me.
(Chrysothemis lifts her hands, as if to defend herself.)
Why dost lift thy hands?
Thus did our father lift up both his hands-
Then fell the axe on him and rent his flesh
In twain. What wouldst thou? Daughter of my mother,
Daughter of Klytemnestra?
— 15 —
Chrysothemis
(whispering).
They have resolved a dreadful deed to do.
Elektra.
That pair of women?
Chrysothemis.
Who?
Elektra.
First my own mother
And next that other she, the craven, yea
Aegistheus, the intrepid warrior, he
That deeds of valour never does by day.
What is it they would do?
Chrysothemis.
Soon in a tow'r
Thou wilt be caged, in which no ray of sun
Or moon will shine on thee.
'Tis so decreed.
(Elektra laughs)
I know that surely
Elektra.
How earnest thou
To hear such tidings?
Chrysothemis
{whispers).
At the door, Elektra.
— 16 —
Elektra
(yehtmently).
Nay, let no doors be opened in this house!
Hoarse cries, and pantings a pah I and last groans
of the dying
Naught else is heard within this dwelling!
So open thou no doors! Creep not about
Sit by the gate, as I, and pray that death
And judgment soon may fall on her and him!
Chrysothemis.
I cannot sit here, into darkness peering,
As thou. Within me burneth a great flame.
It drives me aye to roam the house distraught;
In hall nor chamber find I rest; I must
From one far corner to the other — Ah! —
From roof to vault. I seem to hear strange voices,
And when I seek them, see I bare rooms staring
At me. I am made mad with fear, beneath me
My knees quake night and day, ropes feel I tight'ning
Close round my throat, I cannot even weep.
Like stone are all things. Sister, o have pity!
Elektra.
On whom?
Chrysothemis.
Thou only is it, thou, who keep'st me
Chained here with iron fetters: but for thee
Long since had we been free. But for thy hate
Thy sleepless spirit and thy untamed soul,
That make them tremble, ah! we surely
Had long since been free, had fled this dungeon, Sister
(with passion)
I must away. I will not, ev'ry night
— 17 —
Sleep here till Death release me. Ere I die
I crave for life; and children would I bear
(in great exaltation)
Ere all my body fades, e'en were't a peasant
Chosen to wed me; children will I bear him
Rejoicing; to my bosom will I clasp them
Lest night-winds chill them, when the hut is shaken
By winter tempests!
Hear'st thou me not? Speak to me, sister!
Elektra.
Alas! poor weakling!
Chrysothemis
(still in wild frenzy).
Have pity on thyself, and pity me!
Who profits by such pain?
Our father, he is dead. The brother comes not home.
And always stay we twain, e'en as on perches,
Stand captive birds in cages, turning heads
This way and that — and no one comes. No brother,
No herald from our brother, nay not even
A herald's herald. — Naught! And on my face
And thine the passing days do carve their mark
With knives. The sun each day doth duly rise
And set; and women whom I knew slim maidens
Bear blessed burdens; to the fountain toiling
They scarce can lift their pitchers; in full time
Lo! of their burdens they are free — then seek
Again the fountain, and to each is clinging
A tiny life, and mothers to their offspring
Give nurture and the children thrive and grow —
No, I am
A woman, and a woman's lot I crave,
Far better dead, than live a living death.
(She bursts into passionate -weeping.)
— 18 —
Elektra.
What howl'st thou? Hence! Within! There is thy
place!
A noise approacheth —
(Mocking her.)
Set they forth, perchance,
A wedding feast for thee? I hear them running.
The whole house is astir. A child is born
Or they murder. When there is a lack of corpses
To serve as pillows, surely they must murder.
Chrysothemis.
Away to hiding, lest she see thee here.
Do not thou cross her path this day; she darteth
Death from each glance — for she hath dream'd.
(The noise of many people hurrying to and fro within draws
nearer.)
Away from hence ; they come through ev'ry passage
They will pass here anon. She dream'd a dream —
She dream'd a dream;
I know not what — her women
Have told me the tale.
Orestes in a dream, they say, pursued her;
And in her sleep she loudly shrieked,
E'en as one shrieks that dies in pain.
(Torches and people dimly seen fill the passage to the left of the door.)
The train draws near: she drives the serving women,
With torches all before her. Next the victims,
And priests with axes. Sister, when she trembles,
Is she most terrible.
(Urging her.)
Fear thou to-day
In this hour only, fear to cross her path.
Elektra.
My purpose holds to speak with Klytemnestra,
My mother, as ne'er before.
— 19 —
Chpysothemis.
I will not hear it!
(Rushes off through the gate of the Courtyard?)
(A hurried procession rushes and staggers past the luridly lighted
windows; it is a wrenching, a dragging of cattle, a muffled scolding,
a quickly choked shouting, the hissing of a whip in the air, a
struggling of fallen men and beasts, a staggering onwards?)
(In the broad window appears Kl ytemnestra. Her sallow,
bloated face appears, in the lurid glare of the torches, still paler
over her scarlet robe. She is leaning on her trusted Confidante,
who is draped in dark violet, and on a begemmed ivory staff. A
jaundiced figure, with black hair combed back, like an Egyptian
woman, with smooth face , resembling a rearing snake, carries the
train of her robe. The Queen is covered over and over with gems
and talismans, her arms are full of armlets, her fingers bristle with
rings. The lids of her eyes are larger than is natural, and it
seems to cost her an unspeakable effort to keep them from falling?)
Klytemnestra.
What would'st thou? Look you there, look but
at that!
How she defies me with her neck outstretched,
And with tongue darting — and that leave I free
To roam about my palace!
(Breathing heavily?)
Could she but with her glances strike me dead!
Wherefore, ye gods, do you oppress me thus?
Wherefore decree ye thus my doom? Wherefore
Must all my strength in me be palsied?
Wherefore am I, albeit still living, like a desert
Untilled? Why doth this nettle issue
From me, and strength have I none to uproot it?
Ye everlasting gods, why thus afflict me?
2*
— m —
Elektra
(calmly).
The gods! And art thou not thyself a goddess?
Art as they are!
Klyteranestra.
Ha! Have ye heard
And understand ye what she meaneth?
The Confidante.
That thou art
Of race divine, she saith. -
The Trainbearer
(hissing).
Her words are treason.
Rlytemnestra
(as her heavy eyelids droop, gently).
Of things familiar once, long since forgotten,
Sweet mem'ries stir my soul. She knoweth me well.
But none can know her soul's most secret thoughts.
(The Confidante and the Trainbearer whisper to each other.)
Elektra
(comes gradually nearer to Klytemnestrd).
Thou art thyself no longer. Yonder reptiles
Cling aye too close to thee. What without cease
They hiss into thy ear doth all thy thoughts
Embroil; and ever to and fro art driven
Amazed, as in a trance.
— 21 —
Klytemnestra.
I will descend.
Room! Room! I fain would speak with her.
(She leaves the window and appears with her attendants in the
doorway, and speaks from the threshold, more gently)
She hath to-day
No hostile mind. She speaketh like a leech.
The Confidante
(whispering?)
She speaketh
Not her true thoughts.
The Trainbearer.
Her ev'ry word is falsehood.
Klytemnestra
(starting up).
I will hear nothing. What from you proceedeth
Is but the echo of Aegistheus.
And when at night I wake you, do you not
Each one give diffrent counsel? Criest not thou
Thou know'st my eyelids with disease are swollen
And all my body tainted? Whin'st not thou,
In the other ear, thou hast seen visions,
Foul demon shapes, with greedy maws wide open,
Sharp beaks that suck my life-blood. Show'st thou not
The scars they leave, here, on my flesh? And give I
Not heed, and slaughter, slaughter, slaughter victims,
More victims? Do ye not with all your prating
Distract my soul, e'en unto death? No more
I'll listen. This is truth and that is falsehood.
— 22 —
(In a hollow voice!)
What is truly truth,
We mortals cannot know. If she
Should chance to tell . . .
(still breathing heavily, groaning)
That which to hear will please me,
Then will I hearken to her words.
If any telleth aught that bringeth joy
(^violently)
And though it were my daughter, were it she there,
Then will I bare my soul, concealment flinging
Far from me, and from whencesoe'er they come,
The evening air's caresses will I woo,
As sick men do, who in the balmy air
At nightfall sitting, yonder by the river,
Their loathsome sores to balmy airs expose
Always at nightfall, and no thought is theirs
Save respite from pain.
Leave me alone with her.
(She makes an impatient gesture with her staff, bidding the Con-
fidante and the Trainbearer go into the house. They disappear
after lingering at the door. The torches, too, disappear, and only
from within does a feeble ray of light shine on to the courtyard
and here and there illumine the figures of the two women)
(Klytemnestra descends — softly!)
I am distraught with nights of horror. Know'st thou
No simples against dreaming?
Elektra
(appreaching).
Dream'st thou, Mother?
Klytemnestra.
Whoso grows old must dream. But yet can dreams
Be banished. There are rites,
There must be fitting rites for all things.
Therefore am I thus
— 23 —
Laden with jewels, for in each one dwelleth
Most surely magic power. We but need knowledge
How we may use it best. Wert thou but kindly,
Thou couldest give me counsel that would save.
Elektra.
I, Mother? I?
Klytemnestra
(in a vehement outburst).
Yea — thou! for thou art wise,
And in thy head all things are strong.
And thou could'st tell me much that would give help.
What if a word is but a breath? For what then is
A breath? And yet, twixt night and day, when I,
With eyes wide open, sleepless lie, a Something
Creeps o'er my couch. It is no word, it is
No pain, it hath no weight, it chokes me not,
'Tis naught, not e'en a sickness— but in truth
It doth so madden me, the hangman's rope
Would less appal my soul; and ev'ry limb in me
Crieth aloud for death. Still I am living,
And am not even sick. Look thou on me,
Have I a look of sickness? Can one thus
Rot, living, like a tainted corpse? Can men decay
And crumble, without sickness, being awake,
Like garments that the moths have eaten? Then I sleep
And dreams come, dreams come, till my very marrow
Doth seem to freeze. I stagger up again,
And not one-half the tithe of sand has trickled
Adown the hour-glass, and what from the hangings
Grins, is not yet the sallow morning light.
No, still the torch burns low with ghostly flame,
Then quivers bright, just like a living thing
With stealthy eyes that watch me.
But the end must soon be near.
Of all these visions. Whencesoe'er they come,
I know, each demon leaveth us, if but
The fitting blood is made to flow.
All demons.
— 24 —
Elektra.
Klytemnestra
(wildly).
E'en bid me slay each thing that crawls or flies
In earth or heaven; bid me rise in steam
Of blood — yea, in blood-red mists bid me sleep
Which curtain far-off Thule — I'll obey thee.
No longer will I dream thus.
Elektra.
When beneath
The axe the appointed victim bleeds, then dreamst
thou
No longer.
Klytemnestra
(very hastily).
Then thou know'st what sacrifice
That's consecrated —
Elektra
(with a mysterious smile).
'Tis not consecrated.
Klytemnestra.
That fettered lies within?
Elektra.
No! it roams free.
Klytemnestra
(eagerly).
What rites are needed?
— 25 —
Elektra.
Rites most wondrous
To be observed most closely.
Klytemnestra
(vehemently).
Tell me, quick!
Elektra.
Canst thou not guess my meaning?
Klytemnestra.
No, for that I ask
(as if solemnly adjuring Elektra)
The victim's name, come, quickly tell!
Elektra.
A woman.
Klytemnestra
(eagerly).
Is't perchance one of my servants?
A child? A pure maid still unwed? A wife?
A mother, duly wedded?
Elektra
(calmly).
Yes — a wife —
E'en so.
Klytemnestra
(with growing eagerness).
And how the killing? And what season?
And where?
— 26 —
Elektra
(calmly).
At any place, at any season,
Of day or night.
Klytemnestra.
The rites disclose
How shall't be slain? Must I myself . . .
Elektra.
This quarry
Must other hunters slay with net and axe.
Klytemnestra.
Who then? Who deals the blow?
Elektra.
A man.
Klytemnestra.
Aegistheus?
Elektra
(laughing).
But said I not a man?
Klytemnestra.
Who? give me answer.
A trusty kinsman? Must a stranger come
To give aid?
Elektra
(looking to the ground as if absent}.
Yea, a stranger, but it chanceth
He is our kin.
— 27 —
Klytemnestra.
A truce to riddles now.
Elektra, heed my words. It pleaseth me
That I to-day have found thy mood not stubborn.
Elektra
(softly).
CalPst thou my brother not from exile, mother?
Klytemnestra.
I have rorbidden that his name be spoken.
Elektra.
Thou art afraid of him?
Klytemnestra.
Who saith it?
Elektra.
Mother,
What tremblest thou?
Klytemnestra.
What need ot fear
Of one whose reason tott'reth?
Elektra.
How?
Klytemnestra.
Tis said
He stamm'reth, playeth with dogs upon the pavement,
Not knowing beast from man, and babbleth
wildly.
— 28 —
Elektra.
The child was strong and fair.
Klytemnestra.
'Tis said, they gave
Him noisome lodging, and made
The cattle all his playmates.
Elektra.
Ha!
Klytemnestra
(with drooping eyelids}.
I sent them
Much gold, and still more gold, and bade them
Tend him as fits a son of kings.
Elektra.
Thou liest!
Thou gavest gold and bribe, that they might slay him.
Klytemnestra.
Who told thee that?
Elektra.
Thy drooping eyes betray thee,
The trembling of thy body telleth me,
He is alive. Thou thinkest day and night
Of nought but him, till all thy heart is sick
With terror, for thou know'st he cometh!
Klytemnestra.
They that roam abroad, what can they harm me?
Here I abide and am the mistress. Servants
Have I enough, to guard each court and portal,
And should I wish, then both by night and day
Before my chamber door three armed men
With watchful eye shall guard me.
As for thee
Devices will I find to make thee speak
The right word soon. Thou hast betrayed thyself:
Thou knowest who is the victim meet, what are
The rites that give me healing. Tell'st thou not
In freedom now, then soon in chains thou'lt tell me.
If not when fed, thou say'st it hungry. Dreams
That afflict us can be banished. Whoso suffereth
Nor any means discovereth that will heal him,
Is but a fool. I for myself will learn
Whence blood must flow, that I may sleep in peace.
Elektra
(leaps out of the dark at Klytemnestra, coming nearer to her and
nearer, more and more threatening).
Whence blood must flow ! Whence blood ? From
thine own neck,
When the huntsman shall have overtaken thee!
I hear him through the chamber go, I hear him
Lifting the curtain from thy couch: Who slaughtereth
His victims while they sleep? He wakens thee,
Screaming, thou fliest. But he, he pursues thee,
He drives thee through the house! Turn'st thou to
right,
There stands the bed! To left — there foams the bath,
Like blood! The torches' glare encircles thee
As with black red nets of destruction. Then
(Klytemnestra, trembling -with speechless terror, turns towards the
house. Elcktr a, seizing her robe t drags her forward. Klytemnestra
retreats towards the wall. Her eyes are distended with terror. Her
staff falls from her trembling hands.)
— 30 —
Down the long stairway, on through vaulted halls,
And still more halls, he urgeth the wild chase —
And I! I! I, who sent him to thee, speed
Like sleuth-hound on thy traces. Seekest thou
A secret refuge, from this side or that
I seize thee. — Thus thou'rt driven ever on
Until the walls their barriers raise. And there,
In deepest darkness, but I see him well -
A shadow — and limbs gleaming, and the glance
Of eyes that call me on — there sits my father:
Not heeding aught — yet must the deed be done.
And at his feet we fell thee to the ground -
Cries would'st thou utter, but the unborn word
Is strangled in thy throat, and in the silence,
Makes but faint echoes; and like a mad thing
Thou stretchest out thy neck, f eel'st in the very seat
Of life the lightning sword-stroke. But the blow
He holdeth back. The rites are yet to do.
All is still as death. Thou hearest thine own heart
Within thee madly beating — and thou see'st
The moments stretch before thee — an abyss
Of centuries. This respite hath been given thee,
To know the ship-wrecked sailors' torment,
When their wild cries for help resound in vain
In storm of tempest and of death. This respite
Was given thee to make thee envy all
That languish, in a loathsome dungeon chained,
That cry from out the bottom of some well
For death, as for a friend that saves. For thou,
Thou art in thine own Self so fast imprisoned,
As in the fiery womb of some great beast
Of brass — whence frenzied shrieks will naught
There stand I avail thee'
By thee, and thou canst read with staring eye
The message, big with fate, that on my face
Is writ for all to see.
Thy soul is strangled in the noose that thou
Thyself hast woven. Hissing falls the axe
And I stand there. At last I see thee dying,
— 31 —
Then dreamest thou no more. — For me no more
Is need of dreaming. — All who still do live
Rejoice, and all in their own lives are glad.
( They stand eye to eye — Elektra in wild intoxication, Klytemnestra
breathing in horrible spasms of fear. At this moment the interior
of the palace is lighted up. The Confidante comes running from
the palace. She whispers something into Klytemnestra' s ear. She
seems at first not to understand. Gradually she grasps the meaning
of it all. She commands "Lights". Serving maids come running
from the palace with torches and range themselves behind Klytemnestra.
Klytemnestra commands "More lights!" Still more serving maids
come out and range themselves behind Klytemnestra, so that the
courtyard is flooded with light and a reddish yellow glare eddies
round the walls. Now her features gradually change and the
tension yields to a look of evil triumph. Klytemnestra causes the
message to be whispered to her again, and does not, the while take
her eyes off Elektra for an instant. Glutted with wild joy, Kly-
temnestra raises both her hands, threatening, towards Elektra.
Then the Confidante lifts her staff" from the ground, and leaning on
both, Klytemnestra hurries eagerly into the palace, gathering up her
robe on the stairs. The serving maids rush after her, as if pursued.)
Elektra.
What have they said to her! She seemeth glad.
My head! I have no thoughts. Why doth that woman
Rejoice —
(Chrysothemis enters running, through the gate of the courtyard,
howling loudly like a wounded beast)
Orestes !
Orestes is dead !
Chrysothemis
(shrieking).
Elektra
(makes a gesture to ward her off, as f demented).
Be still!
_ 82 —
Chrysothemis.
Orestes is dead!
I went abroad — already all men know! They all
Gathered in crowds. All men had heard the tidings,
Only not we.
Elektra
(in a hollow voice).
No one knows it!
Chrysothemis.
All men know it!
Elektra.
No one can know it, for it is not true.
(Chrysothemis flings herself in despair on the ground.)
Elektra
(dragging up Chrysothemis).
It is not true ! It is not true I I tell thee
It is not true!
Chrysothemis.
The strangers stood there by the wall, the
strangers
Who came the tidings to deliver: two -
One older and one younger. All already
Had heard the news. In crowds men stood all
round them
Hearing their words, they know it. All know it.
(with a supreme effort]
All had been told.
Elektra
(with all her strength}.
It is not true.
— 33 —
Chpysothemis.
Of us thinks no one. Dead! Elektra, dead!
Orestes amid strangers dead!
Orestes in a foreign land! Orestes dragged
To death by his own steeds.
(She sinks to the ground in wild despair, by Elektra's side
near the threshold.)
A Young Slave
(hurrying from the house, stumbles over them as they lie).
Room! room! who loiters so before the door!
Ha! 'tis no wonder. Quick, a horse there, quick!
An Old Slave
(of sombre mien, appears at the gate of the courtyard).
Who needs a horse?
Young Slave.
The swiftest horse
Bring me, as quick as may be, hearest thou?
A horse, a wild ass, or a mule, or if
Not that, a cow; but quick!
Old Slave.
For whom?
Young Slave.
For him that bids thee. — Look, he gapes at me!
For me
At once for me, trot, trot, I must afield,
And bring the Master home, for I have tidings,
To bring him, weighty tidings, tidings
Weighty enough the best of all your horses
To lame past healing (going}.
(The Old Slave too disappears.)
3
— 34 —
Elektra
(to herself softly, but -with determination).
Now must it here, by us, be done.
Chpysothemis
(in astonishment, questioning).
Elektra —
Elektra
(in frenzied haste).
We,
We twain must do it.
Chrysothemis.
What, Elektra?
Elektra
(softly).
'Twere best to-day, 'twere best this night.
Chrysothemis.
What, sister?
Elektra.
What? The task that to our lot
Hath fallen now,
(very sadly)
since he can ne'er return.
Chrysothemis
(in growing fear).
What is the task?
— 35 > —
Elektra.
Now must we, you and I
Arise, and seek out her — her and her husband
And slay them.
Chrysothemis
(softly-trembling).
Sister, speak'st thou ot our mother?
Elektra
(wildly).
Ot her, yea, and of him. Quick to the task,
It brooketh no delay.
Be still. No need of words,
No need of counsel — only one thing — how?
How shall we do it?
Chrysothemis.
I?
Chrysothemis
(in horror).
We? we twain shall go and slay them,
Alone and empty-handed?
Elektra.
Be that
My care! — (mysteriously.) Armed am I!
The axe ! (more loudly.) The axe, wherewith my father
3*
— 36 —
Chrysothemis.
Thou?
0 terrible, thou hast it?
Elektra.
For Orestes
1 kept it hid. Now 'tis for us to wield it
Chrysothemis.
Thou? With these arms dost think to slay
Aegistheus?
Elektra
(wildly).
First her, then him — first him, then her; I care not.
Chrysothemis.
I am afraid.
Elektra.
At night no man lies in the neighbour room.
Chrysothemis.
To kill them sleeping!
Elektra.
Who sleeps is as a fettered victim. Did they not
Together sleep, alone I'd do't. But now
Thou must go with me.
Chrysothemis.
Elektra!
Elektra.
Thou! thou!
For thou art strong.
(standing close to Chrysothemis!)
— 37 —
How strong thou art! Chaste nights
Of peaceful virgin sleep have made thee strong.
All thy frame glows with youthful strength 1
Sinews hast thou like a doe,
Slender are thy ankles.
How slender and lissom
Thy shape. See how my arms
Enfold it all about!
Through ev'ry crevice find'st thou a way, canst wind
Thee through a casement. Both thy arms let me
Caress. How cool and strong are they! When thou
Repell'st me, do I feel their godlike strength.
What thou draw'st to thee, could'st thou press to death,
In thy embrace could'st thou me strangle: few
Are the men that could resist thee. All thy frame
Gloweth with youthful strength. It streameth from thee,
As from some rocky cleft
Cool water, hidden long from sunlight, gushes,
And dwelling in thy locks, e'en to thy shoulders
Strength floweth down; and through thy skin's cool
whiteness
I feel thy blood's red ardour burn. My cheek
Can feel how soft the down on thy young body.
Strong art thou, thou art fair, e'en as a fruit
That summer suns have brought to fullest ripeness.
Chrysothemis.
Leave me!
Elektra.
No! I cleave to thee,
And my sad withered arms I wind about thee,
Thy body I embrace — and struggles! thou,
But tighter grows the knot. And close as tendrils
Of vine I'll cling to thee, and pour forth
My being into thee, till all my lust
Of blood burns in thee too!
— 38 —
Chrysothemis.
Leave me!
(she retreats a few steps?)
Elektra
(hurries wildly after her and seizes her robe).
I leave thee not!
Chrysothemis.
Elektra, hear me.
Thou art so wise: help us to flee this house.
Help us to freedom!
Elektra, help us to our freedom. Elektra, help!
Elektra.
From now thy sister will I be in deed,
Not in name only, as ne'er I was before.
To do thee service, to thy bower will I betake me,
And humbly for the bridegroom wait; for him
Will I anoint thee, in the fragrant bath
Shalt thou then plunge thee, as a silvery swan,
And in my bosom will I hide thy blushes,
Until he comes, eager to lead thee, glowing,
E'en as a torch, beneath thy veil, to where
The nuptial couch is spread.
Chrysothemis
(closing her eyes).
Nay, sister, nay.
Speak no such words in this abode.
Elektra.
Not so! Far more than sister will I be
To thee from this day forth. Like any slave,
Will I attend thee. When thy child is born,
Then stand I by thy pillow night and day,
— 39 —
Warding the flies off, and cool water bring thee.
And when in due time on thy panting bosom
A living thing is laid, affrighted almost,
I lift it high — so high, that its dear smile
From there above thee, e'en into the deepest
Most secret crannies of thy soul may shine,
And there the last grim icy horror may
In sunshine melt, and thou of joyous tears
May'st weep thy fill.
Chpysothemis.
O take me hence, I die
Here in this house of dread!
Elektra.
How beautiful,
When they in anger open, are thy lips!
And from those lips, so pure and strong, must well forth,
A cry of vengeance, dreadful as a cry
Of rav'ning harpies, when thine enemies
Lie at thy feet as I do now!
Chpysothemis.
What rav'st thou?
Elektra
(rising).
For ere thou from this house
And me escap'st — it must be done!
Chpysothemis
(strives to speak).
Elektra
(closes her moutA).
No path
But this can lead thee forth. I leave thee not,
Till with lips pressed to lips, an oath thou swearest,
That thou wilt do it.
— 40 —
Chrysothemis
(frees herself}.
Leave me!
Elektra.
Swear thou com'st
This night, when all is quiet, to the foot
O' the stairway!
Chrysothemis.
Leave me!
Elektra.
Woman, struggle not!
No drop of blood will stain thy body's whiteness:
Quickly thy bloodstained garment shalt thou doff,
And, cleansed, don a spotless wedding robe.
Chrysothemis.
Leave me!
Elektra
(with still greater eagerness).
Be not a coward! If thou now
Thy terror wilt but conquer, thy rich guerdon
Shall be a life of love beyond compare —
Chrysothemis.
I cannot!
Elektra.
Say that thou comest.
Chrysothemis.
I cannot!
— 41 —
Elektra.
See,
I kiss thy feet and cast me down before thee!
Chrysothemis.
I cannot!
(rushing through the door of the house?)
Elektra.
Be accurst!
(with wild determination!)
Well then, alone!
(She begins to dig by the wall of the house, at the side of the
threshold, eagerly, without a sound, like an animal. Elektra pauses
in her digging, looks round, and continues. She looks round again
and listens. Elektra digs again. Orestes stands by the gate of
the courtyard, in black relief against the last rays of sun. Elektra
looks up at him: he turns slowly, so that his eyes rest on her.
Elektra starts up •violently.)
Elektra.
What would'st thou, stranger, here? Why roamest
thou,
Here in the gloaming to and fro and spiest,
What others do?
I have a task to do. What is't to thee?
Leave me in peace!
Orestes.
Here must I tarry.
Elektra.
Tarry?
Orestes.
But dwellest thou
Here in the house? A serving maid thou art
From out the palace?
— 42 —
Elektra.
Yea, I serve this royal house.
But thou hast naught to seek here — Go thy ways,
And prosper —
Orestes.
I said to thee, here must I tarry,
Until they call me.
Elektra.
Those within there?
Thou liest. I know the Master is abroad,
And she, what need hath she of thee?
Orestes.
I and another,
Who is with me, have come with weighty tidings,
To the Queen.
Elektra
(is silent}.
Orestes.
We have been sent to her
Because we can give witness that her son
Orestes is dead indeed. We saw him perish,
For he was dragged to death by his own horses.
I was as old as he and his companion
By day and night.
Elektra.
Must I still
See thee? Dost drag thy footsteps
To this, my haunt of desolation?
Misfortune's herald! Trumpet forth thy tidings,
Unto others, there where they rejoice!
— 43 —
Thine eye still stares at me, and his doth moulder.
Thy mouth moves to and fro, and his, too soon,
Is filled full of earth.
Thou liv'st, and he, who better was than thou,
More noble a thousand times — that he should live,
A thousand times more needful, — he is gone.
Orestes
(quietly).
Peace to Orestes. He did too much exult
In life and pleasure. For the gods on high
From man not gladly hear too loud a note
Of joy, and so his death decreed they.
Elektra.
But I! But I! To lie here, surely knowing
That the child will ne'er return,
Will ne'er return,
That the child down yonder pineth
In regions of dim horror — To know that those within
Still live and prosper,
That yon foul brood lives in its lair obscene,
And eats and drinks and sleeps —
And I on earth, like any beast, an abject life
Lead, shunned by all. — I here on earth, alone!
Orestes.
Who art thou then?
Elektra,
What is't to thee
Who I am?
Orestes.
Thou must be kindred blood to those the land
Is mourning, Agamemnon and Orestes?
44 —
Elektra.
Kindred? I am that blood! I am the blood so foully
By vile curs shed of great King Agamemnon!
Elektra am I!
Orestes.
No!
Elektra.
He doubteth me and e'en my name denieth me!
Orestes.
Elektra!
Elektra.
Because I have no father.
Orestes.
Elektra!
Elektra.
Nor brother, I am the sport of minions!
Orestes.
Elektra, Elektra!
So see I thee? See I her truly? Thou?
So did they let thee want, untended — or
They even dared to strike thee?
Elektra.
Leave my robe.
Let not thy gaze thus sink in it.
Orestes.
What did they make thee suffer in the night time?
Fierce are thy eyes with menace.
— 45 —
Elektra.
Leave me I
Orestes.
Withered and worn thy cheek!
Elektra.
Hie thee within
There findest thou my sister, who takes pleasure
In feasts and merriment.
Orestes.
Elektra, hear mel
Elektra.
I will not question who thou art
No man will I see!
Orestes.
Hear me, short is my time.
Give ear:
(softly)
Orestes lives!
Elektra
(flings herself about).
Orestes.
He is betrayed, dost thou but stir.
Elektra.
Then he is free? Where is he?
As I.
Orestes.
He is free from harm
— 46 —
Elektra.
So save him then, ere they have time
To slay him.
Orestes.
By my father's body, for that came I here!
Elektra
(struck by his tone).
Who art thou then?
( The old gloomy attendant rushes in silently from the courtyard,
followed by three other attendants, prostrates himself before Orestes
and kisses his feet. The others kiss his hands and the hem of his
garment?)
Elektra
{almost beside herself).
Who art thou then? Fear seizeth me.
Orestes
(gently).
The hounds in the courtyard know me well,
And mine own sister not?
Elektra
(crying out suddenly).
Orestes!
(very softly, trembling?)
Orestes! Orestes! Orestes!
List! No man stirreth! O let mine eye gaze,
But on thee, Vision, than which lovelier
From heav'n ne'er came to gladden mortal eyes!
Holy, ineffable, thou god-like countenance,
— 47 —
Abide with me! In air
Dissolve thee not, O vanish not.
But haply cam'st thou hither, bidding me
To follow thee straightway,
To Elysium? Then die I
Happier than e'er I lived. Orestes! Orestes!
(Orestes bends down to Elektra, to embrace her.}
(vehemently!)
No, embrace me not, I charge thee!
Away, I stand ashamed near thee. How canst thou
Endure to see me?
A corpse am I, that erstwhile was thy sister,
Alas! poor child. I know
(softly]
thou shrinkest
At my touch, that boasted once a kingly father!
Methinks I once was fair: when from my mirror
Turning, the lamp I darkened, knowledge came
With thrills of wonder. I felt then
How the slender rays of moonlight,
Seeking my body's whiteness out, did rest on it
And linger, loth to leave it. And my hair,
Such hair it was as maketh men to tremble,
This hair, now so unkempt, besmirch'd and matted.
Dost hear me, brother? All that I had and all
I was, the gods took from me. Maiden shame
E'en flung I far from me, the shame, that treasure
That passeth all, which like the silvery film,
Of moonlight, unto every woman clinging,
Doth from her body drive, and from her soul,
All horror, all uncleanness. Hear'st thou, brother?
All these thrills of sweetness did my father
As expiation claim. Think'st thou not
When in my beauty I rejoiced, his moans
Resounded oft, his sighs resounded
In my chamber?
— 48 —
(Sombrely?)
In very truth the dead
Are jealous, and he sent to me from Hell
Grim hate, hate hollow-eyed, my spouse to be.
Thus was I made a prophetess always of terror,
And nothing e'er came forth from me, but curses
Without end, and fierce despair and frenzy.
Why are thine eyes thus full of fear? Speak to me!
Speak then! Lo! ev'ry limb of thee doth quake.
Orestes.
Let be! Let these limbs quake. They know
The path that they must travel.
Elektra.
Dost do the deed? Alone? Alas! Poor child!
Orestes.
Those at whose bidding
I have come,
The gods, will not forsake
me in my peril.
I will do it!
I will do it without delay!
I will do it!
I will do it!
Elektra.
Thou wilt do it!
He that may do is blessed !
The deed is as a couch,
On which the soul repo-
seth,
As a bed of healing,
On which the soul can
take its rest,
When it is wounded sore,
a flame,
An ulcer, a wild fever!
— 49 —
Elektra
(with frenzied energy).
Blessed is he who can his deed accomplish!
Blessed, whoso longeth for him,
Blessed, whoso seeeth him.
Blessed, whoso knoweth him!
Blessed, whoso feeleth his touch.
BJessed, whoso digeth the axe from the earth for him
Blessed, whoso holdeth the torch for him!
Blessed, blessed, whoso openeth the door!
(the Tutor of Orestes, a hale old man with fiery eye, stands in
the doorway?)
Tutor.
Are ye quite senseless, that your wagging tongues
Ye curb not, when a breath, a sound, a nothing
Us can undo, and mar our work.
(to Orestes, in headlong haste?)
Within she waiteth, her attendants seek thee.
No man is in the house — Orestes!
(Orestes draws himself up, conquering his horror. A light shines
by the door of the house. A servant appears with a torch and the
Confidante behind her. Elektra starts back into the shadows. The
Confidante bows low to the strangers; makes a sign to them to follow.
Orestes and the Tutor go within. The Servant fastens the torch
to an iron ring in the doorpost. Orestes closes his eyes a moment,
as though giddy, the Tutor is close behind him. They exchange
rapid glances, the door closes behind them. Elektra alone in hor-
rible excitement, runs to and fro in front of the door, with bowed
head, like a captive beast in a cage.)
Elektra
(suddenly pauses).
Woe unto me? The axe I could not give him!
They have departed and he hath not taken
The axe. It still lies hidden. Alas! There are
No gods in heaven!
(again a fearful suspense. From the distance within, resounds a
shriek of Klytemnestra.)
— 50 —
Elektra
(crying aloud like one possessed).
Strike yet again!
(a second cry from -within, Chrysothemis and a troop of atten-
dants rush out of the house to the left.)
Elektra
(stands in the doorway with her back to the door).
Chrysothemis.
Some dreadful thing has come to pass!
First Maid Servant.
She cries
Thus in her sleep.
Second Maid.
Some men are in the palace!
I heard the step of men press onward.
Third Maid.
All
The doors are closed against us.
Fourth Maid
(shrieking).
There is murder!
There is murder within!
First Maid
(shrieking),
Oh!
All.
What is't?
— 61 —
First Maid.
Do ye not see there in the door one standing?
Chpysothemis.
That is Elektra! In truth 'tis Elektra!
First and Second Maids.
Elektra, Elektra!
Why speaks she not a word?
Chpysothemis.
Elektra!
Why speakest thou not?
Fourth Maid.
I will go seek
Men to help us!
(runs out to the left.)
Chpysothemis.
Let the door be opened,
Elektra!
Several Maids.
Elektra! Bar not thou the wayl
Come back!
Fourth Maid
(returning).
All
(are terrified).
— 59 —
Fourth Maid.
Aegistheus! Come back! Each to her chamber!
Quick
Aegistheus comes through the court I If he should
find us,
If any dreadful thing is done within,
Surely he kills us!
Chrysothemis.
Come back!
All.
Come back! Come back! Come back!
(they disappear into the house to the left?)
(Aegistheus appears at the door of the court on the right!)
Aegistheus
(pausing in the doorway).
Ho! Lights there, lights there!
Is no one there to light me? Doth none stir
Of all these slothful varlets? Can this rabble
Its manners never mend?
Elektra
(takes the torch from the ring. Runs towards him ana bows low
before him).
Aegistheus
(starts back in terror at the sight of the wild figure in the
flickering light).
What strange unearthly woman do I see?
I have forbidden any unknown face
Should ever come too near me.
(recognizes her — angrily!)
What? Thou?
Who bade thee thus await my coming?
— 53 —
Elektra.
May I
Not light thee?
Aegistheus.
Well, weightier the news for thee
Should be than for the rest. Where find I .
Those that were sent to tell us what befell
Orestes?
Elektra.
Yonder. They have found a hostess
Friendly and kind; and they make merry there
With her.
Aegistheus.
And do they truly tell that he
Is dead indeed! And tell it so
That none may doubt?
Elektra.
My lord! They tell it,
Not with words only, nay, they give assurance
And certain proof, that none may feel a doubt.
Aegistheus.
In truth thy voice sounds strangely. And what
humour
Possesseth thee, thus every word I speak
To echo? Wherefore to and fro dost totter
Thus with thy light?
Elektra.
It is naught else, my Lord
But that I have learnt wisdom and seek favour
With those that stronger are than I. The light
Let me bear still before thee.
— 54 — .
Aegistheus
(hesitates).
To the door.
Why dancest thou? Be wary.
Elektra
(dancing a mysterious dance round him and suddenly stooping low).
See thou fall'st not
Here by the stair.
Aegistheus
(at the door of the house],
The torch, why is't not here?
Who are those there?
Elektra.
Those who came from afar
To do thee fitting honour, my lord; and I
Who oft with my unwelcome, shameless presence
Did vex thee, now at last am learning when
The proper moment comes to take my leave.
Aegistheus
(enters the house. Silence. Then a noise -within. Aegistheus
appears at a small window, tears back the curtain, crying).
Help! Murder! Help your master! Murder!
They murder me!
Does none hear me? Does
None hear me?
(he is dragged away.)
Elektra
(starts violently).
Agamemnon hears thee!
(the face of Aegistheus appears once more at the window?)
— 55 —
Aegistheus.
Woe is me!
(he is draggea away again.)
Elektra
(stands with terribly laboured breathing, facing the house. — The
women come rushing out of the house to the left, among than
Chrysothemis. As though bereft of their senses they run to the
gate of the courtyard. There they suddenly halt and (urn).
Chpysothemis.
Elektra! Sister! Come with me! Oh, come!
With us! Our brother standeth there within!
It is Orestes who hath slain them!
(noise in the house. Confused -voices, from among which the cries of
the chorus "Orestes" "Orestes" occasionally emerge more distinctly?)
Come!
He standeth in the great hall, all crowd round him
And struggle to embrace him.
(the noise of battle, the combat to the death between the slaves
who are faithful to Orestes and the retinue of Aegistheus has
gradually retreated towards the inner courts, with which the door
to the right communicates.)
All who hated
Aegistheus in their heart did fling themselves
Vengefully upon the others, everywhere
In every court lie corpses piled, and all
The living are with blood besmeared, and are
Sore wounded, but yet all exult, yea all
Embrace each other, drunk with joy, and torches
(without a growing noise, which however when Elektra begins,
•retreats more and more to the outer courts to the right and to the
background. The other women have run oitf, leaving Chrysothemis
alone. The light comes from without.)
Burn without number. Hear'st thou not? Hear'st thou
Then not their cries?
— 56 —
Elektra
(crouching on the threshold).
How should I not hear? How should I
Not hear the music? It cometh from me.
The thousands all, who torches carry,
Whose heavy footsteps, whose innumerable
Myriad footsteps do make solid earth
With sullen echoes mutter, all await me:
I know it that they all await me,
Because 'tis I that lead the dance, and I
Cannot, the weight of Ocean, measureless — yea,
Of Ocean grown a hundred times more vast,
Beneath its monstrous, whelming weight each limb
Holdeth captive!
Chrysothemis
(almost shrieking with excitement).
Hear'st thou then not? They carry him,
They carry him upon their shoulders!
Elektra
(leaps up, to herself without heeding Chrysothemis).
We,
We who accomplish, we are with the gods.
(beside herself.")
They go on their way like a two-edged sword,
The gods through man's soul, but their nameless
majesty
Is not too great for us.
Chrysothemis.
All men's faces with joy are transfigured; all men's
• eyes
Now are gleaming, and down aged cheeks course
the tear-drops,
All are weeping. Hear'st thou not?
— 57
Elektra.
The seeds of darkness did
I sow and reap
Joy upon joy.
A blackened corpse once
was I
Among the living and this
glad hour
The flame of life hath
made me,
And my fierce flame con-
sumeth
The gloom of all the
world.
And my face must glow
tar whiter
Than the moonlight when
it glows most white.
And whoso beholds me
Must unto death be stri-
cken
Or be lost in pain of joy.
See ye all not my face?
See ye that light
That from me doth shine?
Chpysothemis.
Now is the brother come, and love
O'er all like oil and balsam floweth. Love
Ruleth all things. He will perish whoso loves not!
Elektra Chrysothemis.
(wildly).
Love destroys! but none Elektra!
can go the appointed way I go to where my brother
That knows not love! stands!
(Chrysothemis runs out.)
(Elektra descends from the threshold. She has flung back her head
like a Maenad. She flings her knees and arms about. It is a
nameless dance in which she comes forward?)
Chpysothemis.
Good are the immortals,
Good!
New life for thee begin-
neth and me,
New life for all mankind.
'Tis they, the gods, the im-
mortal gods, the ever
Good that gave us all
things.
Who ever loved us?
Who ever loved us?
— 58 —
Chrysothemis
(appears again at the door. Behind her torches, crowds, faces of
men and women).
Elektra!
Elektra
(stays motionless, gazing at her).
Say naught and dance on. All must come
To my side! Here take your place! The burden of joy
I carry, and I lead the sacred dance.
Who happy is as we, can do but this:
Say naught and dance on!
(Elektra makes a few more steps of uncontrolled triumph and falls
lifeless.)
Chrysothemis
(rushes to her side. Chrysothemis hurries to the door of the house
and batters it).
Orestes! Orestes!
(Silence. Curtain.)
Printed by C. G. Roder G. m. b. H., Leipzig.
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ELEKTRA
TRAGEDY IN ONE ACT
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No.l.Arle des Tenors (I. Akt) nDi rigori armato il seno"
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All editions appear in high and low register, with German and English text.
The same songs can also be obtained with French text in high and low voices.
sh
Op. 22. Madchenblumen— Maiden- net
Blossoms 3/-
Xo. 1. Kornblumen — Cornflower . . l/-
No. 2. Mohnblumen— Poppies . . . . l/-
No. 3. Epheu— Ivy 1/3
No. 4. Wasserrose— The Waterlily . 1/3
Op. 31
No. 1
No. 2
1/3
Blauer Sommer— Summer . .
Wenn . . . Und waist du mein
Weib— If thou wert my love 1/8
No. 3. Weifier Jasmin— White Jasmin 1/8
No. 4. Stiller Gang— Night fall . . . 113
The same with accompaniment
of Alto or Violino. 1/6
Op. 46
No. 1. Ein Obdach gegen Sturm und
Regen— A wand'rer by the
tempest driven 1/8
No. 2. Gestern war ich Atlas— Like
the valiant Atlas 1/8
No. 3. Die sieben Siegel— The Seven
Seals 1/8
No. 4. Morgenrot— The Dawn ... 2/5
No. 5. Ich sehe wie in einem Spiegel
—I see my soul as in a mirror 2/-
Op. 47
No. 1.
Auf ein Kind— On a Child . . 1/3
No. 2. DesDichtersAbendgang— The
Poet's Eventide Walk .... 2/5
No. 3. Ruckleben— Retrospect . . . 2f-
No. 4. Einkehr— My Hostel . ... 21-
No. 5. Von den sieben Zechbrudern —
The Seven Boon-Companions 3/-
Op. 48
No. 1. Freundliche Vision— A wel-
come Vision 1/8
No. 2. Ich schwebe — A Farewell . . 1/8
No. 3. Kling! — Thanksgiving. ... 1/8
. No. 4. Winterweihe— A winter De-
dication 1/8
No. 5. Win terliebe— Winter Love . 1/8
Op. 49
No. l. Waldseligkeit— Alone in the
Forest 1/8
No. 2. In goldener Fulle— A Vision
of Glory 21-
No. 30.
sh
Op. 49 (continued)
No. 3. Wiegenliedchen— Cradle Song 1/8
No. 4. Das Lied des Steinklopfers—
The Stone -breaker 21-
No. 5. Sie wissen's nicht— Maiden
and Nightingale 1/8
No. 6. Junggesellenschwur — Boy's
Love 21-
No. 7. Wer lieben will, mufi leiden —
Love and Sorrow 1/8
No. 8. Ach, was Kummer, Qual und
Schmerzen— Heigh-ho ! ... 1/8
Above 31 songs in 7 volumes (high
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Op. 51 No. 1. Das Thal-The Valley.
Song for a low Bass voice with
Orchestra accompaniment. Vocal
Score 3/-
Op. 51 No. 2. Der Einsame— The So-
litary One. Song for a low Bass
voice with Orchestra accompani-
ment. Vocal Score 1/8
Ditto for medium voice .... 1/8
CHORUS WORKS.
Op. 52. Taillefer. Ballad by Uhland.
For Chorus, Solos and Orchestra.
Vocal Score (German and English) 12/-
Ditto 16° 21-
Op. 55. Bardengesang-Bardic Song.
From the Hermannsschlacht by
Klopstock, for Male Chorus and
Orchestra. Vocal Score (German
and English) 12/-
Ditto 16° 21-
Op. 45.Three Hale Choruses(a capella)
No. 1. Schlachtgesang— Battle Song
Score 1/6
Each Part -/8
No. 2. Lied derFreundschaft— ASong
of Friendship Score 21-
Each Part -/8
No. 3. Der Brauttanz — Betrothal
Dance . Score 21-
Each Part -/8
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