"##[Women Vocalizing]" "##[Vocalizing Stops]" "[Bubbling] [Man Narrating] Careful, Otto." "Don't spill it." "Hold your horses." "Children, heed the warnings of your parents." "Peril awaits the incautious wayfarer... and strews grief where laughter once played." "##[Woman Vocalizing]" "Think twice." "I'm sure you can live without that." "Don't get wet." "Nature has built for us a beautiful world." "Allow yourself to drink in its wonder safely." "Paths must be climbed with the sure-footedness of a mountain goat, but beware your skill at climbing." "The skill assures nothing." "A heedless heart can be lured to dangerous heights, and a sudden ice film... or a single wobbly stone can pry you loose from the path..." "[Screaming]" "And serenade you with the whistling wing of the death plummet." "[Screaming Continues]" "Then there is always the avalanche..." "when the snow relaxes its grip on the slope... and is dragged downward under its own crushing weight." "The slightest sound..." " [Sneezes]" " Or any false move by anyone... can trigger these deadly landslides and sweep all into oblivion." "Guard yourself and your neighbor against making that fatal sound." "Be vigilant." "Do you have your binoculars?" "Use them." "Silence." "Propriety." "While clutched to its mother's bosom, a baby in Tolzbad once lost an eye... when a carelessly unpinned brooch pierced right through the baby's eyelid." "As if infected with this carelessness, the same baby, by then a grown swan feeder, lost his other eye when he got too close to a clock." "Caution is not enough for the blind." "It wasrt long before the swan feeder, too, heard the loud song of the wind." "You should never hold a baby's face near an open pin." "[Narrator] Once, an avalanche, started by a single bleat of a lamb, uncovered all the graves in a cemetery." "The dead had been so well preserved by the ice, long dead youthful husbands were revisited by their brides, now withered and old, and young parents by their old children." "Henceforth, before burial," " all the dead had their hearts perforated with the long nail of the coroner..." " [Hammering]" "Just to be on the safe side." "And ever since, to prevent a repetition of the tragedy, all farm animals have had their vocal chords severed." "Absolute silence is required of us." "Children, sit still." "The noise of your play must be muted until you comprehend the risk you represent." "Keep a lid on it." "Don't be rash." "I'll do it." "Don't stand so close to the walnut tree." "You'll catch a chill." "Don't put too much pepper on it." "After long research, I've discovered the existence of mountain nodes... rare and extremely hard to find places, quirks of the mountain ranges, where all sounds sent out are perfectly canceled by their own echoes." "From here, within these acoustic shadows, no dangerous noises can escape to unloose the crushing mass of snows." "Here cautious vent can be given to stifled impulses." "We can sing, laugh and cavort." "But I must stress, even though safety is assured by the acoustic laws of the ranges, we must not believe ourselves safe." "For always there is the wild, uncontrolled sound of nature." "[Birds Cawing]" "Terrifying time, twice yearly," "[Cawing Continues] When the noisy flocks of migrating geese pass overhead." "##[Woman Vocalizing]" "[Rumbling] ##[Chorus Vocalizing]" "##[Vocalizing Stops] [Rumbling]" "And where death passes its hand, all will be white." "Careful, Tolzbad." "Careful." "Careful." "Careful.!" "But today is the day of the Tolzbad spring concert." "##[Women Vocalizing]" "Today, the feast of Saint Mathilde." "[Birds Chirping]" "We have all crowded within our prettiest acoustical shelter." "## [Vocalizing]" "##[Continues]" "##[Continues]" "[Whispers] Isn't your brother handsome?" "This next part is very, very difficult forJohann." "Hold tight, Mother." "## [Loud Note]" "## [Holds Note]" "##[Horns, Chorus Continue]" "[Birds Chirping]" "## [Continues]" "##[Ends]" "Sit still, Klara." "You'll ruin the picture." "Yes, Poppa." "Herr Trotta, I was thinking." "Yes, Johann?" "Herr Trotta, I was thinking." "Perhaps you shouldn't say what you're thinking." "I can't help myself." "I'd like to ask you for Klara's hand..." "in marriage." "We've known each other since birth." "Well, what do you think, Sigleinde?" "Should we say yes?" "Poppa, what do I know about such things?" "Johann, you have my consent." "Poppa!" "[No Audible Dialogue]" "Come, Sigleinde." "I do believe we're late." "[Sigleinde] For what, again?" "I thought I'd die." "Your eyes are so blue." "Johann, watch your tongue." "It's true." "You're as fresh and sound as a rose." "Oh, Johann, it's magic that binds me to you." "Ours is a magic that..." "Curious feature of life in this valley:" "When two people who are in love speak to each other, however softly, their voices carry for miles." "[Johann] Forever." "Till tomorrow, Johann." "Don't lose your way." "Don't stay up too late, darling." "You need your sleep." "I'll never let you out of my sight." "Don't forget to wear your sweater at the crevasse." "Good night." "Onufrij has made lamb tonight." "Would you like to set the table?" "Watch how we set the table at butler school, Mother." "You can time us if you'd like." "If we make any mistakes, feel free to cane us." "As Frau Teacher says, that's how you learn to be more careful next time." "Why such a good mood, Johann?" "Only because Klara and I are going to be married." "And when are you going to make your mother happy?" "Sigleinde would marry you." "There shall be dancing." "Lower the sheepskins." "[People Chattering, Laughing] Listen to that noise outside." "The villagers from Setsburg are at it again." "One of these days, they pay dearly for the shouting and carrying on." "God forgive me." "##[Dance Music On Phonograph] [Johann Chuckling]" "[Mother Chuckling]" "[Both Chuckling]" "You're the youngest." "You have to stay and take care of me." "[All Chuckling]" "##[Continues]" "Did you see the concert, Franz?" "[Trap Door Closes]" "You'll get sunstroke." "I've got good news, my dear brother." "Klara and I are going to be... picking idyllberries..." "We're going to bring you a bowl." "##[Continues] [Rattling]" "What do we have here?" "Christmas ornaments." "An inspiration." "You could draw these." "I'll give them to Klara." "She loves your drawings." "Bye for now." "[Mother Chuckling] ##[Fades]" "Good night, Johann." "This has been the happiest day of my life, Mother." "You deserve all the happiness there is, my son." "Try not to sleepwalk." "Good night, Mother." "[Floorboards Creaking]" "[Snoring]" "Johann." "Johann." "Look at me." "Help your father." "I am late for my wedding." "Listen to my heart." "It's dripping like a leaky tap..." "ever since they punctured it." "[Liquid Dripping]" "[Klara] Johann.!" "[No Audible Dialogue]" "Mother." "[Whispering] Johann." "Johann." "Johann." "Johann." "[Utensils Clinking] [Faint] Johann." "[Mother] Johann.!" "Johann.!" "Breakfast, children." "Are you ill, Mother?" "No." "Why do you ask?" "Look." "There's my hat." "It must have fallen on the floor." "You're the one that looks ill." "Let me feel your forehead." "Sit down." "Rest yourself." "Tea is almost ready." "Look, Johann." "This napkin fold is called the lotus." "Not on the table, Grigorss." "But diligence is a butler's ally." "That's what Frau Teacher says." "[Swallowing]" "Herr Bloomfeld came along today." "His dog ran away." "A dog needs a good, strong chain." "Johann, you forgot to change the air." "Sorry." "[Bird Chirping]" "[Wind Blowing]" "[Squeaking]" "Hurry up, Johann." "We'll be late for butler school." "Come on, Johann." "[Mother] Don't talk to strangers." "[Locks Clicking]" "Good morning, children." "[All] Good morning, Frau Teacher." "Today I have to talk to you about something very sad." "You all know about the tragic accident that happened on the... on the Eiger north wall in Setsburg." "Some of you even saw the one who was rescued." "The other one no longer lives." "He will not come back to his parents." "He will no longer enjoy the beautiful things that life, which is so very, very precious, may have had in store for him." "Never... gamble... with..." "life." "You are butler students." "It is hoped you will be punctual, faithful, diligent, well mannered, polite, earnest, hardworking, zealous, always obedient while you are with us." "Your appearance is, uh, inoffensive, and I trust your conduct will be so too." "Polish... until you can see your own reflection." "Pluck those nose hairs, Fritz." "But I must insist you make an effort to restrain all your movements." "Loud voices and clumsy feet are not in fashion here and never shall be." "Master has an occluded bowel." "Alert Herr Doctor Schmidt at once." "Try to see if you might find it in your power... to always... set foot upon the floor with the utmost care." "The Count is exceedingly... sensitive about this." "Wrong." "Clean yourself and try again." "Be quick, cautious, alert, precise and silent." "I also recommend that your comportment... remain cold and serene." "Here are the bodies of those foolish climbers." "What is the lesson?" "[Both] Never gamble with life." "Kurt." "She needs a light for her cigar." "Correct." "Hanz!" "Remove the serving dish." "Correct." "Sepp." "Slide in her chair?" "Correct." "Ferdl?" "Her fork has fallen on the floor." "Correct." "Grigorss." "Plump the seat cushion." "Correct." "Johann?" "Remove her nightgown." "Wrong." "You are butler, good for naught... save bed making, sand strewing." "Steady, man." "Kurt." "You're thinking too much of your Klara." "Groom his mustache." "Correct." "Hanz?" "The napkin is folded improperly." "Frau Teacher is very strict." "Brother, where are you going?" "Klara's coming here to meet you." "Tell her I'm ill." "Tell her whatever you like." "[Animals Hooting]" "[Trotta] No, I don't." "[Klara] Yes, I will." "Easy now." "Oh, Poppa." "Watch your step." "[Wind Howling]" "[Birds Squawking]" "[Squawking Continues] [Wings Swoop]" "[Panting] This is from Johann." "Eggs break very easily." "You'd best give it to Sigleinde." "Where is Johann?" "J..." "Johann is ill." "The passions grow on high mountains... and fling their red blossoms to the storm." "Perhaps the boy has mountain fever." "It begins innocently enough, with dreams of mountains, a peak round as a plump knee... or a crest like a frosted bosom, white as goats'milk." "Who can resist the temptation to climb?" "Into the folds one swoons." "The rocks will catch you in a piercing embrace." "There is something terrible about mountains." "When the wind passes over anything else in nature..." "long grass or flowers... there is a brief agitation, an anxious stirring, and then the wind passes away as if it had never been." "With mountains, it is different." "Look at the ripples, wrinkles in the rock." "The fearful passage of the wind is etched in the very stone, like a scream that never ends." "[Mother's Voice] Johann." "Johann.!" "You better put your name on your new toothbrush before some accidents happen." "[Tapping Drinking Glass]" "[Animals Chirping, Screeching]" "Franz, this is your father." "I have come back." "Are you still alive?" "Nod if you are real." "I hear you nod." "Death has sharpened my ears, but for some reason it has left me blind, just as in life." "I cannot see what death is like, but this is what I know." "Sounds of swans, wings beating ceaselessly above my head, night winds blowing against my cheeks." "Most of the time, I remember nothing and have no thoughts." "Then a memory strays into my head, like a lost traveler, famished and pleading." "I dreamt I saw your footprints... in the wet part of the underworld." "Why your footprints, Franz?" "You, who have never walked." "I heard your footprints speak to me in your voice." "You, who have never spoken." "I followed you here in my dream." "Am I awake?" "I know that I am in your room and that you see me." "Your brother's heart..." "It is full of sores." "He dreams of his mother like a bridegroom." "He is confused." "His virginity has become a curse." "One can get lost in love." "When I remember anything," "I remember how much I wanted your mother's kisses." "My desire still lives in this house, unsatisfied." "And your mother's desire, also unfulfilled..." "Johann has breathed it in." "Warn him!" "I'm counting on you to warn him." "Warn him." "Warn him." "[Echoes Softly] Warn him." "[Animals Chirping, Screeching]" "[Birds Chirping]" "Look at that butterfly." "How innocent it is." "Let us strive for purity in everything, even after our wedding." "Purity sickens me." "You can be pure for both of us." "Johann!" "Klara." "Suppose that the sounds of angels singing hymns to our virginal love... was in reality a choir from the deepest pit of hell." "What are you saying?" "You frighten me." "Forgive my raving." "I have not been sleeping well." "We live at a very high altitude." "You need rest." "Keep your mind fixed on goodness, as it always has been, and all will be well." "Here." "Let me smooth your brow." "How our feelings play with us." "[Liquid Bubbling]" "[Mother] If you drop that, you will be the one who cleans it up." "Use both hands." "##[Woman Vocalizing]" "Don't spill the hot wax." "Chemicals can get onto your shoes, then onto the carpet." "Watch your fingers." "Careful." "##[Woman Vocalizes]" "Is thatJohann in trouble?" "Can't you hear?" "Go to him!" "[Swallowing]" "[Swallowing]" "[Button Clatters]" "[Swallowing]" "[Glass Breaks]" "[Heartbeat]" "[Heartbeat]" "[Gums Smacking]" "[Shears Cutting]" "[No Audible Dialogue]" "[Rumbling, Faint]" "[Breathing Heavily]" "[Wind Howling]" "[Sizzling]" "[Crying]" "[Sizzling] [Muffled Screaming]" "[Screaming Echoes]" "[Thump]" "##[Women Vocalizing]" "Mother, forgive me." "Mother, forgive me." "[Echoing Softly] Mother, forgive me." "Mother, forgive me." "Mother, forgive me." "Mother, forgive me." "Mother, forgive me." "Mother, forgive me." "Mother, forgive me." "Mother, forgive me." "Please sew these fingers back on." "If my mother suspected it wasrt an accident, it would finish her." "No more." "##[Women Vocalizing]" "[Birds Chirping]" "I learned today I'm first in my class." "Count Knotkers always hires the best of the graduating butlers to enter his service." "Can you imagine me waiting tables and lighting fires in that castle?" "Quite an honor." "Of course, thejob would have gone toJohann, were he still with us." "I'm sorry to mention his name." "One can't live in the past." "I must put all that behind me." "[Bell Clanging Softly]" "I'd like to share my income with your family." "I realize your father's experiments, however valuable, bring in very little money." "If you'd allow me to do this small thing..." "Thank you, my friend." "That won't be necessary." "I've accepted a job in the mines." "I begin work this afternoon, as a matter of fact." "You in the mines?" "Why not?" "I'm as strong as any man in the village." "Being in darkness all day seems strangely comforting to me now." "Perhaps I could accompany you to work someday." "You just have." "Ah, there's Poppa!" "Hello, Grigorss." "Klara, I do wish you'd reconsider." "Don't be silly, Poppa." "Mining's just like chopping firewood." "Besides, in the mines you can sing without starting an avalanche." "Very well." "The least I can do is escort you down on your first day." "Don't forget your helmet." "[Bell Clanging Softly]" "[Metal Clanging]" "##[Chorus Vocalizing]" " What will you be doing today?" " Oh, your sister and I will take our usual walk in the village." "Perhaps I'll finish my painting of her." "You still haven't painted me, Father." "I'm still waiting for inspiration." "##[Continues]" "Good-bye, Klara." "Take care now." "Good-bye, Poppa." "You forgot your gloves!" "You forgot your gloves.!" "You forgot your gloves.!" "You forgot your gloves.!" "[Metal Clanging] ##[Chorus Vocalizing]" "You forgot your gloves.!" "[Birds Cawing]" "I'm Grigorss Bernoltz, the new butler." "I'm Herr Schmidt." "Wipe your feet before you come in." "I hope that's a clean shirt." "[Shoes Scuffing]" "Does the Count wish to see me before I begin?" "The Count must never be disturbed." "If you do not stay out of his way, you will have cause to regret it." "A word of caution." "Don't, under any circumstances, go into this room." "No, Herr Schmidt." "Only the nuns are allowed in here." "Do you understand?" "Yes, Herr Schmidt." "I think so." "Only the nuns." "This is the white bedroom." "The Count's mother rests here." "Since her illness, nothing, absolutely nothing of hers has been touched by unconsecrated hands." "Are your bowel movements regular?" "Yes, Herr Schmidt." "I'm glad to hear it." "[No Audio]" "[Klara] Poppa, I'm home... from the mines." "[Chuckling] Oh, how funny you look." "Poppa said you'd come home dirty." "He laughed when I asked if you'd look like a chimney sweep from my fairy book." "Poppa laughed?" "Look." "I have something to show you." "Poppa bought me this today." "He didn't want the sun to burn my fair skin." "He spoils us so." "Doesrt he, Klara?" "Come down to the river with me." "Right now?" "I need your help to clean off this dust." "[Water Flowing]" "Come in." "It's too cold." "Take off your dress and come in." "I can't clean myself." "What if someone sees us?" "It's dark." "We swam together hundreds of times as children." "Don't frustrate me." "Only for a minute." "Don't splash me." "I won't." "Start with my face." "Rub hard." "It's too deep here." "The rock is slippery." "You silly girl!" "I can't swim." "I'm getting out." "Clean my face!" "[Trotta] Is that you, Klara?" "Cover your eyes, Poppa." "I'm helping Klara scrub herself." "This is most imprudent." "Klara, what is the meaning of this?" "There's so much grime, Poppa." "I needed help." "Come to the house when you've finished, and we will discuss the matter." "The Count has summoned you to his chamber." "What have you done?" "Nothing." "You must have committed some grave offense." "The Count never sees anyone." "[Gong Sounds]" "Let a little light in." "So, you disappoint me." "I'm very sorry, Count Knotkers." "Raise your head." "I can't see you." "You look like you've killed someone." "L..." "I feel so much shame at having displeased you." "It was such an honor to be chosen as one of your servants." "My poor mother is overjoyed... that I'm working here." "Am I to be dismissed?" "Please calm yourself." "I was teasing you about being disappointed." "You've done nothing wrong." "I wanted to ask you about your mother." "My mother?" "Yes." "Uh, my mother is dead, as you must know." "We were very close." "She was a great lady." "It was difficult for me to think of anyone else while she was alive." "You must know that feeling." "Yes, I do." "But now... she's passed away." "Is your mother still as beautiful as I remember?" "It's a difficult question for a son to answer." "I knew her very well, in my rather devil-may-care youth." "Has she spoken of me to you?" "Only as a man to be looked up to." "My brother and I were taught to include your name in our night prayers." "I'm pleased to hear it." "You know, I've been shut up in this castle for too long now." "I long for some companionship." "The villagers dream of capturing a glimpse of you." "As they should." "Perhaps I will pay a visit to your mother one day soon." "For old time's sake." "It would be a very great honor." "I hope she can bear up in your presence." "She does not handle excitement very well." "Yes, she is rather... delicate." "Well, convey my regards to her." "That's all." "You may go now." "[Whispers] 8:00." "Lights out." "Trouble once again, my faithful Franz!" "You must act this time to save your mother from a terrible fate." "A former rival of mine will be entering my house." "Yes." "It is my house, whether anybody remembers my place here or not." "This rival will speak words of love to your mother, and she will drink them in eagerly, helplessly, until she is mad for his touch, for his breath upon her neck." "I see his cloak draped over her nakedness... and her forgetting everything but tight, pinching fingers, his greedy biting." "She will leave this house for good and go to him." "You will never have her forgiveness." "And you will be sealed up in this attic forever." "So act now, Franz, while there is still time." "Can I help you roll out the dough, Mother?" "I'm making gooseberry pie." "My favorite." "And a brimming mug of cow warm milk to go with it." "Tell me about your day..." "at the castle." "I performed all my duties with grace and decorum." "Don't boast, Grigorss." "It will make you careless." "And stop eating those gooseberries." "What would you say if I told you I had an audience with the Count?" "I'd say it was impossible." "You're full of secrets, Mother." "He says he knows you." "You have spoken to him." "I was a little troubled by his way of talking about you." "How do you mean?" "Oh, I don't know." "Familiar." "Almost flirtatious." "I realize he's the Count, but you are my mother, and with Father and Johann gone, I am your protector as well." "What did he say about me?" "You really loved Poppa, didn't you?" "What a foolish question." "It's not like you to have doubts about me." "I never doubt you, Mother, only..." "What?" "I'm afraid to ask you this." "Then perhaps you should think of it better." "Why do we keep Franz in the attic?" "Why won't you let us mention him in your presence?" "[Breathing Heavily]" "I have a hair ball in my throat." "[Whimpers] I'll swallow it." "[Bird Squawking]" "Franz." "Father." "Mother." "[Woman Whispering]" "[Knotkers] I stumbled around inside myself again and again." "[Man Continues, Indistinct]" "Zenaida." "Zenaida." "Let me say that name." "That beautiful name." "Zenaida." "Zenaida." "Zenaida." "My mother disapproved of our being together." "I couldn't go against her wishes." "But now that she's at rest, I'm free... free to do what I like." " Do I speak too boldly?" " Oh, let me be bolder still." "The night of my sors tragic accident," "I dreamt that you came into my room... and kissed me once sweetly on my breast." "Your face was still of that handsome young man I longed for." "Oh, how many years, in spite of all my troubles... and heartache." "I cherished that dream, dearest Count, as a sign from heaven God has not forsaken me." "Why did you marry that wretched swan feeder?" "I cringe at the thought of him sleeping beside you." "If you only knew what I endured with him." "My first child," "Franz... he smelled like my husband, even as an infant." "I couldn't nurse him." "I couldn't nurse him without thinking for a moment how much I hated my life." "He never spoke." "He fell ill and had to be confined to his sickroom." "I gave him to my husband." ""Feed him with your swans," I told him." "[Whimpers] But my other sons," "Johann and Grigorss... they are yours." "At least in spirit." "When I conceived them, my thoughts were only of you." "I cried out to you, silently, while my husband blindly and clumsily labored." "Oh, my darling." "Let me give Grigorss a title then." "And let us wed as soon as possible." "We've wasted half of our lives." "[Jingling Softly]" "Where are you leading me, Daughter?" "You'll see, Poppa." "Put your foot just there." "Here?" "Just there." "Is Sigleinde still behind me?" "Yes, Poppa." "I told her to be as quiet as a snowflake." "Take off your blindfold." "Take off my blindfold." "My Lord." "Look at this." "What is this place?" "It's my mountain hideaway, Poppa." "For weeks I've been bringing things here." "I want to make a little home for the two of us..." "a home away from home, where we can visit and be close and tell each other stories." "You could eat horsehair at this little table." "Where's Sigleinde?" "I want a special place, just for the two of us." "Please, Poppa." "Grant me this one request." "I can't think about this right now." "What have you done with your sister?" "She's walking in the forest." "Here." "Let me show you my treasure chest and the quilt I made for you." "No." "She's lost." "I must find her." "Sigleinde." "Sigleinde." "Sigleinde." "Sigleinde." "Imagine." "Only two weeks ago your were lighting fires in the basement... and washing goblets in the kitchen." "Now you're wearing the uniform of a high official." "Don't rub your eyes, or this may all disappear." "How I wish it were that simple to end a nightmare." "[No Audible Dialogue]" "[Clinks]" "Very recently," "Grigorss Bernoltz... joined the ranks of my servants." "He dreamed, like most servants dream, of a long career of faithfully discharged duties." "Tonight Grigorss removes his butler's livery... and takes seat at my right hand." "From now on, he shall be called..." "Coronet Counselor Grigorss von Knotkers." "I will bestow on him all the privileges of a firstborn son, and I expect all of you to regard him as my son... and treat him with the same degree of respect and deference... that you owe to me." "His mother, Zenaida, has agreed to be my wife." "This dinner has been arranged... to make a public announcement of our engagement." "If we seem overly hasty to complete the nuptials, well, so be it." "When is it more fitting for a man and a woman... to be impetuous than when they are in love?" "Grigorss, please join my side." "Your mother and I would like your blessing on our union." "I'm sure you won't withhold it." "Do I have permission to speak?" "[Knotkers] My dear son, you no longer need permission." "Very well." "Since I've been granted a title, I'm within my rights to challenge you to a duel, tomorrow on Mitterwald's Tongue above the clouds." "Are you mad?" "Perhaps this will make your decision easier." "This is for shaming the memory of my father... and attempting to lead my too easily tempted mother from the path of virtue." "Get your coat, Mother." "Our business here is complete." "Grigorss, don't turn around." "I can't bear to look at you." "In the morning, I'll be dead." "Then you won't have to." "Let me tell you what you've done tonight." "You've plunged a dagger into your mother's heart." "You've ripped my skin off and poured hot lead into my veins." "I'm sorry for any... inconvenience I may have caused you." "Why have you laid this curse on me?" "Why?" "Because you made my poor blind father a cuckold." "Because I wanted to see your seducer's smile die on his face." "Lower your voice." "We'll set off an avalanche." "What do I care?" "[Rumbling] Did you see him, Mother?" "White with rage." "If I'd flung a dozen more words in his face, he'd have died on the spot." "Listen to me." "Listen." "I'm still your mother." "You're my only child." "If you should die, I will have no reason to live." "There's still some time to stop this madness." "Come home with me." "[Sigleinde] Poor Gerda, mountain wild girl." "To be chained so for our safety." "[No Audible Dialogue]" "[Bell Clangs]" "[Trotta's Voice] This is most imprudent." "Klara, what is the meaning of this?" "I can't think about this right now." "What have you done with your sister?" "Well, what do you think, Sigleinde?" "Klara, what is the meaning of this?" "Come, Sigleinde." "Sigleinde." "Sigleinde." "Sigleinde." "[Rumbling]" "Where's Sigleinde?" "You'd best give it to Sigleinde." "[Rumbling]" "Sigleinde." "Sigleinde." "Johann." "Poppa." "Grigorss." "Grigorss." "[Bird Chirping]" "[Chains Clink]" "Lower the sheepskins." "We'll have music." "Remember... when Johann and you and I... danced together the last time?" "How happy we were then." "Yes, we were children of light." "Or so it seemed." "Now the night's come to drown us." "Dance with me." "Hold me." "If I cannot believe in you, all the women of the world are painted like the harlot." "Shh!" "It's all a bad dream." "You can beg the Count's forgiveness in front of his servants." "He will spare your life out of love for me." "Perhaps I can go away to a distant land." "Wherever you go, I'll find you." "Mother always knows where her son is hiding." "Does it mean so much to you that I live?" "Is it not the Count whose life you fear for?" "Precious child." "Look into my eyes." "What do you see?" "Gentleness." "Pity." "What can I do to win your faith back?" "I'll do anything." "There is one thing you can do." "If you agree, I will kiss the Count's feet, plead for mercy... and give my blessings to your marriage." "Name it." "I'll do it." "Accept Franz as your son." "Go to him." "Embrace him." "Franz loves you." "When I leave, there will be no one left to take care of him." "You are right." "There must be peace in this home again." "I have done a great wrong." "It is God's will." "I believe you, Mother." "Forgive me." "Franz." "Wake up." "You have a visitor." "My son." "My eldest child." "Is there still room in your heart for me?" "Oh." "[Sobbing]" "Now I've told you everything." "Franz can begin living." "A great weight has been lifted from me." "I feel revived." "You wear false comforts, Grigorss." "What about your father?" "Have you forgotten him?" "Of course not." "Think of what the Count has done to him." "His honor must be vindicated." "But I made a promise to my mother." "You had no right to." "I could not love a man... who placed anything above his father's honor." "Not even his love for me." "Do you think you could love me?" "I had no hope of you ever loving me." "I... could love someone who has done his duty." "I've been blind." "Thank God I did not go down on my knees to that monster." "I shall go to the castle at once and arrange the duel." "Knives at dawn." "Here is the hair I have lost in the past three months." "Take it." "It belongs to you." "You will know why one day." "If you come out of it alive," "I will be here waiting for you." "And if you don't, you will be waiting, somewhere, for me." "Farewell." "[Chains Clink]" "Have you no seconds?" "No one in the community would stand against the Count." "Then use Herr Schrammel here." "He'll be sacked otherwise for dropping a teacup." "[Blowing]" "[Blows]" "[Blows]" "##[Women Vocalizing]" "##[Stops]" "[Both Grunt]" "##[Women Vocalizing]" "[Both Grunting]" "[Knives Clank]" "[Grunts]" "[Grunts] [Groans]" "[Choking]" "[Zenaida's Voice] Careful." "[Grunting]" "[Knife Pierces] [Groaning]" "I curse my luck." "[Birds Squawking In Distance]" "[Shouts]" "[Birds Squawking]" "[Squawking Fades]" "[Wind Howling]" "Home." "Home." "Home." "[Door Opens] Grigorss." "My poor boy." "What happened?" "Did you get caught in a mountain storm?" "Mother." "[Liquid Burbling]" "Are you conscious?" "Do you recognize me?" "Where am I?" "Safe at home." "I'm rubbing your chest with the goose grease, just as I did when you were a little boy." "Do you remember how often I promised you that when I grew up..." "I would sail out in a big ship and bring you back all the treasures in the world?" "Do I remember?" "You were to bring me hyacinths because I loved them so much." "And a palm." "Mother, I've done a terrible thing." "No." "Last night is past and forgotten." "The Count will forgive you." "You'll see." "I have an influence over him still." "I killed Count Knotkers... early this morning in a duel." "What?" "What are you saying?" "You're delirious." "There seemed no other way." "Your name was forming on his lips when he died." "Two more seconds, and he would have spoken it." "Here." "Put this on." "Quickly." "What am I to do?" "Get out from this house and never come back." "You have killed my love for you." "Go." "Do you hear me?" "There is no goodness left in the world." "Franz, I want you to watch over me." "Look at your mother." "I'm rather clumsy." "Only you could help me." "Am I doing this right?" "Yes, I think so." "There." "[Wood Clatters]" "Klara." "Klara." "Grigorss, you've come at last." "Well?" "He is dead." "I am an outcast." "All is not lost." "Come with me." "I have something to show you." "Oh, Klara, you're a wild one." "So are the reindeer when summer is coming." "You must take the gondola across." "There's very little oxygen." "You may find yourself gasping for breath." "You are not softhearted, are you, Grigorss?" "[Laughs]" "[Yawns] No." "I assure you that I'm not." "I have a dreadful secret to share with you." "[Yawns] About my father." "I'm afraid that in my present state nothing could seem dreadful." "Could you marry me, Grigorss, even if I were not... chaste?" "Chaste?" "My God, did Johann dishonor you... before his accident?" "No." "His thoughts were pure." "He used to call me his golden fleece." "Who then?" "My father." "[Yawns]" "He ravished me in the woods." "[Yawns]" "I refuse to believe it." "Look at this, Grigorss." "My mountain hideaway." "The two of us can be outcasts here together." "We need never see anyone but each other." "We can live on berries and grasses... and small animals we can kill with sharp sticks." "You can sleep in my arms when the mountains blacken." "What about your father?" "That won'thy, blameless man." "Are you saying he..." "he took advantage of you?" "Shall I show you the leaves drenched in my blood?" "That was not the wedding night I had imagined." "You must never speak of this." "God has left this mountain to the devil." "We have all joined his unoly dance." "This place can be ours, Grigorss." "Here we can have our own laws." "Here's my treasure chest." "Shells from the seashore." "A wooden flute." "Quilts that my mother made." "One dire thought occurs to me, but it would freeze my blood to utter it." "Speak." "You could kill my father." "Oh, Klara." "Or better yet," "I could throw myself off a precipice." "Then perhaps Father would repent of his crime and life could go on as usual." "Why should the victim suffer?" "We shall have no more talk of suicide." "Do you think your father is capable of repentance?" "The hardness of his gaze makes me doubt it." "He asked me to come to his room tonight." "He told me..." "there would be no more pain." "Monstrous!" "He must be killed." "A few hours ago, I rid this mountain of another villain." "I can still smell his blood on my hands." "Soon I can wash these filthy hands in the blood of your father." "There needrt be any blood." "Suppose we rode with him in a sleigh through Uhlars Pass." "We could tell him it was an errand of mercy." "He will not refuse, because he's a Christian." "You will be driver." "When we get close to the place where the mountain is nearest the edge, you can stand... and fire your pistol." "[Rumbling] That will start an avalanche." "Father will be startled." "We will both leap to safety." "Father and the sleigh will fall thousands of feet, and his evil will be blotted out." "Let God decide what a just punishment shall be." "Such terrible calm." "I feel like a trembling schoolboy next to you." "Shall we do it?" "I hear the angel's trumpet." "It is ordained." "[Footsteps Approaching]" "[Footsteps Fade]" "I love you." "[Echoes Softly] I love you." "Have you known it long?" "[Echoes Softly] Have you known it long?" "Yes." "[Echoes Softly] Yes." "##[Woman Vocalizing]" "##[Women Vocalizing]" "[Bells Clanging Softly]" "Good Lord!" "Did you see that?" "You best be careful, Grigorss." "[Whinnies]" "[No Audible Dialogue]" "[Gunshot Echoes]" "[Gunshots]" "[Gunshot Echoes]" "[Rumbling]" "Klara." "Klara." "Klara." "[Rumbling Continues]" "[Water Dripping Loudly, Echoing]" "[Rumbling]" "##[Women Vocalizing]" "Put out the lamps, dear, and wait for me." "Has your fever broken?" "[Breathing Erratically]" "How did you find me here?" "It's a mother's secret." "Sleep, my precious angel." "##[Women Vocalizing]" "[Trotta] The eldest brother's journey now begins." "Lfhe could call out Grigorss's name, Sigleinde might hear him." "She, too, is searching, for her father." "Then she could dry her eyes, and she and Franz could continue their search, together." "##[Women Vocalizing]" "##[Ends]"