413 I VESPRI SICILIANI Opera in five acts. Libretto by Eugene Scribe and Charles Duveyrier First performed in French at the Paris Opéra on June 13, 1855 First performed in Italian (under the title Giovanna di Guzman) in 1856 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan CHARACTERS Guido di Monforte, French governor of Sicily: baritone Sire di Bethune, a French officer: bass Conte Vaudemont, a French officer: bass ‘Arrigo, a young Sicilian: tenor Giovanni da Procida, a Sicilian physician and patriot: bass Elena, Duchess and sister of Friedrich of Austria: soprano Ninetta, her maid: contralto Danicli, a Sicilian, engaged to Ninetta: tenor Tebaldo, a French soldier: tenor Roberto, a French soldier: bass Manfredo, a Sicilian: tenor Sicilian men and women, French Soldiers, Pages, Noblemen and Noblewomen, Officers, Monks, an Executioner The action takes place in Sicily, near Palermo, in 1282 ‘THE PLOT ACTI In a square in Palermo French soldiers are noisily drinking and carousing. They are observed with hostility by some Sicilians. The Duchess Elena appears, dressed in mourning for her brother Friedrich of Austria. Roberto, a French soldier, asks her to sing a song for the entertainment of his colleagues. She complies, but her song is an exhortation in metaphoric form to the Sicilians to rise against their French oppressors. Elena almost manages to stir the present Sicilians to rebellion but the stern appearance of Monforte, the governor, quells their neer-revolt. The crowd disperses. Arrigo, a young Sicilian enters. He has just been acquitted of a charge of treason and released from prison. Despite this clement action by the French, Arrigo expresses his deep hatred for Monforte, who enters and overhears the conversation. He surprisingly asks to be left alone with the young man. Questioning Arrigo, Monforte learns that the young man's mother is dead, his father unknown, and Elene's brother Federigo (Friedrich of Austria) was his mentor and leader. Monforte first invites Arrigo to join the French. The young men indignantly refuses, whereupon Monforte warns him to refrain from associating with Elena. Again Arrigo defies Monforte's orders: He immediately strides off to Elene's palace,414 ACTIL On a beach near Palermo, Giovanni da Procida disembarks, returning to his native land after years of exile. He sends his men to inform the patriots and meets Arrigo and Elena, telling them that he has obtained support from the Spanish crown on condition thet the Sicilians themselves rise in arms. Procida leaves and Arrigo confesses his love for Elena, who replies that she will be his if he helps her avenge her brother Federigo's murder. Bethune, a French officer arrives with a message from Monforte for Arrigo inviting him to a ball at the governor's palace. When Arrigo refuses to go, and the invitation is changed into an order and he is led away. Young Sicilian couples start arriving to celebrate their engagements at the shrine of Saint Rosalia, Procida suggests to the drunken, amorous French soldier Roberto that he and his companions should abduct some of the girls, hoping thus to arouse the fury of the Sicilian men. The plan succeeds and the Sicilians are made even more furious when a ship sails past carrying elegantly attired French officers and Sicilian women to the ball at the governor's palace in Palermo. ACT I The first scene takes place in Monforte's study in his palace. He reads a letter from a woman he once loved and who bore him a son: Arrigo. The boy has been brought up in ignorance of his father and has even been taught to hate him. After Arrigo enters Monforte tries to win him over, revealing his paternity, but Arrigo is only horrified at discovering that his loathed enemy is his own father. The second scene takes place in the governor's palace where festivities are in progress. Procida, Elena and other conspirators have gathered here and join the throng, planning to assassinate Monforte. They naturally tell Arrigo of their plan and when Elena is about ready to strike the first blow Arrigo intervenes and saves Monforte's life. All except Arrigo are carted off to prison and this act (inexplicable to the others, who are unaware of the parental bond between Arrigo and Monforte) wins him the patriots’ scorn. ACTIV ‘Arrigo comes to the prison where his friends are incarcerated. He explains his predicament to Elena, obtaining her understanding and forgiveness. Procida arrives, telling Elena that a Spanish ship carrying gold and weapons is anchored offshore waiting for the Sicilians to rise. But Monforte is determined to kill both Procida and Elena unless Arrigo relents and calls him father. At the last minute Arrigo does so. Overjoyed, Monforte frees his captives and declares that Elena and Arrigo must be married that very same day - at the hour of Vespers - to seal the peace between the opposing French and Sicilian factions. ACT V In the gardens of Monforte's palace, Elena, already in bridal dress, thanks her handmaidens for their gifts of flowers. Then she and Arrigo renew their pledges of love to each other. When Arrigo goes off briefly, Procida comes to warn Elena that when she has pronounced her marriage vow, the festive vesper bells will be the signal for general revolt and slaughter. Elena then tries to avoid the wedding; but Monforte and Arrigo insist. The lovers’ hands are joined and Procida signals for the bells to ring. The Sicilians rush in from all sides and massacre the French.I Vespri Siciliani, Act I 415 ACTI ‘A square in Palormo (The city and the palace of Elena can be seen on one side and on the other the Governor's palace. Tebaldo and Roberto, with numerous French soldiers are seen drinking and sitting around. Sicilian groups of men and women grimly watch the French soldiers’ carousing.) TEBALDO, ROBERTO, FRENCH SOLDIERS ate —tfel_natio ‘kon ‘doltfe dezio A to, ciel nati con dolce desio, To you sky native with sweet desire, ‘tomi ‘il mio_penisjer si wai Kati tomi ilmio pensior si,_—«stra._—Ssi_ Ss camti @ =i return my thought, yes, amid the songs and the cups. (May my sweet thoughts return to you, my native sky, with sweet desire, amid songs and cups.) SICILIANS (from another side, in a low voice) ‘kon ‘empjo ‘swolo nattio Con empio suolo_natio With wicked desire our soil native in'sultan’ ‘Ainikwi ‘fra ‘kanti e insultan ——_gl'iniqui fra canti @ insult the evil ones, amid songs and wine. (The wicked ones insult our native soil with evil desire amid song and wine.) ‘TEBALDO, ROBERTO, FRENCH SOLDIERS ‘kom ‘fronde daliloro ‘kol ‘vino € kol:loro, Con fronde dalloro, col vino e coll'oro With fronds of laurel, with wine and with gold ‘del ‘pro_vintfitor pre'mjate il valor dol pro’ vincitor —premiato. =~ il’_—~—valor. of the brave victor reward the valor. ‘SICILIANS ° vendetta ‘dgomo ‘di vendetta ‘men ‘lento ta'f:fret:ta oO vendetta, giorno di vendetta, men lento taffretta Oh vengeance, day of vengeance, less. slow _ hasten ‘desta ‘il vallore ‘ai ‘vinti ‘in ‘kore desta il valore ai_—vinti in core. waken the valor tothe conquered in (their) _ heart. (Oh vengeance, hasten less slowly and waken the valor in the heart of those that are conquered.) TEBALDO (raising his cup) eviviva ‘grande Evviva il grande capitano! Longlive the great captain!416 I Vespri Siciliani, Act I ROBERTO ‘di ‘frantfa orgokfo —e-~— primo per valor Di Francia orgoglio e primo per __valor! Of — France (the) pride and first in valor! TEBALDO e — ‘fulmine ‘di ‘guerra E fulmine = di_—_ guerra And thunderbolt in war... ROBERTO ‘mai ‘nom ‘fere im'vano ede, de ‘sWoi lamor Mai non fere in vano edd de’ — suoi Yamor! He never strikes in vain andis of hismen _ beloved! (During this time Bethune and Vaudemont come out of the barracks, maintaining a familiar attitude.) ROBERTO (staggering and addressing Vaudemont and Bethune) kozi ‘di ‘kweste ‘mura ‘ke ‘kjamano—pallermo Cosi di queste mura che chiamano Palermo, So of __ these walls that they call Palermo, ‘lo'disse il dgeneral lo disse il general... said the general... ‘mio ‘dutfe ewer ‘noi ‘sjam —sinpori mio duce, & ver, noi siam signori! my leader, is it true? we are masters! (And so, of these walls they call Palermo, the general said - is it true, my leader? We are masters!) vatfilla amiko ‘eb:bro ‘tu 'sei vacilla. Amico, ebbro tu soi? is unsteady. Friend, drunk are you? ROBERTO ‘eb:bro sonio damore a jatfe ‘onpibelta Ebbro son‘io d'amore! ah —mipiace —ogni_belta. DrunkIam with love! Ab, like every beauty! BETHUNE (still laughing) evil sitfiljano ——dgelozo e ‘fjer ‘delle ‘sue ‘donne il ‘kore Bil Siciliano geloso, e fier delle sue donne il core. Is the Sicilian man jealous, and proud of his women the heart. (Sicilian men are jealous, and their women’s hearts are proud.)I Vespri Siciliani, Act I 417 ROBERTO (still staggering) anno ‘nom ‘va ‘kor ‘ke = ‘non'tfeda_‘dun_—tfiimjero ‘alla ‘vista Abno.. nonwha cor che nonceda d'un cimiero alla vista! Abno.. there isn't (a) heart thet can't givein ata helmet the sight! (Ah no, there isn't a heart that can resist the sight of a helmet!) (To Tebaldo,) veldrai Vedrait ‘You will see! ‘TEBALDO ‘ma itor kon’sorti Ma_ ilor consorti? But their husbands? ROBERTO vintfitor dgene'rozo_—ma‘vran Vincitor —generoso.—m‘avran Victor generous _willl find me ‘donna dgentile e “fatfil ‘spozo_ donna gentile e facil sposo. women kindly and easy-going _ husband. (A kindly women and her easy-going husband will find me a generous victor.) TEBALDO, ROBERTO, BETHUNE, VAUDEMONT, FRENCH SOLDIERS Con fronde d'allore, etc. SICILIANS O vendetta, men lenta t'affretta, etc. (The Duchess Elena in mourning enters, leaning on Ninetta’s arm and followed by Danieli. She crosses the square and goes towards her own palace. She holds a prayer book in her hands. She is respectfully greeted by the Sicilians, lingering with them in affable conversation.) VAUDEMONT (to Bethune) ‘wal ‘softfre ‘al ‘mio. zgwardo = del tel ‘vaga ‘stelta Qual soffre al mio sguardo = del_— ciel vaga stella? What offers itself to my gaze of heaven lovely star? (What lovely star of heaven is this, that offers itself to my gaze?) ‘fra ‘noi ‘kwal ‘si ‘noma 'si ‘sara’ belta Fra noi qual sinoma _—si_—rara_ belt? Among us how isshecalled, such rare beauty? (What is such rare beauty among us named?)418 I'Vespri Siciliani, Act I BETHUNE autto vestita ‘del prentfe sorella A lutto vestita, del prence sorella, In mourning dressed, _of the prince sister, ‘kui ‘tronko ‘fu i ‘kapo ostad:d30 ‘kwi ‘sta cui tronco fu il capo, ostaggio q sta. towhom cut offwas the head, hostage here she is. (She is dressed in mourning because she is the sister of the prince whose head was cut off. She is @ hostage here.) ‘or ‘mesta de'plora lamato frattel:lo Or — mesta deplora Yamato fratello. Now sad, she mourns her beloved brother. VAUDEMONT (sharply) amiko ‘allo ‘zvevo ‘ke tanto amo Amico allo Svevo" cho tanto Yama. Afriend tothe Swabian © who somuch _loved him. amore. fatale ‘ke ‘il ‘sangwe skonito Amore fatale che il —_sangue sconta. Love fatal that his blood paid for. BETHUNE kwestod:d3i_—_rikorda ‘kwel ‘di dolo'rozo Quest'oggi—ricorda quel di doloreso... Today she remembers that day _ painful... VAUDEMONT atlilombra fratema —_imjvoka ripozo Allo'ombra fratema _invoca riposo. For the shade fraternal she invokes _ rest. (She invokes rest for her brothers spirit.) BETHUNE (smiling) e ultritfe ‘su noi. la._—“folgor ‘del ‘tel E _ultrice su noi la_—_folgor del ciel! And avenging over us the lightning of _—_—iheaven! (And also invoking the avenging lightning of heaven for us!) VAUDEMONT € a ritto ‘ke il ‘dutfe ‘fu troppo knidel Ea dritto, che il duce fu troppo And rightfully so, for our leader was too *Vaudemont is referring to Conradin, ruler of Swabia, titular king of Jerusalem and Sicily, the last. legitimate Hohenstauffe, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad IV.I Vespri Siciliani, Act I 419 BETHUNE a tatfi adun soldat ‘mal tai det Ab! taci: ‘Ad un soldato mal s' tai dotti! Ah! Besilent! Toa soldier are ill-suited such words! (He salutes Elena respectfully and goes back into the barracks with Vaudemont.) DANIELI © —‘ddi_—fatal’ “dgomo ‘di ‘dwol ‘ove ‘il nemiko ‘ferro Oh di fatal, giomodi © duol, ove il —_nemico ferro Oh day fatal, day of grief, when the enemy sword ‘de miffor ‘swoi 'fiKAi_ ‘il ‘swol matteo do! miglior suoi figli il suol_matemo of the best its sons the soil maternal _deprived! (Oh fatal day of grief, when the enemy's sword deprived the motherland of its best sons!) ELENA (aside, praying) o mio fratel federigo 0 ~—‘nnobil ‘alma O mio fratel Federigo, 0 —_—nobil_ alma! Oh my brother Federigo, oh —_noble soul! jor ‘ke rio ‘turbin ‘zvelse ‘nel ‘suo _pritmjer mattino Fior che rio turbin svolse nel suo __primier mattino! Flower that evil gale uprooted in its _first morning! (You were a flower uprooted by an evil gale in its first morning!) ‘morte ‘al tiran ‘ke troykava Morte al iran che la tua vita troncava.. Death to the tyrant thet your life cut off... © —indifferente a tanto ettfidjo ‘kwistas'si- oppun E _indifferente a tanto eccidio qui stassi_ ognun! And indifferent to such slaughter __ here. (And everyone stands here, indiffrent to such slaughter! ‘da ‘me vendetta a'vrai omai o ‘mio fra'tel Da me vendetta avrai omai, o mio fratel, From me vengeance youshellhave © now, oh my __ brother, e ‘sol ‘da ‘me tw alvrai_ e sol da me tu avrai! and only from me you _ shall have! (My brother, you now shall have vengeance from me and only me!) ROBERTO (rising from the table) asisai ‘nap:pi_vwotam:mo ‘la —_kanltsone ‘or tfiialldegri Assai nappi vuotammo: La canzone = or_—_ ci allogri... Many cups we've drained: A song now let it cheer us...420 1 Vespri Siciliani, Act I ‘il sitfiljano—‘kanti Ye 'nostre ——_‘glorje Siciliano canti lenostre —_glori The Sicilian let him sing our glories! (Let the Sicilian sing our glories!) TEBALDO ‘il pensi tu 1 pensi tu? Do you think thet? ROBERTO (completely drunk) ‘per mia fe ‘Kanto dgentile Per mia fe! Canto gentile By my faith! A song pretty ‘wa ‘kweste ‘belle ‘or ‘ki tra queste belle or chi among these beauties now who will sing? (By my faith! Who among these beauties will sing a pretty song?) (Staggering towards Elena) ‘fjor ‘di betta ‘or via ate saspetita Fior di belta, or via, a te s'aspetta! Flower of beauty, come now, _ it's up to you! NINETTA (to Danieli) ‘ke fia ‘di noi Che fia di noi? What will happen to us? ROBERTO sinnor ‘mi 'fe ‘dei forti litt Signor mi fo! dei fori il dritto, Master made me of the strong the right, (The right of the strong made me master,) e ‘al vintfitor ‘mal ‘ti sotitrad:d3i 2 ‘don:na e al_—vincitor ~=—smal ti sottraggi, o donna! and to the victor hardly youcanelude, oh — women! (and you can hardly elude the victor, oh women!) ‘nom ‘pu sinddudsi ola Non pid _—_sindugit olat No more let there be delay! _ Ho there! NINETTA (angrily, and moving to protect Elena) sol'dato e ‘tanto: ardif] Soldato, ¢ tanto ardisci? Soldier, and somuch —_ you dare?I Vespri Siciliani, Act I ELENA (restraining Ninetta) ‘tatfi Tacit Be silent! ROBERTO (threateningly, to Elena) ‘tu kante'rai oviver Tu canterai! ovver. You will sing!... or els ELENA (calmly) 'si kante'ro. Si, canter, Yes, I will sing. 421 (Roberto, Tebaldo and the French soldiers have again taken their place at the table. Little by little the Sicilians approach them, almost surrounding them.) ‘in ‘alto. ‘mare ¢ batt:tuto: ‘dai ‘venti hh alto mare e battuto dai —_-venti, On high seas and struck by the winds, ‘vedi ‘kwel ‘pino ‘in ‘sen ‘dekki elementi ved quel pino? in son dogli elementi do you see that boat in the bosom of the elements a naufra'gar ‘dg ‘presiso a naufragar gia presso? to capsizing already ~—near? (Do you see that boat on the high seas amid the elements, struck by the winds and already close to capsizing?) askolti ‘il pjanto ‘del marinar Ascolti il pianto del marinar Do you hear the weeping _—of the seaman ‘dal ‘suo na'vikKo imfranto dal suo naviglio —_—infranto? from his boat shattered? ‘de tu —‘kalma o 'ddio po'sisente Deh! tu calma o Dio possente, Ah! Thou calm, oh God mighty, ‘kol ‘tuo ‘tizo_—‘e tfelo e'mar col tuo iso ecielo e mar, with Thy smile both heaven and sea; *There are many words to describe means of acquatic transportation in postic libretto Italian. Pino (literally "pine" wood), legno (wood), barca (boat) plus others like, vascello, naviglio, gondola, nave and some others.422 1 Vespri Siciliani, Act I ‘salga a = tela pretfe_ardente Salge a te ‘la _prece_ardente, (May it) rise to ‘Thee the prayer ardent, (May our ardent prayer rise to Thee.) Yn te fida il marinar in te fida il marinar! in Thee trusts the seaman! e ‘ddio fisponde in. ‘suo voler_so'vrano E Dio risponde in = suo_voler_sovrano: And God replies in His will supreme: a ida in ‘se'stesso.— il tfel arsride A d fida in se stesso in ciel arride. On him who trusts in himself, heaven smiles, mortali ‘il'vostro fata ee ‘vostra ‘man Mortali! ilvostro —fato. 8 vostra man. Mortals! Your fato is in your hand. korad:d3o ‘su. ——korad:djo. = del. ‘mare autdatfi “fidAi Coraggio, su coraggio, ~ del_—s mare audaci Courage, come, courage, of the sea bold sons; ‘spretasin i perifti © il'dsemere vita sprezzin i perigli, ® — ilgemere —_—vilta! Let them be scorned, the perils, itis moaning cowardice! (Come, courage, bold sons of the sea, let perils be scorned, for moaning is cowardly!) ‘altel ‘fa ‘grave offtfeza ‘ki 'manka ‘di ko'rad:dgo Al ciel fa grave offesa che —manca di coraggi To —_ heaven makes grave offense who lacks in courage; (He who lacks in courage shows heaven grave offense;) ovate ‘lalta impreza id:dio proted:dse'ra Osate! I'alta impresa _—_Iddio_proteggora. Dare! The lofty enterprise God _will protect. NINETTA, DANIELI, SICILIANS o ‘kwai ‘det:ti ‘kwale ardor O — quai detti! quale ardor! Oh what words! What ardor! ELENA (looking expressively at the populace which surrounds her; in a low voice) e perke ‘le ‘pretfi_askolto E perch le preci ascolto? And why the pleas do I hear? perke © ‘omni ‘volto Porchd & ogni volto? Why is every face?