	This opera is the second in the monumental cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Wagner worked on this cycle for over twenty years. (1853-1874)   Die Walkre is  an opera filled with story lines which began in the first opera and continue in the last two operas.
	Notice the unending melody mentioned earlier.  The textural changes seen in the opera by Verdi are not a part of Wagner's style.  He wrote long melodic ideas which developed free of the familiar structures seen in traditional arias.  The melody in this scene is neither aria nor recitative.  The music flows without stopping.  There is no break until the last note of the scene.  The orchestra provides strength and support for Sieglinde and Siegmund as they sing of their love and discovery that they are really brother and sister.  In the orchestral writing there are leitmotives for the sword (which is successfully pulled from a tree by Siegmund), the gods, love and spring.   Their impact can only be fully experienced by following their development throughout the cycle of the four operas.  The last orchestral statement sums up an extraordinary journey through powerful emotions and events.