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

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

ACT ONE

Seville
A room hung with damask; on the walls, family
portraits and coats-of-arms, in eighteenth-century
style, but in a bad state of preservation. In the rear
wall, two windows; the one on the left is closed, the
one on the right is wide open. Through it we see a clear
sky in which treetops are sharply silhouetted against
the bright moonlight. Between the two windows there
is a great wardrobe, closed , containing clothing, linen,
etc. Each of the side walls has two doors.
(The Marquis of Calatrava, holding a lamp, is bidding
goodnight to Donna Leonora, who appears worried.
Curra enters from the left.)

MARQUIS
Goodnight, my child. Goodnight, sweet child.
The balcony is still open!
(goes to close it)

LEONORA (to herself)
What anguish!

MARQUIS
Doesn't your affection give you words?
Why are you so sad?

LEONORA
Father - my lord -

MARQUIS
The quiet country air
once soothed your heart.
You have fled here to escape the unworthy foreigner.
Leave the future to me.
Confide in your father, who loves you so.

LEONORA
Ah, father!

MARQUIS
What troubles you? Do not weep.

LEONORA (to herself)
Oh, remorse!

MARQUIS
I leave you now.

LEONORA
(throwing herself into her father's arms)
Ah, my father!

MARQUIS
God bless you. Goodnight.
Goodnight.

LEONORA
Goodnight.
(The Marquis kisses her, takes up his lamp and goes off
to his room. Curra closes the door after him and then
comes back to Leonora, who is in tears.)

CURRA
I feared he would stay until tomorrow!
I'll open the balcony window again.
All's ready, let us go.
(From the wardrobe she takes a bag, into which she
puts linen and gowns.)

LEONORA
Can so loving a father
oppose my wishes so strongly?
No, no, I cannot decide.

CURRA
What are you saying?

LEONORA
His words were like daggers
in my heart.
Had he not gone out,
I should have confessed all...

CURRA (ceasing her work)
And then tomorrow Don Alvaro
would lie in his own blood
or else be imprisoned in Seville,
and then, perhaps, hanged.

LEONORA
Silence!

CURRA
And all this
because he loves one who doesn't care.

LEONORA
I not love him?
You know well how I love him -
my country, my family, my father -
am I not leaving all for him?
Ah, my misfortunes are too great to bear!
An orphan and a wanderer,
far from my native land,
a pitiless fate
drives me on, to a foreign shore;
tortured by fearful dreams,
broken with remorse,
this poor one's heart
is condemned to eternal weeping, etc.
I leave thee, alas, alas, in tears,
sweet homeland! Farewell.
Alas, so great a sorrow
has no end!
Farewell.

CURRA
If you can help me, milady, we can leave sooner.

LEONORA
And if he doesn't come?
(She looks at the clock.)
It's late. It's past midnight!
(joyfully)
Ah no, he will not come!

CURRA
What's that?
The sound of horses' hooves!

LEONORA
It is he!

CURRA
I knew he would not fail!

LEONORA
Heaven!

CURRA
Don't be frightened.
(Don Alvaro enters from the balcony and throws
himself into Leonora's arms.)

DON ALVARO
Ah! forever, now, my angel,
heaven has joined us.
As I hold you in my arms,
heaven itself rejoices with me.

LEONORA
Don Alvaro!

DON ALVARO
Heaven, what's the matter?

LEONORA
It's almost daybreak.

DON ALVARO
A thousand things
have kept me, all night long,
from getting to your home.
But the charm of so pure a love as ours
overcomes all obstacles.

It was God who willed that our yearning
should bring us to this present joy.
(to Curra)
Throw these things down into the courtyard...

LEONORA (to Curra)
Stop!

DON ALVARO (to Curra)
No, no...
(to Leonora)
Follow me,
leave, at last, your prison...

LEONORA
On heaven! I cannot bring myself to do it.

DON ALVARO
Horses are ready below;
a priest is waiting at the altar -
come, my dear, take shelter in my love,
and God, from Heaven, will give us the blessing.
And tomorrow, when the sun-god of India -
lord of my royal race -
bathes the earth again in his splendour,
he will shine on our wedded joy.

LEONORA
It is late...

DON ALVARO (to Curra)
Come, be quick!

LEONORA (to Curra)
Wait a moment...

DON ALVARO
Leonora!

LEONORA
Tomorrow...

DON ALVARO
What are you saying?

LEONORA
I beg you, wait.

DON ALVARO
Tomorrow!

LEONORA
Tomorrow we shall leave.
Once more I want to see
my father, my poor dear father:
and you are glad of it, are you not?
Yes, because you love me you'll not forbid it...
And I too - you know it - I love you so!
And that makes me happy, oh heaven, how happy!
My heart is bursting with joy! Let us stay -
Yes, Alvaro mine, I love you! I love you!
(She weeps.)

DON ALVARO
Your heart is bursting with joy - yet you weep!
Your hand is as cold as death!
I have understood, my lady!

LEONORA
Alvaro! Alvaro!

DON ALVARO
Leonora!
I alone shall suffer. God forbid
that your weakness lets you follow me.
I release you from your promise. To marry
would mean death for us -
if you love less than I, if remorse...

LEONORA
I am yours, with all my heart and all my love!
I'll follow you to the end,
the farthest end of the earth;
with you, unafraid, I shall face
the evil fate of war,
and for me there will be nothing
but the constant joy of love.
I shall follow you - let us go,
for fate shall never, no never, keep us apart.

DON ALVARO
You are the breath, the light, the soul
of this heart which loves you;
so long as the breath of life is in me,
my sole, unchanging desire
shall be to give you
your every wish.
Follow me - let us go,
for fate shall never divide us.
(As they approach the balcony, there is heard from the
left the sound of a door being opened and closed.)

LEONORA
That noise!

CURRA (listening)
They are coming up the stairs!

DON ALVARO
Let us leave -

LEONORA
Let us leave.

DON ALVARO and
LEONORA
Follow me/I shall follow you, let us go,
for fate shall never, never divide us.

LEONORA
It is late.

DON ALVARO
Then we must be calm.

CURRA
Holy Virgin!

LEONORA (to Don Alvaro)
Hide in there.

DON ALVARO (drawing his pistol)
No. I must protect you.

LEONORA
Put it back.
Would you, against my father? -

DON ALVARO
No, against myself!

LEONORA
Horror!
(After several blows, the door is thrown open. The
Marquis of Calatrava enters in a rage, with sword
drawn; behind him come two servants bearing lamps.)

MARQUIS
Vile seducer! Shameless daughter!

LEONORA (running and throwing herself at his feet)
No, father -

MARQUIS
I am your "father" no more.

DON ALVARO (to the Marquis)
I alone am the guilty one.
(baring his chest)
Strike - have your revenge -

MARQUIS (to Don Alvaro)
No, your conduct
shows the baseness
of your origins -

DON ALVARO
Sir!

MARQUIS (to Leonora)
Stand aside.
(to the servants)
Arrest the scoundrel.

DON ALVARO (redrawing his pistol)
Whoever moves shall die.

LEONORA (running to his side)
Alvaro - heaven, what are you doing?

DON ALVARO (to the Marquis)
I yield only to you. Strike!

MARQUIS
Die by my hand!
Such a life as yours
is for the hangman.

DON ALVARO
Signor di Calatrava!
Pure as the angels
is your daughter - this I swear;
the guilt is mine alone. Let any doubt
which remains be dispelled
by my death. You see me unarmed.
(He throws the pistol to the ground; as it strikes, it goes
off, mortally wounding the Marquis.)

MARQUIS
I am dying!

DON ALVARO (despairing)
Oh, cursed weapon!

LEONORA (running to her father)
Help!

MARQUIS (to Leonora)
Away from me!
The sight of you sullies my death.

LEONORA
Father!

MARQUIS
I curse you!
(He falls dead into the arms of his servants.)

LEONORA
Heaven, have mercy!

ALVARO
Oh, cruel fate!
(The servants bear the body of the Marquis into his
rooms, as Don Alvaro leads Leonora towards the
balcony.)

libretto by Dale McAdoo, 1954

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