and the scene serves to sustain and to intensify the atmosphere in which the whole drama is enacted, the atmosphere of the old sagas. But I cheerfully concede that it is far too long, and in many respects an artistic error. The real drama of _Siegfried_, considering it as a separate, self-contained opera, is now prepared for, and forthwith begins. We know Siegfried and the task before him; we know Mime and _his_ task--to find out if Siegfried can be made to fear, and if he cannot, to encourage him to kill the dragon, win the gold, and then to poison him. He tries Siegfried with stories of terror, asks him if he has never felt afraid of this, that and the other; and finding that this is the veritable Hero, makes his preparation. Siegfried takes the splinters of the sword--the splinters no smith can weld together--files them to dust, melts the dust, re-casts the sword and finishes it. Meantime Mime, working on, brews his poisonous broth, muttering to himself about his purpose. At the end Siegfried tests the sword and proves it true by splitting the anvil. All sorts of allegorical meanings may be found in this gigantic scene; but the plain meaning is that to a hero, unique, unparalleled in the history of the world, a patched-up weapon, used previously by lesser men, is useless: his sword must be new, and only he himself can forge it. III Before dealing further with the drama of _Siegfried_ I wish, for a reason, to say a few words about the music of this First Act. From _Tannhäuser_ onward Wagner showed in the music of his operas a complete mastery of what can only be called the business-artistic side of his art, or perhaps a complete knowledge of effectiveness. In so long an affair as an opera, and especially a Wagner opera, effectiveness depends largely on contrast, not simply between scene and scene of an act, but also in a more marked degree between act and act of an opera. In the _Dutchman_ there is none of this larger contrast, and could hardly be, for the _Dutchman_ was originally planned as an opera in one act. There is contrast enough, but he contrasts set-piece with set-piece, scene with scene, not act with act. In _Tannhäuser_ he works on the bigger scale and contrasts act with act: the opening of the Second reveals a totally different mood from that of the First, and the Third is entirely different from either. This is true of the _Valkyrie_; but the _Rhinegold_, like the _Dutchman_, is all of a piece, and is, moreover, the prelude to a huge drama. When we come to _Siegfried_ we see at once how he was planning his music on a still vaster scale: the atmosphere of _Siegfried_ is in contrast, almost violent contrast, with that of the _Valkyrie_. The music of the last act of the _Valkyrie_ is of a different character altogether from that of the beginning of _Siegfried_. This is not merely due to the development of Wagner's genius and his technical power, but can be shown to be deliberately planned. Indeed, it ought