“La forza del destino” by Giuseppe Verdi libretto (English)

Contents: Roles; Act One; Act Two; Act Three; Act Four

ACT TWO

Scene One

The Village of Hornachuelos
The large kitchen of an inn. On one side, a long table,
on which stands a lantern.
(The innkeeper and his wife are busy preparing a meal.
The Mayor is seated near the fire; Don Carlo -
Leonora's brother, disguised as a student - sits at the
table. Some muleteers, including Master Trabuco, and
some villagers are on stage.)

CHORUS
Holà! holà! holà!
Welcome here, o muleteer,
for a fine night's rest.
Holà! holà! holà!
Here is the place you'll find a glass
to build up your strength once again.
(The mistress of the inn sets a great tureen on the
table.)

MAYOR (seating himself at the table)
Dinner is ready.

ALL (taking their places at the table)
To dinner, to dinner!

DON CARLO (to himself)
In vain I seek my sister and her seducer...
Faithless ones!

ALL (to the mayor)
You shall bless our meal.

MAYOR
Let the student say grace.

DON CARLO
Willingly
In nomine patris, et filii, et Spiritus Sancti.

ALL (sitting down)
Amen.

LEONORA
(appearing in the doorway, dressed as a man)
What do I see! My brother!
(She leaves.)
(The mistress of the inn has already served the rice and
takes her place at table with the others. Trabuco is to
one side, still seated on his mule's gear.)

MAYOR (tasting)
Good.

DON CARLO (eating)
Excellent.

MULETEERS
It asks to be eaten.

DON CARLO (to the hostess)
Tu das epulis accumbere Divum.

MAYOR
She knows no Latin, but she can cook.

DON CARLO
Long live our hostess!

ALL
Hurrah!

DON CARLO
Aren't you eating, Master Trabuco?

TRABUCO
It's Friday.

DON CARLO
You are fasting?

TRABUCO
Exactly.

DON CARLO
And that little one who came with you?...
(Preziosilla comes in.)

PREZIOSILLA
Hurrah for the war!

ALL
Preziosilla! Brava! Brava!

DON CARLO and
CHORUS
Here, next to me...

ALL
You can tell us our fortunes.

PREZIOSILLA
Who wants to make his fortune?

ALL
All of us, all of us!

PREZIOSILLA
Then go as soldiers to Italy,
where war has broken out against the Germans.

ALL
Death to the Germans!

PREZIOSILLA
Eternal flail of Italy, and of her sons.

ALL
We'll all go, we'll all go.

PREZIOSILLA
And I with you.

ALL
Hurrah!

PREZIOSILLA
To the sound of the drum,
to the dash of the steed,
to the blue swarm
of the soldier's steel;
to the rustling of the field
our thoughts now rise!
How beautiful is war! How beautiful is war!
Hurrah for war!

ALL
How beautiful is war! Hurrah for war!

PREZIOSILLA (turning first to one, then to another)
If you will come, my brother,
you shall be made corporal,
and you a colonel,
and you a general;
and the little god
with the winged bow
will reward you
in victory.
How beautiful is war, hurrah for war!

ALL
How beautiful is war! Hurrah for war! etc.

DON CARLO (showing his palm)
And what is in store for the student?

PREZIOSILLA (reading his palm)
Ah, you shall pass through most horrible woes -

DON CARLO
What are you saying?

PREZIOSILLA (looking at him intently)
My lips have never lied...
(then softly)
But you, dear lad,
I do not believe you...
You are no student,
I shall not betray you,
but no one can make
a fool of me,
tra la la la!

ALL
Hurrah for war, etc.
(Outside, a band of pilgrims pass.)

PILGRIMS (from far off)
Eternal Father, Lord,
have mercy on us.
Holy Son, Lord,
have mercy on us.
Holy Spirit, Lord,

have mercy on us.
One and Triune Lord,
have mercy on us.

ALL (rising and taking off their hats)
Who are they?

MAYOR
Pilgrims on their way to the jubilee.

LEONORA(reappearing, in great agitation, at the door)
If only I could escape.

DON CARLO and MULETEERS
Let's wait for them to pass.

MAYOR
Then let us, too, kneel in prayer.

ALL
Yes, let us pray.
(They leave the table and kneel.)
Over us, who humbly pray Thee,
extend Thy hand, O Lord;
from the suffering of hell,
save us in Thy goodness.
Lord, have mercy on us!

LEONORA(to herself)
Ah, save me from a brother
thirsting for my blood;
if Thou dost not will it,
then nought shall save me, O God!
Lord, have mercy on us!

(Leonora goes back to her room. All go back to their
places, and circulate a wine flask.)

DON CARLO
Hurrah for our goodly company!

ALL
Hurrah!

DON CARLO (lifting his glass)
Health to us here, eternal glory later...

ALL (toasting)
So be it.

DON CARLO
Are you already with the angels, Trabuco?

TRABUCO
What - in a hell like this?

DON CARLO
And the little one who came with you,
why? For the Jubilee?

TRABUCO
I do not know.

DON CARLO
By the way - a cock or a hen?

TRABUCO
A traveller's money is all I ever notice.

DON CARLO
And a wise man you are!
(then, to the Mayor)
You saw them come. Why didn't the stranger
join us for dinner?

MAYOR
I don't know.

DON CARLO
They said the stranger asked for vinegar and water.
Ha, ha! As refreshment!

MAYOR
It might be.

DON CARLO
The stranger is gentle
and beardless, right?

MAYOR
I know nothing, I now nothing.

DON CARLO (to himself)
He won't talk!
(to Trabuco)
I'm still speaking to you.
The stranger straddled the mule
or rode side-saddle?

TRABUCO (losing patience)
What a bore!

DON CARLO
And came from where?

TRABUCO
Sooner or later, I know,
I'll get to Heaven.

DON CARLO
How do you know?

TRABUCO
Because Purgatory lies in talking with you...

DON CARLO
Where do you go now?

TRABUCO
To the stable, to sleep with my mules,
who know no Latin,
who aren't Bachelors of Arts.
(He leaves.)

ALL
Ha ha! He's escaped!

DON CARLO
Since the stranger is beardless,
let's paint him a moustache -
a good joke for tomorrow.

ALL
Bravo! bravo! bravo! bravo!

MAYOR
I must protect all travellers; I'm against this joke.
Wouldn't it be better if you told us
where you come from,
where you're going, and who you are?

DON CARLO
Would you like to know? This is my story.
I am Pereda, rich in honours,
Salamanca made me a Bachelor;
soon I shall be, in utroque, Doctor,
for only a few studies are left to be done.
Vargas took me from there a year ago
and brought me with him to Seville.
Pereda refused no challenge,
his heart spoke out for his friend.
A foreigner, his sister's lover,
had murdered his father,
and the son, like the brave knight he is,
swore vengeance against the killer.
We followed them as far as Cadiz
but could not find the guilty pair.
For his friend, Pereda suffered,
for his heart spoke out for him.
There, and every place else we went, we heard
that the girl had perished with her father,
and that in a fight with the servants and guards
only the seducer escaped.
I then went away from Vargas,
while he swore to track down the killer.
He sailed then for America
and Pereda returned to his books.

ALL
Pereda's is a grim story,
showing his nobleness of heart! etc.

MAYOR
Well told.

PREZIOSILLA (sharply)
This Marquis was killed?

DON CARLO
Well?...

PREZIOSILLA
And the lover carried off the daughter?

DON CARLO
Yes.

PREZIOSILLA
And you, gallant, faithful friend,
went to Cadiz from Seville?
Ah, no one can make a fool of me -
tralalalala!
(The Mayor rises and looks at the clock.)

MAYOR
My children, it is late; let us give thanks
to God for our meal and let's be off.

PREZIOSILLA,
DON CARLO and
CHORUS
Let's be off, let's be off.
Good night, good night.

ALL
Holà! Holà! Time to go to rest.
Good cheer, muleteers! Holà!

DON CARLO
I am Pereda, rich in honours, etc.

MAYOR
Well told.

PREZIOSILLA
Ah, tra la la la!
But no one can make a fool of me.

ALL
Good night. Let's be off.

Scene Two

Outskirts of Hornachuelos
A small, flat space on the slope of a steep mountain. To
the right, rocky precipices. Centre, the facade of the
church of Our Lady of the Angels; left, the door of the
Convent, with a small window; to one side, a bell-rope.
Above, a small protruding roof. A bright, clear moon is
shining.
(Leonora enters, in man's clothing.)

LEONORA
At last I am here! I give thee thanks, o God!
This is my last refuge!
I am here!
I am trembling! My horrid story is known
at the inn - told by my brother!
If he had discovered me! Heaven! He said
that Don Alvaro has sailed to the west!
He did not die that night when I,
wet with my father's blood,
followed him, only to lose him!
And now he leaves me, he flees from me!
Alas, I cannot bear this anguish!
(She falls to her knees.)

Mother, merciful Virgin
forgive my sin.
Grant that I may cleanse
my heart of his memory.
In this solitude
I shall expiate my sin.
Have mercy on me, Lord.
Do not forsake me, O my God!
(An organ sounds, accompanying the matin-song of
the monks.)
Ah, this heavenly song...
(She rises.)
The organ's sweet tones,
rising like holy incense
to God in Heaven!
May this music bring comfort,
comfort and peace to my troubled soul!

CHORUS OF
MONKS (inside)
Venite, adoremus etprocedamus ante Deum,
Ploremus, ploremus coram Domino, coram
Domino qui fecit nos.

LEONORA (moving off)
Now I shall go to the holy refuge -
dare I at this hour?
But they might take me by surprise!
Oh, wretched Leonora, how you tremble?
The pious monk will not refuse you shelter.
Do not abandon me, succour me, O Lord, in thy mercy,
Ah, do not abandon me!

MONKS
Ploremus, ploremus coram Domino qui fecit nos.
(Leonora rings the monastery bell. The small window
opens; the light from a lantern shines out, lighting up
Leonora's face. She draws back in fright. Fra Melitone
speaks to her from within.)

MELITONE
Who are you?

LEONORA
I wish to speak to the Superior.

MELITONE
The church opens at five o'clock
If you have come for the Jubilee.

LEONORA
The Superior, in the name of mercy.

MELITONE
What an hour for asking mercy!

LEONORA
I come from Father Cleto.

MELITONE
That holy man? And for what reason?

LEONORA
An urgent one.

MELITONE
But why?

LEONORA
An unfortunate soul -

MELITONE
The same old tune!...
but I'll open for you. Come in.

LEONORA
I cannot.

MELITONE
No? Are you excommunicated?
You had better wait outside.
I'll announce you, and if you don't come back,
then good night.
(He closes the window.)

LEONORA
But - if he refuses me!
He is said to be merciful;
he will protect me. Holy Virgin, help me.
(The Father Guardiano comes with Melitone.)

GUARDIANO
Who asks for me?

LEONORA
It is I.

GUARDIANO
Speak.

LEONORA
It is a secret...

GUARDIANO
Go now, Melitone.

MELITONE (muttering as he goes)
Always secrets!
And only these holy men must know them!
We are but so much...

GUARDIANO
Brother, what are you muttering?

MELITONE
I was saying that the door
is heavy and noisy.

GUARDIANO
Obey.

MELITONE (to himself)
We see who's head man here!
(He goes back into the monastery.)

GUARDIANO
Now we are alone... we are alone.

LEONORA
I am a woman.

GUARDIANO
A woman at this hour!
Great God!

LEONORA
An unhappy, disappointed, rejected woman,
cursed by heaven and earth,
who throws herself in tears at your feet
and begs you to bring her back from hell.

GUARDIANO
And how can a poor monk do that?

LEONORA
Has Father Cleto written to you of me?

GUARDIANO
You come from him?

LEONORA
Yes.

GUARDIANO (surprised)
Then you...are
Leonora de Vargas!

LEONORA
You shudder!

GUARDIANO
No. Come, trusting, to the Cross.
Let the voice of Heaven speak to your heart.
(Leonora kneels at the foot of the Cross, kisses it, then
returns, somewhat comforted, to Father Guardiano.)

LEONORA
My soul is now at peace,
since coming to this refuge;
the fearful ghouls

have ceased to war upon me...
no longer does the bloodstained ghost
of my father haunt my sight;
no longer does the frightful curse
of a father torture his daughter's mind.

GUARDIANO
The daring of Satan
has always been powerless here.

LEONORA
That is why I seek my tomb here,
among the rocks, where another woman lived.

GUARDIANO
What! You know of her?

LEONORA
Cleto told me.

GUARDIANO
And you wish -

LEONORA
To give myself to God.

GUARDIANO
Woe to him who is deluded
by a moment's delirium!
For one so young as you
the punishment would be all the worse.

LEONORA
Ah, my soul is at peace, etc.

GUARDIANO
Woe to him who is deluded! Woe!
Who can read into the future?
And can tell your heart won't change?
And your lover?

LEONORA
Unwillingly,
it was he who killed my father.

GUARDIANO
And your brother?...

LEONORA
He has sworn
I shall die by his hand.

GUARDIANO
It would be better if you sought refuge
within some convent's holy doors.

LEONORA
A convent? A convent? No!
If you send me, repentant, away,
I shall wander through the mountains calling for help,
asking refuge from the cliffs, food from the woods,
and moving the very beasts to pity.
Ah yes, here I have heard the voice of Heaven
saying "Save your soul at the foot of this Cross"
You send me away? You? This is my haven.
Who can take this solace from me?

GUARDIANO
Glory to Thee, o merciful God,
Omnipotent Father of the sorrowing,

who livest among the spheres!
May Thy will be done!
Your decision is final?

LEONORA
It is.

GUARDIANO
Then God will welcome you.

LEONORA
Divine goodness!

GUARDIANO
Only I shall know who you are.
Among the rocks you will find a cave;
there you will stay.
At a nearby spring, each seventh day,
I shall leave a frugal meal for you.

LEONORA
Let us go.

GUARDIANO (calling towards the door)
Melitone?
(to Melitone, as he enters)
Let all the brothers come, with lighted candles,
to assemble in the temple of the Lord,
at the High Altar.
(Melitone goes out.)
At dawn you will go alone,
on foot, to the hermitage;
but first let the holy bread
bring comfort to your soul.

Go now to put on your holy garb,
and may your heart be strong, ah! -
upon the hard, new road
the Lord will send you help.
(He enters the monastery and returns, carrying a
Franciscan habit which he give to Leonora.)

LEONORA
Eternal God, thy mercy
shines upon the rejected one!
A strange new joy has told me -
I am blessed once again!
Within my breast I feel
a new birth of life in my heart;
sing praises, o ye heavenly choirs,
for the Lord has forgiven me my sin.
Thanks to Thee, O Lord.

GUARDIANO
Go now put on you holy garb, etc.

LEONORA
Sing praises, o ye heavenly choirs,
for the Lord has forgiven me my sin, etc.
(They enter the monastery. The great doors of the
church open, revealing the high altar lighted by
candles. To the sound of organ music, two lines of
monks proceed down the sides of the choir, carrying
lighted tapers. They kneel on each side of the altar.
After them walks Father Guardiano, followed by
Leonora in monk's garb. He then leads her out of the
church, as the monks group themselves around her.
Leonora prostrates herself before him, as he solemnly
extends his arms over her, chanting:)

GUARDIANO
The Holy Name of God our Lord
be blessed -

CHORUS
- be blessed.

GUARDIANO
A soul has come, repentant of its sin,
to seek salvation in these hills.
For this soul, we open the holy grotto.
Do you know where it is?

CHORUS
We know it.

GUARDIANO
That haven is sacred, inviolate.
No one shall approach it.

CHORUS
We shall obey.

GUARDIANO
Nor shall the humble barrier which separates
us from it ever be crossed.

CHORUS
We shall not cross it.

GUARDIANO
On him who dares to break this rule
or tries to learn the name
or secret of this soul - a curse shall fall!

CHORUS
A curse, a curse shall fall!
Let Heaven hurl its thunderbolts
to strike such a man to ashes.
Let all the elements be loosed upon him,
let his vile ashes be scattered in the winds,

GUARDIANO (to Leonora)
Arise and leave us. No living person
will see you again. From your cave the bell
will warn us if danger threatens you,
or, if your last hour has come...
Then, we shall hasten to comfort your soul,
before its return to God.

CHOIR and
GUARDIANO
May Our Lady of the Angels
shield you beneath Her mantle,
and may the Holy Angel of God
keep vigil to protect you.

LEONORA
May Our Lady of the Angels
shield me beneath Her mantle,
and may the Holy Angel of God
keep vigil to protect me.

ALL
May Our Lady of the Angels, etc.
(Leonora kisses the hand of Father Guardiano, and
walks alone toward the hermit's cave. The friars, after
putting out their candles, retreat into the church. The
Father Superior stops at the door, and, extending his
arms in the direction where Leonora has disappeared,
blesses her.)

libretto by Dale McAdoo, 1954

Contents: Roles; Act One; Act Two; Act Three; Act Four