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Amina – soprano Elvino – tenor Count Rodolfo – bass Lisa – soprano Teresa – mezzo-soprano Alessio – bass Notary – tenor Villagers – Chorus Scene One A village (Teresa's mill in the background. From afar pastoral sounds and distant voices shouting:"Long live Amina!" These are the villagers, coming to celebrate her betrothal ceremony. Lisa comes out of her inn, and after a bit meets Alessio, coming down from the hills.) CHORUS Long live Amina! LISA All is joy and merriment... I alone am miserable, and - o worst of tortures - to pretend I am compelled. O fateful beauty, dire for me, you who steal my treasure, though Isuffer and I die, I must embrace you still. (Men and women of the village come down from the hills, dressed for the holiday with simple instruments and flowers.) CHORUS Long live Amina! ALESSIO Lisa! Lisa! LISA (Oh! that bore!) ALESSIO You avoid me!... LISA I'm avoiding everyone. ALESSIO Ah, you wily girl, not always will you flee from me like this. O lovely Lisa, for you too a wedding-day will come. Long live Amina! LISA (spitefully) (Him, too! O spiteful fate! CHORUS Again, long life! ALESSIO All in line...closer here... LISA (Rage consumes me!) CHORUS We can sing from here the song we have prepared. LISA (My last hope is blighted. My rival has won out.) CHORUS and ALESSIO In Switzerland there is no flower sweeter, dearer than Amina; She is like the morning star, radiant with light and love. But she is modest and is shy just as she is beautiful; Like the guiltless turtledove, symbol of her innocence, long life! LISA (Ah! I used to think such songs would one day be sung for me; cruel love, I cannot bear to hear them sung now for her.) ALESSIO (Beloved Lisa, we could hear Them singing for us this happy song. If merciful you would consent once to hear my prayers to you.) CHORUS You, brave youth, are happier, luckier than a prince or king. You who finally have come to deserve Amina's hand! Love has given you this treasure of purity and loveliness, that all the riches in the world, that no king could ever buy. like the guiltless turtledove, etc. (The shouting begins again. Amina enters.) AMINA Dear friends, beloved companions of my girlhood, who share so much in my joy, how sweet to my heart is the song your love inspires! CHORUS May you be happy, Amina this is everyone's wish AMINA For you, my beloved, tender mother, who saved me, an orphan, for this happy day, let my joy speak, and my tears that come more from my heart than from my eyes - and this embrace. Dear friends...companions... Mother!...what joy! How peacefully for me this day is born again! All the earth is blooming more lovely and more fair! Nature never was a-glow with happier countenance: Love has coloured it with my own delight. ALL Oh, happy Amina, always, always thus for you let Heaven deck the days that are granted you. (Amina embraces Teresa and, taking her hand, places it over her heart.) AMINA Place your hand upon my heart, you can feel it beating; It's a heart that cannot hold all the joy if feels. ALL Now your mother's heart rejoices with you in your lucky fate; providence could not bestow greater pleasure upon her. ALESSIO More than anyone, Amina, I rejoice with you. I prepared the celebration, wrote the song; I assembled the musicians from the neighbouring towns. AMINA And I am grateful, good Alessio. for your kindness. I hope soon to return it, when you become Lisa's husband, if, as they say, she is prepared to grant you that happiness. ALESSIO You hear her, Lisa? LISA No, it won't be soon. ALESSIO How cruel you are! TERESA And why? LISA Don't you know? I am wary of all love. I like my liberty. AMINA Ah! you cannot know the happiness that abides in tender love. LISA Love often begins sweetly and ends in bitterness. TERESA (The hypocrite!) CHORUS Here's the notary. (The notary enters.) AMINA The notary? And Elvino Isn't here yet? NOTARY He's right behind me. From above the woods I saw him in the distance. CHORUS Here he is. AMINA Dear Elvino, here at last! ELVINO Forgive me, beloved, for this brief delay. On this solemn day I went to ask an angel's blessing on our vows; prostrate at my mother's tomb, “Bless my wife," I said, “She has all your virtues: May she make your son happy as you did his father." Beloved, I hope my mother heard. AMINA Oh happy omen! ALL Let it not be in vain. ELVINO And now, friends, all of you, witness our betrothal contract. (The notary prepares everything for the signatures.) NOTARY Elvino, what gifts do you bring to your wife? ELVINO My farms, my house, my name, everything that I possess. NOTARY And Amina?... AMINA Only my heart. ELVINO Ah! the heart is everything! (As Amina's mother and the witnesses sign, Elvino presents a ring to Amina.) Here, receive this ring that the beloved spirit who smiled upon our love wore at the alter. Let this gift be sacred as it was to her let it always be witness of our trust. ALL Your vows are sealed in Heaven as they are in your hearts. ELVINO Now we are betrothed. AMINA Betrothed!...Oh sweet word! ELVINO (giving her a bouquet) Beloved, upon your heart let this violet stay. AMINA Flower, pure and innocent! ELVINO May it remind you of me. AMINA My heart doesn't need it. ELVINO and AMINA Beloved, ever since the day that God joined our hearts, mine has stayed with you, and yours has not left me. CHORUS Your vows are sealed, etc. AMINA Ah! could I but find words to tell how I adore you! But my voice, beloved, cannot hold my thoughts. ELVINO Everything at this very instant tells me of the flame I feel: I discern it in your glance, in your lovely manner now! In your countenance my soul sees itself completely mirrored, flies to you, is enraptured with your sweetness and with joy! Everything at this, etc. ALL Ah! thus in your eyes, your hearts to each other show themselves, may you always share your thoughts, read each other's as you do now. LISA (I cannot contain much longer all the scorn I feel within me.) ELVINO Tomorrow, when day comes, we'll go to the church, and our vows will be solemnised. What a noise! (The sound of a whip is heard and the beat of horses' hooves.) ALL Horses! AMINA A stranger. (Rodolfo enters with two grooms.) RODOLFO How long and tedious this journey seemed. Are we far from the castle still? LISA It's three miles, you cannot reach it before the dark of night. The road is mountainous. I suggest you stay here until tomorrow. RODOLFO I wish to. Has the village an inn? LISA Mine is there. RODOLFO That one? ALL That one. RODOLFO Ah, I know it. LISA You do sir? ALL Who is this man? RODOLFO The mill...the stream...the woods!... and the farm nearby... O lovely scenes, again I see you, where in serenity I spent the calm and happy days of my earliest youth. Beloved places, I have found you, but those days I'll never find. ALL (He knows all about the village: When was he ever here before?) RODOLFO But, unless I am mistaken, today is some holiday for you. ALL A happy marriage is to be made. RODOLFO (indicating Lisa) And that girl is the bride? ALL (pointing to Amina) No, this girl. RODOLFO She is lovely, very charming. Let me see you. Oh, sweet face? You can't know how those dear eyes gently touch my heart, what adorable beauty is recalled to my thoughts. She was then as you are now: in the morning of her years. LISA (Only she is flattered so!) ELVINO (She is charmed by those words!) CHORUS (How courteous and gallant are these people from the city.) ELVINO Are you familiar with this town, Sir? RODOLFO As a young man I was here with the lord of the castle. TERESA Oh! the noble Lord died four years ago. RODOLFO To my grief! He loved me like a son... TERESA And he had a son, but one day the youth vanished, and the unhappy father heard no more. RODOLFO I bring certain news to his neighbours. The son is alive. LISA And when will he return to his native place? CHORUS We all long to see him. RODOLFO You'll see him one day. (The sound of a bagpipe is heard, leading the flocks back to the fold.) TERESA But the sun is setting: We must prepare to leave. CHORUS Leave!... TERESA You know the hour is near when the terrible phantom reveals itself. CHORUS That's right! RODOLFO What phantom? ALL It's a mystery... An object of horror! RODOLFO Foolishness! CHORUS What are you saying? If you knew, sir... RODOLFO Tell me about it. CHORUS Hear us, then. When the sky is dark at night, and the moon's rays are weak, at the gloomy thunder's sound from hill to plain, a shade appears. Wrapped in falling folds of white, with streaming hair and burning eye, like a misty, wind-blown cloud, it advances; immense it seems. RODOLFO It is your blind credulity that pictures it for you. TERESA, AMINA, ELVINO It's not madness; it's not fear: We all see it. It's the truth. CHORUS Wherever with slow step it goes, a frightening silence rules: No wind breathes, no reed moves, even the brook seems to freeze. And the dogs, all bedded down, lower their heads, do not howl, only the owl screaming now and then from the valley's distant depths. RODOLFO If I should stay here, late or soon, I'd like to see, discover it. ALL Heaven save you from the sight! That would be foolhardiness. RODOLFO Enough. Each of us will keep his own opinion. The time will come when the village will be free of such apparitions. TERESA Let such be Heaven's will! That, sir, is the wish of all. RODOLFO But I should like to rest after my journey, if my lovely, gracious hostess will permit. ALL Rest well, sir, sleep well. RODOLFO (to Amina) Farewell, lovely maiden. Until tomorrow, farewell, may your husband love you as I would know how to. ELVINO Nobody can surpass the love I declare for her. RODOLFO Lucky you, if you possess her heart. (Rodolfo goes off with Lisa. The chorus separates. Elvino is about to leave.) AMINA Elvino! Can you leave me without saying good-bye? ELVINO The stranger said it. And with great tenderness. AMINA That's true. He seemed distressed to leave me. A noble heart speaks in his countenance. ELVINO A lover's heart. AMINA Are you serious or joking? What doubt is this you feel? ELVINO It's useless to pretend... He pressed your hand, and he caressed you... AMINA Well!... ELVINO You weren't displeased by it. Your eyes met his at every word he spoke to you. AMINA Heartless! Can you say this? I have eyes and heart only for you. Haven't I sworn my troth? Haven't I your ring? ELVINO Yes. AMINA Don't I adore you? Aren't you my beloved? ELVINO Yes...but... AMINA Go on, could you be jealous? ELVINO Yes, yes, I am... AMINA Of whom? ELVINO Of everyone. AMINA Unjust love! ELVINO Forgive me. I envy the wandering breeze that plays with your hair, your veil, I'm jealous of the sun that see you, of the stream that reflects your face. AMINA My love, I'm the breeze's beloved because I tell him your name; I love the sun that we share, the stream that gives you its waves. ELVINO Forgive my love its suspicion! AMINA You must be rid of it always. ELVINO Yes, always. AMINA You promise? ELVINO I promise. AMINA and ELVINO No more doubts! No more fears! Ah! my love, serene as the sky at morning forever, out life shall be. Farewell, beloved! ELVINO Think of me. AMINA And you, of me. AMINA and ELVINO In sleep I will see you still. Farewell! (They leave.) Scene Two A room in the inn (A French window in back. On one side the door; on the other an inner room. There is a small table and a sofa. At first Rodolfo is alone, then he is joined by Lisa.) RODOLFO Truly, I'm not sorry I stopped here; the town is pleasant, the air excellent, the men courteous, and the women are loveable indeed. That young bride is very charming... And the hostess? She's a little coy; But I like her, too. Here she is; come in, come in my pretty inn-keeper. LISA I came in person to see if the lodging pleases his honour, the Count. RODOLFO The Count! (The devil, I'm recognised!) LISA Forgive me, but the Mayor has made certain, and the village is gathering to welcome you properly, I thank Providence that I was allowed to pay you my respects before all the others. RODOLFO I like another attitude in pretty girls. And you, Lisa, are beautiful, really beautiful... LISA The Count is joking. RODOLFO No, I'm not. These wily eyes - How many hearts have they bewitched? LISA As yet I've no suitors. RODOLFO You've deceiving me, sly girl, I know one of them... LISA (drawing near) And he is...? RODOLFO If it were I, What would you say, my beauty?... LISA What would I say? I wouldn't believe it, sir, I have no beauty so deserving... Only one virtue is mine: A sincere heart. RODOLFO That is a great deal. But what should do I hear? LISA (Evil take this intruder!) RODOLFO (opening the French window) Where does it come from? LISA No one must see me. (Lisa flees into the other room, losing her handkerchief in her haste. Rodolfo tosses it on the sofa. Amina appears, dressed in white; from the window is seen the stair by which she came. She is asleep; a somnambulist. She comes slowly into the room.) RODOLFO What do I see? This must be the phantom of the night! I'm not mistaken... This is the village maid who seemed so lovely to me before. AMINA Elvino...Elvino... RODOLFO She's asleep. AMINA Why don't you answer me? RODOLFO A sleep-walker. AMINA Are you still jealous of the stranger?...Speak! Are you jealous still? RODOLFO Should I waken her? AMINA Heartless, comes to me... You know I love you alone. RODOLFO I must wake her up. AMINA Here...take my hand... Give it a kiss, a token of peace. RODOLFO No, she shall not wake... Nobody must disturb me now. (He goes to close the window, as Lisa enters, sees Amina and leaves without the Count having seen her.) LISA Amina! Faithless RODOLFO (about to go to Amina, then stopping) God! What am I doing? AMINA (dreaming of the wedding) How happy all the people are, accompanying us to the church! RODOLFO The child, even in her dreams, is filled with her happiness. AMINA The holy flame is lighted. RODOLFO She thinks she's at the alter! AMINA Oh, mother, mother, help me; my steps fail me now! RODOLFO No, dear creature, you'll not be betrayed ever by me. AMINA By heaven I swear my love and faith will be eternal! RODOLFO Flower! so sweet and pure, keep your innocence. AMINA Elvino!...Mine at last. RODOLFO I must escape. AMINA Now I am yours, embrace me. Oh joy that cannot be described. RODOLFO Ah! If I stay here further my resolve will not resist. AMINA Elvino, embrace me, at last you are mine. (He starts to go out of the door, but hearing the sound of people, he leaves by the window, shutting it. Amina, still asleep, lies on the sofa.) CHORUS (first outside, then closer) You see: the door is open. Let's quietly go inside. It's quiet; he's asleep shall we wake him or not? Why not? It takes courage: We'll show ourselves or go. By the homage of the town he cannot be displeased. Forward. Behold. There he is. He's fallen asleep in here. Closer. Ah!...wait now! (seeing Amina) It's not he, no, it's not. From the dress, the form, it's a woman; yes, it is. Here's a very strange affair. How and why did she come here? (Teresa, Elvino, and Lisa enter.) ELVINO It's a lie. CHORUS Someone's coming. LISA (pointing to Amina) See for yourself. ELVINO Good heaven! Amina! CHORUS Amina! It's she! AMINA (awakening at the sound) Where am I? Who are you? Ah, my beloved! ELVINO Go, faithless! AMINA I! ELVINO Away from me. AMINA Oh! woe am I! What have I done? ELVINO Can you ask? CHORUS You see where you are. AMINA Here!...Why? Who brought me? ELVINO Your traitorous heart. AMINA Mother! Oh, mother! (Amina runs to her mother's arms; the latter covers her face with her hands.) CHORUS Are you convinced now?... AMINA Oh! woe am I! What have I done? Oh, my grief! In my thoughts or in my words never, never have I sinned. If you have no faith in me, you do not return my love. Ah! believe me! ELVINO Heaven keep you from feeling ever the pain that I feel now! Let the tears from my heart tell you how I loved you. CHORUS and ALESSIO Your dire betrayal of him is quite clear and evident. TERESA Hear her for a moment only; This cruelty has gone too far. CHORUS and ALESSIO What heart can be trusted if Amina's heart was false? (During this scene Teresa has picked up Lisa's handkerchief and tied it at Amina's throat.) ELVINO There'll be no wedding. ALL No wedding! ELVINO Ungrateful one, I leave you. AMINA Oh cruel moment! Hear me...I'm blameless. ELVINO Take your presence from me; your voice horrifies me. AMINA Heaven, friend of innocence, reveal the truth to him. AMINA and ELVINO This is not, ungrateful heart, this is not the great return that I expected for such love, that I hoped from such trust... In a moment you have taken all my hope of happiness... Only painful memories will I have of you... LISA, ALESSIO, and CHORUS No more marriage, no wedding: Only scorn and blame for her. Guilty, blushing, she will live in the undying hate of all. TERESA If nobody helps you now, if no favour you receive, hapless girl, your mother's heart is not closed against you. (All leave, Amina falls into the arms of Teresa.) Scene One A wood (A group of villagers come in.) CHORUS Here the wood is thick and dark, let us rest here by the stream. Distant still, steep and rocky, is the road up to the castle. We have time to reach it yet before the Count is out of bed. Let's reflect! When we're there, what can we say to touch his heart? Excellency!...we'll speak up bravely... Count...the unfortunate Amina was before the pride of the town, the envy of every nearby village... All at once she's found asleep in the room you occupied, if she's innocent, defend her. Help her, if she has sinned. At such words and arguments... He'll be moved and convinced; We'll beg, insist respectfully... He'll trust us, promise. We've won. We'll come back, consoled, to town; In just two steps we'll be there. To the test!...Bravely...let's go... The poor girl will be protected. (All go out. Amina and Teresa enter.) AMINA Help me, good mother; you're my only support. TERESA Courage. The Count will be moved by your tears. Come. AMINA Ah! no...I cannot: My heart, my steps fail me. See. We are not far from Elvino's farm. How often we sat together in the shade of these beeches, by the murmuring stream! The breeze that blows still echoes our vows... He forgot them, cruel Elvino! He has abandoned me. TERESA It cannot be, believe me, he must love you still, perhaps, he, too, is grief-stricken, as you are...Look... Here he comes, alone, thoughtful... AMINA Hide me...I daren't stay. (Elvino enters.) You see, mother...he's sad, upset... Perhaps, perhaps he loves me still. ELVINO All is undone there's no solace left to me, my heart is dead forever both to joy and to love. (Amina draws closer. He sees her and speaks to her bitterly.) AMINA Hear me, Elvino. ELVINO You...you dare? AMINA Ah, calm yourself. ELVINO Faithless! AMINA Believe me... I am without blame. ELVINO You've robbed me of all joy. AMINA I swear I'm innocent. I am without blame. ELVINO Feed your glance, fill you soul with the excess of my pain; I'm the saddest of all men, cruel Amina, because of you. VOICES IN THE DISTANCE Long live the Count! ELVINO (about to leave) The Count! AMINA and TERESA Ah! stay. ELVINO No; I'll fly. AMINA Have pity! ELVINO Leave me. (The villagers enter.) CHORUS Happy news! The Count says she is pure, innocent. He's coming to us. ELVINO He! oh rage! ALL Stay your wrath! ELVINO No! I must leave. My wrath has no bounds. (He takes the ring from Amina.) AMINA My ring! Oh, mother! TERESA and CHORUS (to Elvino) See. The blow will kill her. Cruel one! ELVINO Why cannot I despise you, faithless, as I should? Still you are not driven wholly from my heart. May another, may he love you as this unfortunate one has! Fear no other wish, traitress, from the depths of my grief. TERESA and CHORUS He will restore her good name. (Elvino, despairing, leaves. Teresa takes Amina off in another direction.) Scene Two The village, as in Act One (In the square are Lisa, Alessio, Elvino, and the people of the village.) LISA Can it be true, Elvino, that at last you have found me worthy of your love? ELVINO Yes, Lisa. We'll renew our former vows. Forgive my heart, seduced by false virtue, for having broken them. LISA I forgive everything. Now you've come back to me I think of the past no more; I see only the bright future that awaits me at last. ELVINO Come. You shall be my love, my companion. The sacred rite is ready in the church. Let's not delay. ALL Let's go. (Enter Rodolfo) RODOLFO Stop, Elvino. LISA (The Count!) ALESSIO (Just in time.) RODOLFO Where are you hurrying? ELVINO To the church. RODOLFO Hear me first. Amina still deserves your love and respect. I shall be guarantor of her virtue and of her merits. ELVINO You! Sir! I cannot deny, my lord, what my eyes have seen. RODOLFO You are deceived, mistaken; I stake my honour on it. ELVINO In the room occupied didn't I see her asleep? RODOLFO You saw Amina. It was she... But she hadn't come in awake. ALL How then? In what way? RODOLFO Listen, all of you. CHORUS Let's hear him. RODOLFO Certain people when they sleep go about as if awake; they can talk and answer when they're spoken to. They are called somnambulists from the words for "sleep" and "walk". ALL Can it be? Is it this possible? RODOLFO A man like me doesn't lie. ELVINO No. It's not so. The reason for the story's obvious. RODOLFO Wretch! Can you doubt my truthfulness? ELVINO (paying no attention to Rodolfo) Come, Lisa. LISA Let us go. CHORUS Yes. let's go. We can't believe such tales. Someone walking while asleep! It's not so. It cannot be. (Teresa enters.) TERESA Softly, friends, do not shout; poor Amina's asleep at last; she sorely needs it, poor thing, after all the tears she's shed. ALL Yes, be silent. TERESA Lisa! Elvino!...What is this? Where are you going like that? LISA To be married. TERESA You! Good heavens! And the bride...is Lisa? ELVINO Yes, Lisa. LISA I deserve him. I wasn't found alone, at night, any time, nor shut alone in a room belonging to a gentleman. TERESA Lying wretch! At this accusal I cannot retrain my rage! This handkerchief was found in the bedroom of the Count. ALL Whose is it? Who lost it? TERESA (pointing to Lisa) Let her blushes answer you. ALL Lisa! (Elvino, embarrassed, lets go of Lisa's hand.) TERESA Lisa. Let the Count deny me if he can. ELVINO Sir?...What must I believe? She, too, betrayed me! RODOLFO I am reluctant to say what I think of this. Only I repeat, I insist that Amina's innocent. Offending her, you offend virtue itself. ELVINO Who can prove it to me? RODOLFO Who? Look. She herself. (Amina is seeing coming out of a window of the mill; asleep, she walks across the frail bridge over the water-wheel which turns quickly below her, threatening to crush her if she takes a false step. All turn to watch her, terrified. Elvino is held back from rushing to her by Rodolfo.) ALL (with a shout) Ah! RODOLFO Silence: a single step, a shout can kill her. TERESA Oh, my daughter! ELVINO Oh, Amina! CHORUS She is coming down. Heaven, guide her wandering steps. (Amina arrives near the wheel, walking along a half- rotted beam that bends beneath her weight.) She trembles...hesitates...alas! RODOLFO Courage...she's safe!... ALL She's safe! (Amina comes toward the others.) AMINA Oh! could I see him again just a single time, before he takes another to the altar as his bride!... RODOLFO (to Elvino) You hear? TERESA She's thinking of you; of you she's speaking. AMINA Vain hope!...I hear The holy bells ringing... He's going to the church... I've lost him...and yet... I'm blameless. ALL Tender heart! AMINA (kneeling) Dear God, don't look at my tears: I forgive him. May he be as happy as I am unhappy... This is the final prayer of my dying heart... ALL Oh, words of love! AMINA (looking at her hand as if hunting for her ring) The ring...my ring... He took it from me... But he cannot take his image... it's printed here...in my heart. (taking the flowers from her breast) Nor you, oh flower, pledge of eternal love...I've kept you. Again I kiss you...but... you are withered. I hadn't thought I'd see you, dear flower, perished so soon. You died as did our love that only lived for a day. ELVINO I can bear my grief no more. AMINA If only my weeping could restore your strength again... But all my tears can never bring back his love to me. ELVINO I can bear my grief no longer. AMINA If he should return to me! Oh! come back, Elvino... RODOLFO (to Elvino) Do as her thoughts bid you. AMINA You're near me? Oh joy! Have you brought my ring? RODOLFO Give it back to her. (Elvino puts the ring on her finger.) AMINA I'm yours once more; you're mine... Dear mother, embrace me... my joy's complete! RODOLFO Let her be wakened in the arms of those she loves. (Teresa embraces her. Elvino kneels at her feet.) CHORUS Long live Amina! Again long life! AMINA (awakening) Heaven! Where am I? What do I see...have mercy... don't waken me! (She covers her face with her hands) ELVINO No, you're not dreaming. Your love, your husband is near you. AMINA Oh joy! joy!... I've found you again, Elvino. ALL Come to the church. Innocent Amina, so dear to us, made lovelier by your grief, come to the church and there, at the altar, begin your joy. AMINA Human thought cannot conceive of the happiness that fills me; I can hardly trust my senses. You've faith in me, beloved. Embrace me, always now together, forever joined in one hope, on the earth where we live we will make a heaven of love. ALL Innocent Amina, so dear to us, made lovelier by your grief, come to the church and there, at the alter, begin your joy. END |