In reality, Elsa is kept in a separate ward of Ortrud and Telramund’s psychiatric clinic. He and his fellow knights promise peace and love to Elsa on the condition that she never asks who he is or where he comes from. She desires nothing but salvation and deliverance from her nightmares, and after her ecstatic prayers an angelic Knight and his companions appear to her. From these demons, Elsa hears – again and again – the accusation that her brother died through her fault. This world is filled with demons, chimeras and other terrifying visions that torment and frighten her. On stage is the imaginary inner world of Elsa, a young woman who lost her brother in the war and whose mind has been clouded ever since.
