The god Wotan has been scheming, meddling in the lives of mortals: He has arranged for the warrior Siegmund to defeat his rival Hunding in battle, even though Siegmund is involved in an incestuous relationship with Hunding's wife.

But that is simply unacceptable for Wotan's wife, the goddess of family, Fricka. She seeks him out at the start of Act II in this weekend's free streaming opera, "Die Walküre," to give him a scolding he won't soon forget.

As Wotan weakly insists that Siegmund is simply a victim of love and circumstance, Fricka grows enraged and calls him out on his own moral failings. She knows, after all, that Wotan has secretly fathered children with other women — and that Siegmund is one of those children.

"Under the name 'Wälse,' you've stalked the woods like a wolf," she sings. "Now you've fallen to the deepest disgrace, fathering mortals from your infidelity. And shamed by your wolfish whelps, you fling me at your feet? Your wife? Then finish your work. Fill the cup. Trample the woman you've betrayed beneath your feet!"

Marriage problems? Yeah, Wotan and Fricka have a few. Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton stars opposite Greer Grimsley in Richard Wagner's "Die Walküre," streaming the weekend of March 13, 2021, as part of our Ring Festival-themed #OperaIsON series: [ Ссылка ]

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