But hope of mortal aid is dead within his breast. In wild and
broken accents he tells of his passionate longing for death, and calls
upon the Judgment Day to put an end to his pilgrimage. 'Annihilation be
my lot,' he cries in his madness, and from the depths of the black
vessel the weird crew echoes his despairing cry. Daland issues from his
own vessel and gives the stranger a hearty greeting. The name of Senta
arrests the Dutchman's attention, and after a short colloquy and a
glimpse of the untold wealth which crams the coffers of the Dutchman,
the old miser consents to give his daughter to the stranger. The wind
meanwhile has shifted, and the two captains hasten their departure for
the port.
In the second act we are at Daland's house. Mary, the old housekeeper,
and a bevy of chattering girls are spinning by the fireside, while
Senta, lost in gloomy reverie, sits apart gazing at a mysterious picture
on the wall, the portrait of a pale man clad in black, the hero of the
mysterious legend of the Flying Dutchman. The girls rally Senta upon her
abstraction, and as a reply to their idle prattle she sings them the
ballad of the doomed mariner. Throughout the song her enthusiasm has
been waxing, and at its close, like one inspired, she cries aloud that
she will be the woman to save him, that through her the accursed wretch
shall find eternal peace. Erik, her betrothed lover, who enters to
announce the approach of Daland, hears her wild words, and in vain
reminds her of vows and promises made long ago.
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