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Guillaume Tell - baritone Hedwige, his wife - mezzo-soprano Jemmy, his son - soprano Mathilde, a Habsburg princess - soprano Arnold Melchtal - tenor Melchtal, his father - bass Gesler, the Austrian Governor of the cantons of Uri and Schwyz - bass Walter Furst - bass Ruodi, a fisherman - tenor Leuthold, a shepherd - bass Rodolphe, Captain of Gesler's guard - tenor A hunter - baritone Peasants, shepherds, knights, pages, ladies, soldiers Place: Austrian-occupied Switzerland Time: 13th century OVERTURE A landscape at Bürglen, in the canton of Uri. On the right the chalet of William Tell; on the left the lower cascade of the Schächental torrent, over which there is a slender bridge. Peasants are decorating with leafy boughs three small chalets destined for three newly-wedded couples; others are busy at different kinds of field labour. Jemmy is practising with his bow and arrows; William Tell, deep in thought and leaning on his spade, stands apart. Hedwige, seated by her house, is weaving a basket and glancing alternately at her son and her husband. CHORUS What a serene day the sky foretells! Let us celebrate it in our concerts; let the echoes from this shore lift our songs into the air! Let the echoes, etc. Through our labours, let us do homage to the creator of the universe. What a serene day, etc. FISHERMAN Come quickly into my little boat, shy young lass; here is the abode of the pleasure that calls you. I am leaving the shore; Lisbeth, sail with me; ah, come! The cloudless sky promises us a fine day, etc. TELL (aside) In his elation he extols his pleasures, his mistress; he is not tormented by the weariness of spirit that afflicts me. How burdensome is life! We no longer have a fatherland! He sings, and Helvetia mourns her lost freedom. FISHERMAN Flowers wreathe her head; their secret power, warding off the storm, assures us a safe return, etc. And you, lonely lake, witness of a sweet mystery, do not tell the land the secret of love! etc. JEMMY, HEDWIGE His foolhardy courage invites shipwreck and, defying the storm, thinks only of his return, etc. If he directed his course towards the dreaded reef, a death-song to be sure would follow the songs of love! etc. TELL (aside) How burdensome is life! We no longer have a fatherland! He sings, and Helvetia laments its last day! He sings, and Helvetia, etc. (The ranz des vaches is heard in the distance.) CHORUS From the mountains we hear the signal for rest; the country festivity cuts short our labours, etc. This rustic festival, unbeknown to the master's eye, will let us acknowledge the sweet land of our birth. (Old Melchthal, leaning on his son Arnold, comes down the hill followed by his countrymen. All the village gather happily and enthusiastically around him.) JEMMY HEDWIGE, FISHERMAN. TELL, CHORUS Greetings, honour, homage to the virtuous Melchthal! etc. HEDWIGE The shepherds' festival, according to ancient custom, out of three young lovers makes three happy husbands. ARNOLD (aside) Lovers, husbands! - Ah, what thoughts beset me! (Hedwige approaches Melchthal and asks him to bless the union of the young couples.) HEDWIGE Blessed by you. MELCHTHAL By me? HEDWIGE You will pronounce a blessing on us all. TELL It is the sacred privilege of age and the virtues, and a very sweet portent of the favours of Heaven. MELCHTHAL Shepherds, let your voices unite, let the horns resound far and wide! All of you celebrate on this glorious day work, marriage and love... CHORUS (Women) With the joyous songs that resound let our gentler tones unite! Let us too celebrate, by turns, work, marriage and love! ARNOLD, FISHERMEN, TELL, MELCHTHAL, JEMMY HEDWIGE, CHORUS Let us all celebrate on this glorious day work, marriage and love! etc. CHORUS By the roaring torrents let the horns answer each other! And the echo from these hills. holding back our songs will repeat their sweet sounds to the forests and valleys! Yes, the echo from these hills, etc. ... to the woods and the valleys! Let us celebrate through our games marriage and its bonds, etc. By the roaring torrents let the horns answer each other, etc. Let us celebrate through our games marriage and its bonds, etc. By the roaring torrents let the horns answer each other, through our songs and our games let us celebrate the sweet bonds of the loving shepherds, etc. and fly to them! Through our songs, etc. ... and fly to them! (The crowd departs.) TELL (to Melchthal) Let my lonely roof offer you a protective shelter against the heat of the day! It is there that my ancestors lived in peace, that I escape from the tyrants, that I conceal from their eyes the happiness of being a husband, the happiness of being a father. (He embraces his son.) MELCHTHAL (to Arnold) The happiness of being a father! You hear him, o my son, it is the supreme blessing. Will you always disappoint the wish of my old age? The shepherds' festival on this glad day through a triple bond is going to consecrate the marriage vow, and it is not yours? (All leave except Arnold.) ARNOLD Mine, he says, never, never mine! Oh that I may keep to myself the secret of my disastrous obsession! You, whose brow aspires to the diadem, O Mathilde, I love you! I love you, and I betray duty and honour, my father and my country! Against the deadly avalanche my strength served to shield you: I saved you, you, the daughter of Kings, you whom a perfidious power destines to give us laws! Drunk with a mad hope, my insane youth has wasted its blood for ungrateful masters: to have known under them the glory of battle, that is my shame! But then, my tears have wiped it out: Let us not restore it through a fatal love. (Hunting horns are heard.) But what's this noise? The horn of the tyrants spewed out by Germany sounds on the mountain. Gessler is there; Mathilde accompanies him; I must see her again, hear her voice again; Let us at the same time be happy and guilty! (He is about to leave when he comes face to face with William Tell, who is coming out of his house.) TELL Where are you going? What's troubling you so? The approach of a friend doesn't stop you? ARNOLD No, no, no! TELL Why are you trembling? ARNOLD (aside) Shall I have the courage to dissemble? (aloud) Under the burden of slavery what great heart is not cast down? TELL (aside) I should understand woes that I share: Arnold has not answered me, Arnold has not answered me! ARNOLD (aside) Could I be more out of luck? TELL (aside) Out of luck? He's hiding a secret from me. (aloud) Why do you remain silent? ARNOLD What are you hoping for? TELL To restore to your heart strength and virtue... Arnold! ARNOLD (aside) Ah, Mathilde, my soul's idol, must I then subdue my passion? TELL (aside) I can read into his heart... ARNOLD (aside) O my fatherland! To you my heart sacrifices both my love and my happiness! etc, TELL (aside) He reddens at his error... If by serving tyranny he was a traitor to his country, at least his remorse expiates a moment of dishonour. I have been able to read into his heart... He reddens at his error, if by serving tyranny, etc. (to Arnold) For us no more servile fear; let us be men, and we shall conquer! ARNOLD And how to avenge our indignities? TELL All unjust power is weak. ARNOLD Against foreign masters what are our supports? TELL The dangers; for us there is only one, for them there are a thousand. ARNOLD Think of the blessings you lose! TELL What of it! ARNOLD Where's the glory in hoping for reverses? TELL I'm none too sure what glory is... but I do know the weight of fetters, but I do know the weight of fetters. ARNOLD Your hope - TELL Is in victory: yours too, I need to believe it. ARNOLD We should be free? TELL It is my vow. ARNOLD But where do we fight? TELL Here. ARNOLD Defeated, what will be our refuge? TELL The grave. ARNOLD And our avenger, and our avenger? TELL God! ARNOLD (aside) O Mathilde, my soul's idol! So I must subdue my passion! O my fatherland, to you my heart sacrifices both my love and my happiness! etc. TELL (aside) I can read into his heart. He reddens at his error; if, by serving tyranny, he was a traitor to his country. at least his remorse expiates a moment of dishonour! etc. ARNOLD When the hour of danger sounds, friend, I shall be ready. (Arnold is about to go.) TELL Stay! ARNOLD (aside) O fatal mischance! TELL Melchthal! Melchthal! (sound of horns, off) What do I hear? It's Gessler! What! While he still defies us would you, a willing slave, crave the favour of a scornful glance? ARNOLD What harsh words! For me they're an insult. I am going to face the insolent oppressor on his way by. TELL No rash enterprise, think of your father, he must be protected; think of your country, it must be avenged, it must be avenged, it must be avenged. ARNOLD (aside) My father! TELL (aside) He wavers... ARNOLD (aside) My country! TELL (aside) He turns pale! ARNOLD (aside) My love! TELL (aside) What then is... ARNOLD (aside) What must I do? TELL (aside) ... all this secrecy? ARNOLD (aside) O heaven, you know how dear Mathilde is to me! O heaven, you know how dear Mathilde is to me! But to virtue I yield, but to virtue I yield. Hatred, woe, woe to our tyrants! (The sounds of festivities are heard approaching.) TELL Listen to those wedding-songs in the distance! Let's not cast a gloom over the shepherds' festival: let's not mingle tears with their pleasures, and for one day at least let a people escape from its woes. And for one day at least, etc. ARNOLD Let me hide my tears from his eyes, I owe no more save to our woes. O Heaven, you know how dear Mathilde is to me, etc. TELL He will fight in our ranks, he will fight in our ranks, in our ranks. Hatred and woe to our tyrants! ARNOLD But to virtue I yield, etc. Hatred and woe to our tyrants! etc. (The procession for the three bridegrooms arrives. Three men go into the chalets which stand on-stage, to fetch the three brides. Hedwige, Jemmy and Melchthal come out from Tell's house.) HEDWIGE Over our heads the sun shines and seems to halt in mid-course to witness the family festival. Venerable Melchthal, honour of bygone days, it is for you to bless their chaste love. (The three couples come forward and kneel before Melchthal who is sitting in a bower of greenery which has been prepared for him.) MELCHTHAL (to the bridal couples) When Heaven hears your promise is it for me to consecrate it? TELL Yes, to do homage to old age is still, my God, to honour you. ALL (except Arnold) O sky the world's adornment, cause a sweet augury to shine for them! For their love is as pure as your light on a fine day! etc. ARNOLD (aside) They are going to be united. How I suffer! They are going to be united. For me no more hope! What pains I endure! fatal love! For their love is as pure as your light on a fine day! etc. MELCHTHAL (to the bridal couples) You will give back to us the example of the old virtues. Bear in mind, young shepherds, that Switzerland, which is watching you, demands from your marriage supporters, avengers; and you out of your children, O faithful helpmates, teach your sons what kind of men their ancestors were that they may be great in their turn, that they may be free like them, that they may be the pride of our mountains. (The sound of the hunt draws nearer.) TELL Gessler again! again! ARNOLD (aside and leaving without being seen) I must run for it! TELL Gessler proscribes these vows. Listen to the tyrant, listen, he calls out to you that there is no longer a fatherland, that the source of the courageous blood that seethed in our ancestors' hearts is forever dried up. A people without virtues no longer brings forth brave men! What would you bequeath to your sons? The fetters by which your arms are bruised. Wives, exile your husbands from your beds, there are always enough slaves. HEDWIGE What violent emotions seem to excite you! Has the day come to let them break out freely? TELL Perhaps! I no longer see Arnold. JEMMY He's leaving us. TELL He's running away from me. In vain does he conceal from me the uneasiness that attends him. (to Hedwige) I'm off to question him. You, start the games going again. HEDWIGE You chill me with fear and you talk of merrymaking! TELL Let it hide from the tyrants the noise of the tempest! Drown it beneath your joyful strains: it must only roar for them as it falls upon their heads! (Exit Tell.) CHORUS (dancing) Hymen, your happy day dawns for us. Your glorious day dawns for us, etc. Of the crowns that you give these happy couples are envious. With joy and tenderness their youth grows in beauty, etc. Over our heads the tempests are dumb, etc. Everything tells us - Hymen, your happy day, etc. Through your flames in our souls you proclaim our hope; your rapture unceasingly joins tenderness to duty, etc. Hymen, your happy day, etc. ... these happy couples are envious. (The three bridegrooms and their partners make up a dance-set for six. These dances are followed by an archery competition; several bowmen try without succeeding; Jemmy, luckier. hits the bull with his first shot.) Glory, honour to Tell's son, he gains the prize for skill! etc. JEMMY (running to his mother) Ah, mother, mother! HEDWIGE O moment filled with rapture! CHORUS He gains the prize for skill: he inherits it from his father. Glory! Glory! For us, children of nature, the simple fustian garb takes the place of the armour that protects the warriors. But to the mark that summons it our arrow is true, and with it hope revives in our homes. etc. etc. JEMMY Pale and trembling, hardly able to support himself, mother, a herdsman comes hurrying towards us. FISHERMAN It's the worthy Leuthold; what misfortune brings him to us? (Leuthold appears; breathless, he carries a bloodstained axe on which he supports himself.) LEUTHOLD Save me! Save me! HEDWIGE What do you fear? LEUTHOLD Their anger. HEDWIGE Leuthold, what power threatens you? LEUTHOLD The only one that has never shown mercy, the cruellest, the most dreadful of all... O my friends, save me from its blows! MELCHTHAL What have you done? LEUTHOLD My duty. Out of all my family Heaven left me only one child, only one daughter; an impious supporter of the Governor, a soldier, carried her off - she my last remaining blessing! Hedwige, I am a father, and I knew how to defend her. My axe was not slow to find his forehead; Do you see this blood? It is his. MELCHTHAL He had a father's courage, but we must fear the tyrant's wrath for him. LEUTHOLD A sure refuge waits for me on the other bank, (to the Fisherman) - take me there. FISHERMAN This torrent, that rock allow no approach to the opposite bank. To brave this danger is to expose oneself to death. LEUTHOLD Ah, barbarian, may you in your last hour find God deaf to your remorse, as you are to my entreaty! TELL (aside) Arnold has vanished. I have not been able to catch up with him. CHORUS OF SOLDIERS (in the distance) Leuthold, woe to you! LEUTHOLD Great God! CHORUS OF SOLDIERS Woe! LEUTHOLD I implore your protection! TELL I hear threats and complaining. LEUTHOLD William, fate overwhelms me, I am pursued, I am not at all guilty; yet I die if I do not escape at once: there is only one way for my safety. TELL Your boat is there, fisherman, you hear him. LEUTHOLD It's useless; he is as pitiless as the Governor. TELL He disregards Heaven's law, he refuses you! Well then, follow me! CHORUS OF SOLDIERS (coming nearer) It is blood that the murder requires. Woe to you, Leuthold! TELL (to Leuthold) Let's make haste, there they are. Farewell. HEDWIGE You will perish. TELL Ah, never fear, Hedwige: The perils are indeed great; (pointing to the sky) but God will lead him! (Hedwige attempts to hold her husband back; Jemmy, for his part, seeks to follow his father. Tell entrusts them both to old Melchthal and, guiding Leuthold's unsteady steps, succeeds in getting him into the boat just as the soldiers are about to seize them both. The boat moves off at once.) CHORUS OF VILLAGERS God of goodness, God all-powerful, confound the oppressor's rage! Deign to protect from shipwreck the defender of the innocent, deign to protect the courage of the defender of the innocent! RODOLPHE This is the hour of justice! CHORUS OF SOLDIERS This is the hour of justice! RODOLPHE Woe to the murderer - CHORUS OF SOLDIERS Woe to the murderer - RODOLPHE Let him die! CHORUS OF SOLDIERS Let him die! RODOLPHE Let him die! CHORUS OF SOLDIERS Let him die! CHORUS OF SWISS PEOPLE God of goodness, God all-powerful, etc. (The boat is seen approaching the opposite shore.) JEMMY, HEDWIGE He is saved! RODOLPHE What do I see? O fury! CHORUS OF SOLDIERS He has made the fatal crossing. HEDWIGE I recognize God's handiwork. JEMMY, MELCHTHAL I recognize God's handiwork. RODOLPHE Their joy is a new outrage; slaves, woe to you all! JEMMY, MELCHTHAL (aside) What insolence! Why does not my age serve my anger better? CHORUS OF VILLAGERS Over our heads the storm rumbles, let's away, let's away! RODOLPHE Stay! There is more than one guilty person. Who lent his help to the murderer? Name the traitor - your lives are at stake. JEMMY They're going to talk... HEDWIGE They're going to talk... JEMMY ... terror overwhelms them. HEDWIGE ... terror overwhelms them. RODOLPHE (having the crowd rounded up by the soldiers) Obey, your lives are at stake. CHORUS OF SOLDIERS Your lives are at stake. JEMMY, HEDWIGE. CHORUS OF VILLAGE WOMEN (falling upon their knees) Virgin, whom Christians adore, hear our voices, they implore thee; protect from the evil-doer's sword Our/their husbands and our/their children! Virgin, whom Christians, etc. FISHERMAN Our lives are at stake. Ah, let us fear our tyrants, etc. MELCHTHAL Our lives are at stake! I see them all trembling! etc. CHORUS OF VILLAGE MEN Our lives are at stake! Ah, let us fear our tyrants! etc. CHORUS OF SOLDIERS Do you see them all trembling? Your lives are at stake! Do you see them all trembling? etc. RODOLPHE I see them all trembling. Obey, obey, Your lives are at stake! etc. MELCHTHAL We should have done as he did. Friends, calm your terror, he dared to act, do you dare to keep silent! CHORUS OF VILLAGERS He dares to act, let us dare to keep silent! RODOLPHE Tremble, tremble, name the traitor! MELCHTHAL Tell the tyrant that this soil supports no informers. RODOLPHE Seize this daring fellow! Seize this daring fellow who defies my just fury. Let the horror of devastation and pillage lie heavy upon this shore! Shame and misery are the reward that my wrath bequeaths to misfortune! JEMMY If the horror of devastation and pillage lies heavy upon this shore, vile mercenary, my father's bow can shield us from your fury! JEMMY, HEDWIGE, FISHERMAN, MELCHTHAL, CHORUS OF VILLAGERS If the horror of devastation and pillage lies heavy upon this shore, vile mercenary, my/his father's bow can shield us from your fury. We defy your fury! etc. RODOLPHE Let the horror of devastation and pillage lie heavy upon this shore! Ah, fear my rage! Yes! etc. CHORUS OF SOLDIERS Let the horror of devastation and pillage lie heavy upon this shore! Shame and misery are the reward that my wrath bequeaths to misfortune! RODOLPHE Let the horror, etc. JEMMY If the horror, etc. JEMMY, HEDWIGE, FISHERMAN, MELCHTHAL, CHORUS OF SWISS PEOPLE If the horror of devastation and pillage, etc. ...we defy your fury! RODOLPHE, CHORUS OF SOLDIERS Let the horror of devastation and pillage, etc. ... ah! fear my/his rage! (The soldiers seize old Melchthal; the Swiss try to free him, but they are without arms and the old man is dragged off violently before their eyes. They try to follow him but a wall of halberds stops them. The curtain falls upon this scene.) The heights of Rütli, overlooking the Lake of the Four Cantons (Lake Lucerne). On the far horizon we see across the water the summits of the mountains of Schwyz: down below is the village of Brunnen. - Thick fir-trees standing on each side of the stage complete the solitude. (Hunt-servants, carrying torches, open the march. Others control the hounds; still others arrive with slaughtered stags, foxes and wolves. Ladies and gentlemen on horseback, with falcons on their wrists and followed by pages, cross the stage. Lastly, huntsmen on foot come to a halt and drain the wineskins they carry.) CHORUS OF HUNTSMEN What a wild harmony goes with the sound of the horns! The cry of the dying chamois blends with the noise of the torrent; to hear him breathe out his life - is there a greater pleasure? The fury of the tempest holds nothing more intoxicating; etc. (The sound of a bell is heard.) A HUNTSMAN What is that noise? CHORUS OF SHEPHERDS (at work in the mountains) Into the midst of the shining water the sun glides down; from the snow-crowned mountains the brightness vanishes. The village bell sounds, it is our return it orders. Night is here, night is here. A HUNTSMAN The monotonous voices of the herdsmen still follow us; the Governor's horn sounds, (with CHORUS OF HUNTSMEN) it is our return it orders. Night is here, night is here! The horn sounds, the horn sounds, night is here, night is here! (They go off. Enter Mathilde, who seems to have deliberately become separated from the rest of the hunting-party.) MATHILDE They're going away at last; I thought I recognised him; my heart did not deceive my eyes. He has followed me here, he is somewhere nearby. I tremble - if he were to appear! What is this deep, mysterious feeling whose warmth I nurture, that maybe I cherish? Arnold, Arnold, is it really you, a simple inhabitant of these fields, the hope, the pride of these mountains, who captivate my thoughts and cause my terror? Ah, that I might at least admit it to myself? Melchthal, it is you whom I love; you saved my life and my gratitude excuses my love. Gloomy forest, sad and wild wilderness, I prefer you to the splendours of palaces; It is on the hills, in the dwelling-place of the storm, that my heart can be restored to peace; but the echo alone shall learn my secrets, etc. You, soft and shy shepherd star, who come shedding your reflections in my footsteps, ah, be also my star and my guide! Like him your rays are discreet, and the echo alone will repeat my secrets, etc. (Arnold has appeared during the last few bars of the Romance.) ARNOLD My presence here perhaps offends you? Mathilde, my indiscreet footsteps have dared to force a way through to you. MATHILDE One easily pardons the wrongs in which one shares, Arnold, I was waiting for you. ARNOLD That answer in which your soul breathes, I feel all too strongly that pity inspires it in you; you pity my error; I offend you by loving you. How hideous is my destiny! MATHILDE Is mine any the happier? ARNOLD I must speak, I must, in this moment so cruel and so sweet - so dangerous, perhaps - that the daughter of kings may learn to know me; I dare to say it with a noble pride, for you Heaven called me into being. I have weighed the danger of a fatal prejudice; it rises up between us in all its power; I can respect it, but only in your absence. Mathilde, order me to flee far away out of your sight to give up my country and my father, to go and die on foreign soil, to choose for a tomb uninhabited shores, pronounce on my fate, say a word. MATHILDE Stay. Yes, you wring from my heart this secret my eyes have betrayed, yes, you wring, etc. I cannot stifle my passion, even though it should destroy us both! etc. ARNOLD So it has come from her heart, this secret her eyes have betrayed! So it has come, etc. Her passion responds to mine, even though it should destroy us both! etc. (to Mathilde) But what a distance between us, what obstacles on all sides! MATHILDE Ah, do not lose hope; everything raises you in my eyes. ARNOLD Sweet admission! This tender way you speak makes my heart drunk with delight! MATHILDE I can love him, everything foretells for me days of happiness near him. I love him dearly, everything foretells for me days of happiness near him. Yes, I love him, and everything foretells for me days of happiness near him! etc. ARNOLD Sweet admission! This tender way you speak makes my heart drunk with delight! etc. Everything here foretells my happiness. What ecstasies for my heart! etc. MATHILDE Return to the fields of glory, fly on to new exploits. Return to the fields, etc. One is ennobled by victory; the world will approve my choice. ARNOLD Let me deserve on the fields of glory the prize which awaits me on my return: let me deserve, etc. Can I doubt victory when I obey love? MATHILDE One is ennobled by victory. ARNOLD Can I doubt victory when I obey love? Yes - MATHILDE He is worthy of my love, yes. In the one who loves you, yes, it is honour itself that rules. Mathilde, ever faithful, will go into your tent to receive your faith. etc. ARNOLD In the one I love yes, it is honour itself that rules. Mathilde, ever faithful, will come into my tent to receive my faith. etc. I return to the fields of glory... MATHILDE Return to the fields of glory... ARNOLD I fly on to new exploits. MATHILDE Fly on to new exploits; one is ennobled by victory. ARNOLD Can I doubt victory when I obey your rule? Yes - MATHILDE The world will approve my choice! Yes - in the one who loves you, yes, it is honour itself, etc. ARNOLD in the one I love, yes, it is honour itself, etc. MATHILDE Someone's coming, we must part. ARNOLD Shall I see you again? MATHILDE Yes, tomorrow. ARNOLD O joy! MATHILDE When dawn comes up again, in the old chapel, in God's presence, I shall hear your last farewell. ARNOLD O sweet favour! MATHILDE I leave you, someone's coming. ARNOLD Heaven! Walter and William, yes, flee from their presence! (Mathilde leaves. Tell and Walter enter.) TELL You weren't alone here? ARNOLD Well? TELL We fear to disturb such a sweet conversation. ARNOLD I do not inquire into your intentions. WALTER Perhaps more than another you should seek to know them. TELL No... What do they matter to Melchthal if he is deserting our ranks, if he secretly aspires to serve our tyrants? ARNOLD Who told you so? TELL Your agitation, and Mathilde and her flight. ARNOLD I'm being spied on, and it's by you? TELL Myself; your conduct yesterday cast suspicion into my startled heart. ARNOLD But if I love... WALTER Great God! ARNOLD ... but if I am loved? Your suspicions?... TELL would be correct. ARNOLD My love? WALTER Is impious. ARNOLD Mathilde? TELL She is our enemy. WALTER She was born among our oppressors. TELL And basely Melchthal embraces her knees! ARNOLD But what right have you for your blind fury?... TELL Our rights? A word will tell you them all: do you really know what it is to love one's fatherland? ARNOLD You speak of "fatherland", we no longer have one. I am leaving this shore inhabited by discord and hatred and fear, worthy daughters of slavery; I hasten into battles to regain my honour. TELL When Helvetia is a field of tortures where they harvest its children, let your arms be Gessler's accomplices, fight and die for our tyrants, fight and die for our tyrants, etc. ARNOLD The camps restore my courage; in the camps loyalty reigns, already glory has marked my passage in them, besides, it replaces freedom. Already glory, etc. WALTER On account of us Gessler, as a prelude to battles, has cut short an old man's life; this victim awaits his funeral rites, he has claims on your help. Go! run! he has claims on your help! etc. He has cut short an old man's life, he has claims on your help. ARNOLD Ah, what a dreadful mystery! An old man, you say? WALTER Whom Switzerland reveres. ARNOLD His name? WALTER I must conceal it. TELL To speak is to strike him to the heart. ARNOLD My father!... WALTER Yes, your father! Melchthal, the honour of our hamlets, your father, assassinated by the hand of executioners! ARNOLD What do I hear! O crime! Alas! Alas! I die. His life that they dared to outlaw - I did not protect it! His life. etc. My father, you must have cursed me! My heart is torn by remorse! O heaven, O heaven! I shall see no more! TELL He shudders... WALTER He reels, he scarcely breathes. TELL He scarcely breathes. ARNOLD I die! TELL, WALTER He turns pale, remorse rends him, all the ties of love are broken. ARNOLD I die! TELL, WALTER His terror replaces his frenzy, his unhappiness will restore his virtues to him! Remorse rends him, he is moved at his father's name, his heart is cast down for ever. His unhappiness I hope will restore his virtues to him, etc. ARNOLD My father, you must have cursed me! My heart is torn by remorse! O heaven, o heaven! I shall see you no more!. etc. So it is true! WALTER I witnessed the crime. ARNOLD You? WALTER I saw the victim struggle and fall. ARNOLD Great God! What to do? TELL Your duty. ARNOLD I must die? TELL You must live! ARNOLD Well then, against Gessler assist my despair. Will you follow me into Altdorf? TELL Restrain the wild passions to which your soul gives way. WALTER Stay, and avenge at the same time your father and your country. ARNOLD Go on! TELL The night, favourable to our plans, already surrounds us with a protective darkness. You will see, in these parts that Gessler believes submissive, courageous friends rise up on all sides: they will understand your tears. Out of ploughshares they beat weapons to win a worthy destiny: either independence or death! ALL THREE Either independence or death! Let us fire ourselves with a holy frenzy! Liberty conspires for us; from the heavens my/your father inspires us, let us avenge him, let's weep for him no more, etc. When he dies for his country his glorious destiny seems to tell us that it was for the palms of martyrdom to crown so many virtues! It was for the palms... etc. From the heavens my/your father, etc. Let us fire ourselves with a holy frenzy, etc. ...to crown so many virtues. TELL A confused noise seems to be coming out of the depths of the vast wood. Listen! ARNOLD Listen! TELL Silence! WALTER I hear the forest ringing with many footsteps. ARNOLD The noise draws nearer... TELL Who comes forward? MEN OF UNTERWALDEN (in the distance) Friends of the fatherland! Friends of the fatherland! TELL O joy! ARNOLD O vengeance! TELL, ARNOLD. WALTER Honour, all honour to their presence! MEN OF UNTERWALDEN We have known how to face, we have known how to overcome the perils, as we have the distance; etc. The torrents, the forests have not been able to hold us back. Under the escort of prudence our daring has brought us through to Rütli, etc. TELL O you courageous sons of the canton of Unterwalden, this noble alacrity contains nothing to surprise us. WALTER They'll know how to imitate it: (a distant horn call) I hear the horn of our brothers of Schwyz sounding; be proud of your children, o my country! (The men of Schwyz enter.) MEN OF SCHWYZ In these times of distress a foreign race, spying upon our griefs, condemns us to secrecy. May this lonely wood alone be aware of our tears! etc. TELL (to Arnold and Walter) The fear of such great misfortunes is pardonable; but believe in my hope, their hearts will respond to ours. Honour to their presence! TELL, ARNOLD, WALTER, MEN OF UNTERWALDEN Honour to their presence! WALTER Of the canton of Uri alone do we regret the absence. TELL To conceal the trace of their footsteps, the better to hide our sacred conspiracies, our brothers are opening over the waters with their oars a way that does not betray. WALTER The promise is followed by swift results, do you not hear? TELL Who comes? MEN OF URI (approaching) Friends of the fatherland! Friends of the fatherland! ARNOLD, TELL, WALTER, MEN OF UNTERWALDEN AND SCHWYZ Honour, all honour to the upholders of our rights! MEN OF URI, SCHWYZ AND UNTERWALDEN William, as you see, three peoples at your call, proud of their rights, will know how to defy an infamous yoke. Speak! Speak! and your proud tones springing from your soul will suddenly in shafts of flame fire our senses! etc. Speak! Speak! TELL (placing himself in the midst of the deputies from the three cantons) The avalanche rolling down from our mountain tops, hurling death upon our fields, encloses within its flanks evils less ravenous than each pace of the tyrants sows after it. WALTER From now on it's up to us, to our courage, to purge this shore of detested masters. MEN OF SCHWYZ This is the threat of war; in spite of ourselves terror paralyses us. WALTER Where then is your ancient daring? For a thousand years our unconquerable forefathers defended their ancient liberties; does their race die out in you? MEN OF SCHWYZ In spite of ourselves terror paralyses us. TELL Bowed under the wrongs you have suffered, if you no longer feel the burden of your chains, think at least of your families; your fathers, your wives, your daughters no longer have sanctuary in your homes. WALTER No longer are there hospitable roofs among us. TELL Friends, against this infamous yoke humanity protests in vain; our oppressors are triumphant. A slave has no wife, a slave has no children! DEPUTIES FROM ALL THREE CANTONS A slave has no wife, a slave has no children! This is to suffer too much, what must we do? ARNOLD (rousing himself suddenly from his despondency) Avenge the death of my father! DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS Melchthal! What was his crime? ARNOLD His crime? He loved his fatherland! DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS Abominable, impious murder! TELL Let us at least be worthy of the blood from which we spring. In the darkness and in silence with sword and lance arm the three cantons. DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS In the darkness and in silence with sword and lance arm the three cantons. TELL Tomorrow for us will dawn the day of vengeance, will you help us? DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS Have no doubt of it, yes, all of us. TELL Ready to overcome? DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS Yes, all of us! TELL Ready to die? DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS Yes, all of us! TELL Let the loyal clasping of our hands confirm these sacred promises. Let us swear, let us swear by our dangers... ALL THE OTHERS Let us swear, let us swear by our dangers... TELL ... by our adversities, by our ancestors, ALL THE OTHERS ... by our adversities, by our ancestors... TELL ... to the God of kings and shepherds... ALL THE OTHERS ... to the God of kings and shepherds... TELL ... to resist unjust masters. ALL THE OTHERS ... to resist unjust masters. (with TELL) If among us there are traitors, if among us there are traitors, may the sun refuse to their eyes the light of his torch, Heaven refuse access to their prayer and the earth a tomb! Let us swear by our dangers, etc. We all of us swear it, we all of us swear it! ARNOLD Day is here! WALTER For us it is a signal of alarms. TELL Of victory! WALTER What cry must answer it? ALL To arms! to arms! to arms! Scene One The interior of a ruined chapel, in the grounds of the Governor's palace at Altdorf MATHILDE Arnold, what's the cause of this despair? Is that the tender farewell I was hoping to hear? You are leaving, but soon we shall be able to see each other again? ARNOLD No, I stay where a terrible duty chains me; I stay to avenge my father. MATHILDE What are you hoping for? ARNOLD It is blood I hope for. I renounce the favours of fate, I renounce all that I love, glory, you yourself!... MATHILDE Me, Melchthal! ARNOLD My father is dead; he has fallen beneath the murderous sword. MATHILDE God! ARNOLD Do you know who directed the steel? MATHILDE Ah, I shudder! Go on! ARNOLD Your consternation has named him: Gessler! MATHILDE Gessler! All hope for our love is over when my life has scarcely begun, all hope for our love, etc. I lose my happiness for ever, for ever! Yes, Melchthal, a barbarian's crime separates us, my wandering reason has understood your grief. My wandering reason, etc. Braving the servitude of fate, in vain have I given you my faith; what loneliness in my court! You will no longer be near me. Finally, to complete my misery, a crime deprives you of a father and I cannot mourn him with you, and I cannot mourn him with you! A crime deprives you, etc. Destiny, despite your rage, this sad heart will always preserve the image of my liberator. Destiny, despite your rage, etc. ARNOLD What noise reaches my ear? Singing! Shouts! MATHILDE Gessler rouses himself. ARNOLD Daylight returns him to his crimes. MATHILDE Alas, these songs announce the preparations for a warlike festival. Flee from the Governor's palace, flee from the Governor's palace, his joy is always deadly; flee, if ever I was dear to you! ARNOLD I, flee! I, flee! MATHILDE If upon the foreign shore I cannot offer to your misery my consoling attentions, my soul follows you completely, it is faithful to your misfortunes. My soul follows you, etc. ARNOLD These songs drown your prayer! Their joy insults my griefs! Do you hear them? Do you hear them? MATHILDE Ah, take pity on my tears! Flee, if ever I was dear to you! ARNOLD I, flee! I, flee! MATHILDE If upon the foreign shore, etc. And think - ARNOLD I think of my father! MATHILDE By renouncing our love we give him more than our lives. Farewell, Melchthal! Farewell, Melchthal! Farewell, it is for ever! Ah, think - ARNOLD I think of my father! MATHILDE By renouncing our love, etc. ...it is for ever! ARNOLD By renouncing my love, etc. ...it is for ever! By renouncing my love I give him more than my life. Farewell, Mathilde! Farewell, it is for ever! Scene Two The main square in Altdorf, where preparations are in hand for a festival. Here and there stand apple and lime trees. Gessler's castle is in the background. Workmen are busy putting up a platform where the Court are to take their seats; others are setting up, towards the back of the stage, a "trophy" composed of the Governor's arms and surmounted by his hat. CHORUS OF MEN Glory to the supreme power! Glory to the supreme power! Glory! Awe to Gessler, who dispenses its laws! Awe! Yes, yes, it is the Emperor himself who hurls anathema through his terrible voice! Yes, yes, it is the Emperor himself, etc. Glory to the supreme power, etc. CHORUS OF WOMEN Peace to the power we love! Let us hope for Mathilde's laws! What need is there for a diadem? Love is a supreme power, equal to that of kings. CHORUS Glory to the supreme power, etc. GESSLER Vainly in their insolence do the people defy my vengeance, they must submit to my rule, they must submit to my rule. (pointing to the trophy) Before this sign of power let everyone bow down in silence, as he bows before me, as he bows before me! Let everyone, etc. (During the following the people are made to pass by in groups, and forced to bow before the trophy.) CHORUS OF MEN Glory to the supreme power, etc. CHORUS OF WOMEN Peace to the power we love, etc. CHORUS Glory to the supreme power, etc. GESSLER (standing on the raised platform) Let the German Empire today receive the pledge of your obedience! For a century now its power has deigned to grant a support to your weakness. On that day, our rights, sealed by victory, were extended over your ancestors. Through your songs and your games celebrate the memory of such a glorious day, I will it! (Here the festivities begin. One of Gessler's lieutenants has had brought in forcibly some Tyrolean men and girls who dance to the sound of voices only.) GIRLS You whom the bird would not follow, fit your steps to our tunes! In our fields the sons of the mountains to their partners will teach your steps. You whom the bird would not follow, fit your steps to our tunes! You who are not of these climes, to our frosts you will return. In our fields the sons of the mountains to their partners will teach your steps. MEN Come blend your steps with our songs! Stranger so fleet, do you wish to please? Ah, do not run away! The fresh flower is less beautiful when your steps go near it. In our fields the sons of the mountains to their partners will teach your steps. The fresh flower compared with her is pale and without attractions. Come blend your steps with our songs! Stranger so fleet, etc. (They dance.) GIRLS You whom the bird, etc. MEN Come blend your songs, etc. (Gessler's soldiers force the Swiss women to dance with them: the people show by their gestures their indignation at this violence. At the conclusion of the dance they all prostrate themselves before the trophy. Some soldiers drag forward Tell and his son, whom they have noticed still standing in the middle of the scene.) RODOLPHE Insolent fellow, bow! TELL Taking your strength from their weakness you can degrade this people, but I, I do not recognise the law that prescribes for me a base action. RODOLPHE Villain! CHORUS OF SWISS MEN O moment of terror! For him we have everything to fear! RODOLPHE Governor, your law is being defied. GESSLER What rash fellow dares to infringe it? RODOLPHE He is standing before you. TELL Standing, I honour power when it frees us from a shameful slavery, but the independence of my brow bends before God alone. GESSLER Traitor, obey or tremble! My voice and the perils threaten you together; see these arms, see these soldiers. TELL I listen, I look, and I do not understand you. GESSLER The slave in revolt against his master does not tremble as he foresees his fate? TELL Should I be before you, if I feared death? RODOLPHE Such audacity, my lord, makes me recognise him; this is William Tell, this is that traitor who rescued the murderer Leuthold from our blows. GESSLER Seize him, seize him! SOLDIERS (hesitating) That's that redoubtable archer, that's that intrepid boatman. GESSLER No criminal pity; that is my prisoner. TELL May he be the last! May he be the last! GESSLER Such arrogance wearies me, The thunder gathers, let it pass over you and you will submit! RODOLPHE What excess of audacity! He defies, he threatens, come, no mercy, let's disarm him. GESSLER What excess of audacity! Such arrogance wearies me. No, no mercy, let's disarm him. TELL Mortal disgrace! (quietly to his son) Hope of my line, o you whom I embrace, away with you, far away from here! Hope of my line, etc. GESSLER See, fear strikes him, see, fear strikes him, he's afraid of death, he's afraid of death, etc. Yes! Yes! JEMMY Let your fear vanish, my place is here, for mercy's sake let me die in your arms! Ah, let me, etc. RODOLPHE No mercy for him, he goes quickly to his death, yes, yes! GESSLER Such arrogance wearies me, the thunder gathers, etc. TELL O you whom I embrace, away with you from here! RODOLPHE What excess of audacity! He defies, he threatens, let's disarm him, come, let's disarm him, etc. JEMMY Let your fear vanish, my place is here, etc. SOLDIERS What excess of audacity! Let's disarm him, etc. (Tell's crossbow and quiver are taken from him.) TELL (in a low voice, to Jemmy) Rejoin your mother, I order it, let the fire blaze out on our hill-tops and give the three cantons the signal for battle! GESSLER (holding the boy back) Stop! - (aside) their tenderness gives a lead to my vengeance - (to Tell) answer, you who dare to defy me, is this your child? TELL The only one. GESSLER You want to save him? TELL To save him? Him? What is his crime? GESSLER His parentage, your speeches, your schemings, your culpable insolence. TELL I alone have defied you, it is I who must be punished. GESSLER His pardon is in your hands, and you can obtain it. You are celebrated everywhere as a skilful archer. (to Rodolphe, as he picks an apple off a nearby tree) Have this apple placed upon the son's head. (to Tell) With one sure arrow you will lift it off before my eyes; or you will both of you perish. TELL What are you saying? GESSLER I will have it. TELL What a dreadful decree - I'm all confusion - you could order upon my son, you barbarian! No, the crime is too great. GESSLER Obey. TELL Ah! You have no child! There is a God, Gessler! GESSLER A master. TELL (pointing to the sky) He hears us! GESSLER This is to dally too long, yield instantly. TELL I cannot. GESSLER Let his son die! TELL Stop! Abominable decree! You triumph over weakness; Jemmy's peril imposes a base action upon me, Gessler; and I bend the knee before you. (He kneels.) GESSLER So there's that redoubtable archer, there's that intrepid boatman! Fear overtakes him, a word crushes him. TELL (rising to his feet again) This punishment at least is just; you punish me for having been able to forget myself. JEMMY Father, think of your skill. TELL Ah, I fear all from my tenderness. JEMMY Put out your hand, examine my heart: under your arrow it will beat fearlessly. TELL Shedding tears, I bless you and I recover my strength on your breast. The calm in your heart has steadied my hand. No more weakness, no more alarms; give me back my weapons: I am William Tell at last! (Tell's bow and quiver are given back to him; bending low, he selects two bolts, one of which he conceals in his garments.) GESSLER Tie up the child! (At this moment one of Mathilde's pages is seen leaving the stage and running off towards the castle.) JEMMY Tie me up? What an insult! No, no, free at least will I die. I expose my head to the fatal shot without murmur, and I shall await it without blanching. CHORUS OF SWISS PEOPLE What! The accents of innocence do not disarm his vengeance? JEMMY (as he sees his father getting ready his weapons) Courage, father! TELL At the sound of his voice my hand lets slip my weapons, my eyes are clouded by dangerous tears... (to Gessler) My son! My son! let me embrace him one last time. (Gessler nods assent and Jemmy runs towards his father.) (to Jemmy) Stay quite still, and bend an imploring knee to the ground. Call upon God, call upon God, it is He alone, my child, who through the son can save the father. Stay like that, but look up at the sky, stay like that, but look up at the sky. In threatening this beloved head this steel tip may startle your eyes. Move as little as you can, as little as you can... Jemmy, Jemmy, think of your mother! She waits for us both! Jemmy, Jemmy, think of your mother, etc. (Jemmy quickly returns to his position at the stake. Tell gazes dully round the assembly. When his eye falls on Gessler his hand unconsciously moves to the place where he has concealed the second bolt; finally, he takes aim, shoots, and the apple flies off the child's head.) CHORUS OF SWISS PEOPLE Victory! Victory! JEMMY Father! SWISS PEOPLE His life has been saved! TELL Heaven! GESSLER What! the apple shot away! SWISS PEOPLE The apple has been shot away, William is triumphant! GESSLER O fury! SWISS PEOPLE O joy! GESSLER O fury! SWISS PEOPLE O joy! Victory! victory! victory! JEMMY My life has been saved: could my father sacrifice his child? TELL I can no longer see, I can hardly stand up; is it really you, my son? I am overcome by happiness. JEMMY (loosening Tell's clothing) Ah! Let us help my father! GESSLER He escapes from my hatred. (noticing the second bolt) What do I see? TELL Ah! I have saved my dearest treasure! GESSLER For whom did you intend this arrow? TELL For you, Gessler! GESSLER Tremble! TELL (embracing his son) I'm no longer afraid. GESSLER Rodolphe, have him shackled! (Enter Mathilde with her ladies and pages.) MATHILDE What did I hear? What did I hear? Atrocious sacrifice! SWISS PEOPLE Must we still fear for them? CHORUS OF SOLDIERS They must both of them perish. GESSLER I shall not cut short such miserable lives, I have promised it; but both are guilty and both shall await death in fetters. MATHILDE What! His son? A child! My lord, my lord, you must hear me. GESSLER The order has been given. Nothing can suspend it. - The son too! MATHILDE You shall not have him, no, no, no, no. In the Sovereign's name I take him under my protection. In the Sovereign's name I take him under my protection. With a whole indignant people looking on at you, dare, dare to snatch him from my arms! With a whole indignant people, etc. RODOLPHE Give way: at least we still have William. MATHILDE'S LADIES Blessed assistance, celestial benevolence! SOLDIERS Let's give way, at least we still have the father. SWISS PEOPLE O dear William, dismal fate! Shackles will punish your virtue, shackles will punish your virtue. RODOLPHE They are muttering, do you hear them? GESSLER The prisoner's audacity has passed into their hatred. Over the waters, tonight, I am hurrying him away to Küssnacht. RODOLPHE Over the waters! But the winds, the storm?... GESSLER (pointing to Tell) Idle fear! Is not the expert boatman with me? Is not the expert boatman with me? At the castle that the lake surrounds a new torment awaits him. SWISS PEOPLE Have mercy! Have mercy! GESSLER Learn how Gessler pardons: I abandon him to the reptiles, and their dreadful hunger will answer him with a tomb. JEMMY O my father! TELL O Jemmy! SWISS PEOPLE Have mercy! Have mercy! GESSLER Never! No, no, no, never! MATHILDE Barbarian! GESSLER When arrogance misleads them, to be sparing with their blood is to betray my anger! etc. RODOLPHE, SOLDIERS When arrogance misleads them to be sparing with their blood is to dishonour yourself with us! etc. MATHILDE It is his death he prepares, I take possession of his son, let him leave with us! etc. JEMMY (to Mathilde) When a barbarian's decree separates me from his arms, I trust only in you! TELL When my death is being prepared may my son, o barbarian, escape from your blows! etc. SWISS PEOPLE It is his death he prepares. The rarest of virtue will fall beneath his blows! etc. GESSLER People, draw back or the guilty man dies, or the guilty man dies. (touching his dagger) I call this sword to witness! (These words are succeeded by a moment of stupefaction among the people.) RODOLPHE (in a low voice) They stay silent. SOLDIERS They stay silent. SWISS PEOPLE Let us in silence ensure... GESSLER, SOLDIERS They fear my/his vengeance. SWISS PEOPLE ...the blows of vengeance. TELL (in a very loud voice, and clanking his chains) Anathema on Gessler! RODOLPHE To suffer such insolence, o torments of hell, o torments of hell! JEMMY AND SWISS PEOPLE (struggling and surging nearer) Hear the sentence: anathema on Gessler! GESSLER (pointing to the Swiss) If one of them steps forward, (indicating Tell) let him fall beneath the sword. MATHILDE Ah! let us escape from Gessler! SOLDIERS Long live Gessler! TELL, SWISS PEOPLE Anathema on Gessler! RODOLPHE To suffer such insolence, etc. JEMMY AND SWISS PEOPLE Listen to the sentence, etc. GESSLER If one of them steps forward, etc. MATHILDE Ah! let us escape from Gessler! SOLDIERS Long live Gessler! Long live Gessler! MATHILDE, JEMMY, TELL, SWISS Such violence... RODOLPHE, GESSLER, SOLDIERS To suffer such insolence - MATHILDE, JEMMY, TELL, SWISS ...is answered by the sword. RODOLPHE, GESSLER, SOLDIERS O torments of hell! MATHILDE, JEMMY, TELL Anathema on Gessler! Anathema on Gessler! etc. RODOLPHE O torments of hell! O torments of hell! etc. GESSLER They'll have Gessler to deal with! etc. SOLDIERS Long live Gessler! etc. SWISS PEOPLE (on the square, on the roofs, up the trees) Anathema on Gessler! Anathema on Gessler! etc. (Gessler, Rodolphe and the soldiers force a way through the crowd dragging Tell with them. Mathilde leaves with Jemmy. The soldiers charge the crowd which disperses in a state of the greatest anxiety.) Appendix JEMMY (to his father) Ah, let your soul be reassured, Heaven, the rights of nature will speak to him for us. Ah, let your soul be reassured, etc. (to Gessler) See his grief, think of my age. You require him to direct his shots against his son, you cause your anger to fall upon a child? But into my breast he has put his courage. Even if at the pleasure of your wrath death becomes my lot, go on, from his hand it will seem sweet, etc. (to his father) Ah, let your soul be reassured, Heaven, men and nature, do they not side with us? etc. I await the trial with courage, and I await it at your knees. I implore it, I implore it with courage, yes, I await it at your knees. The death that I face smiles upon my young soul, I await the trial with courage, I implore it, I implore it at your knees. The death that I face, etc. Ah, let your soul be reassured, etc. ...I implore it at your knees! Scene One Old Melchthal's dwelling ARNOLD (alone) Do not forsake me, hope of revenge! William is in chains and my impatience urges on the moment for battle. How silent it is in this place! I listen - and I hear only the sound of my own footsteps. I must drive out a secret terror! I must go in! In spite of myself I halt upon the threshold; my father is dead, I shall not go back in there. Ancestral home where my eyes opened to the light of day, only yesterday your protective shelter offered a father to my love. I call in vain, o bitter grief! I call in vain, o bitter grief! I call, he no longer hears my voice! I call, he no longer hears my voice! Beloved walls within which my father dwelt, I come to see you for the last time! I come to see you, etc. Ancestral home where my eyes opened to the light of day, beloved walls within which my father dwelt, I come to see you for the last time! I come to see you, etc. CHORUS OF SWISS CONFEDERATES (without) Vengeance! Vengeance! ARNOLD What hope...I hear alarm-cries. CONFEDERATES Vengeance! Vengeance! ARNOLD These are my companions, I see them hurrying this way. CONFEDERATES William is a prisoner and we are without weapons! We all want to help him. Arms, give us arms, and we shall know how to die. Give us arms! ARNOLD William and my father long since foresaw the hour for battle: under the rock, at the back of the lonely chalet, run and arm yourselves, run and arm yourselves! CONFEDERATES Let's run and arm ourselves! Let's run and arm ourselves! Hurry! ARNOLD No more needless fear, no more sterile alarm; Gessler, you shall perish! For you, who deprive my love of my father and my mistress, is death enough, is death enough? CONFEDERATES (returning) Melchthal, let your hope revive, Melchthal, let your hope revive! At last we have swords to arm us, etc. Melchthal, Melchthal - ARNOLD Friends, friends, assist my vengeance. If our leader is in fetters it is to us his defence belongs; the roads to Altdorf are open, the roads to Altdorf are open. Follow me! Follow me! Let us cheat the murderous hope of a treacherous monster, let us cheat his murderous hope; let us wrest William from his blows! Let us wrest William from his blows! CONFEDERATES Let us cheat the murderous hope of a cruel and treacherous tyrant! ARNOLD Into battle! CONFEDERATES This task is worthy of us! This task is worthy of us! ARNOLD Into battle! CONFEDERATES Let us cheat the murderous hope, this task is worthy of us. Let us follow him, into battle. Let us follow him, into battle. ARNOLD Follow me, after me, into battle, either victory or death! CONFEDERATES Melchthal! Melchthal! ARNOLD Friends, friends, assist my vengeance, if our leader is in fetters it is to us his defence belongs! The roads to Altdorf are open, the roads to Altdorf are open, follow me. CONFEDERATES The roads to Altdorf are open, let us follow him... ARNOLD Follow me! CONFEDERATES. Let's follow him! ARNOLD Let us cheat the murderous hope of a treacherous monster, let us wrest William from his blows! etc. CONFEDERATES Let us cheat the murderous hope of a cruel and treacherous tyrant, this task is worthy of us! etc. ARNOLD After me... CONFEDERATES After him... ARNOLD ...into battle... CONFEDERATES ...into battle... ARNOLD ...either victory... CONFEDERATES ...either victory... ARNOLD ...or death! CONFEDERATES ...or death! ARNOLD Let us cheat the murderous hope, let us wrest William from his blows! etc. CONFEDERATES Yes, this task is worthy of us! Yes, let us cheat the murderous hope of a cruel and treacherous tyrant, this task is worthy of us! etc. ARNOLD After me... CONFEDERATES After him... ARNOLD ...into battle... CONFEDERATES ...into battle... ARNOLD ...either victory... CONFEDERATES ...either victory... ARNOLD ...or death! CONFEDERATES ...or death! ARNOLD Let us cheat the murderous hope, let us wrest William from his blows! To arms! To arms! To arms! CONFEDERATES Yes, this task is worthy of us, this task is worthy of us! etc. Scene Two A rocky shore at the foot of the Achsenberg, on the edge of Lake Lucerne. Thick clouds, harbingers of a storm, line the horizon. On a high eminence can be seen Tell's cottage. In this enclosed spot, bristling with rocks, the waves are breaking with fury. CHORUS OF SWISS WOMEN Where are you going? Your grief bewilders you, do you not hear our enemies? HEDWIGE I mean to see Gessler. I am following them. SWISS WOMEN And what will you obtain from the barbarian? Death, death! HEDWIGE I desire it, I desire it. He triumphs, and I live, when I no longer have a husband, when I no longer have a son! JEMMY Mother! HEDWIGE Someone speaks - (Enter Mathilde, followed by pages and Jemmy.) - that soft, loving voice - JEMMY Mother! HEDWIGE I think I hear it! It's my child! It's my child! O joy! O joy! JEMMY O joy! HEDWIGE But alas, your father is not with you. JEMMY He will know how to escape from his shameful chains: (pointing to Mathilde) let us trust in Mathilde's protective help. HEDWIGE O august, beloved protectress, you will watch over my husband! MATHILDE I restore to your love a son worthy of you. This son, despite his age, is a man through his courage; and when my voice foretells an end to your sufferings, it is only a just homage offered to your woes, offered to your woes. JEMMY Mathilde promises for our chalets... MATHILDE I restore to your love... JEMMY ...kinder days. MATHILDE ...a son worthy of you. JEMMY For us she is the likeness of the sky after the storm; and when her voice foretells an end to our griefs, hope borrows her language and comes to dry our tears. Mathilde promises for our chalets kinder days, etc. MATHILDE This son, this son despite his age is a man through his courage, it is only a just homage, etc. HEDWIGE Mathilde promises for our chalets kinder days, etc. What! Accepting a share in our hardships you are staying on this sad shore, you, the adornment, you, the pride of a court? MATHILDE I will be the hostage for captive William and my presence here is a security for his return. HEDWIGE His return! Isn't this a vain hope? Why do we not snatch him away out of Altdorf? JEMMY He's no longer in Altdorf. MATHILDE They're hurrying him away over the lake. HEDWIGE Over the lake? and already the hurricane unleashes itself, - death for my husband everywhere? JEMMY (suddenly remembering his father's words) What am I thinking of! Let's repair a fatal omission; let the signal for liberty shine out at last! (He turns to leave.) HEDWIGE What are you hoping for? JEMMY To save my father. (aside, to his mother) A whole people rises up at this guiding fire; and whichever may be the shores on which Gessler descends, vengeance will meet him there! (He runs to set Tell's house on fire. He carries his weapons from it. The storm sweeps down with terrifying force.) MATHILDE What noise bursts out over our heads? HEDWIGE It is Death advancing in the voice of the tempests; William will perish!... (She kneels down.) Thou, who art the hope of the weak, save William, o Providence! In their designs, in their vengeance, outwit and confound our enemies. Break the yoke which oppresses us: punish the crime in the oppressor, save William! He dies the victim of his love for his country. MATHILDE Save William! He dies the victim of his love for his country, yes, for his country! MATHILDE, HEDWIGE, SWISS PEOPLE Save William! He dies the victim, etc. (Enter Leuthold.) LEUTHOLD Follow me! Follow me! William is being driven onto these shores by the tempest. His hands are no longer bound, the tiller yields to his will. HEDWIGE If William, in spite of the storm, can approach this shore, I'll answer for his freedom. MATHILDE Let's run to him! Let's run to him! HEDWIGE, LEUTHOLD Let's run to him! (They hurry off towards the water's edge. The storm rages. The boat containing Gessler and the frightened soldiers, with Tell at the helm, drives ashore. Tell leaps out and pushes the boat away into the waves with his foot.) HEDWIGE I see you again! JEMMY Father! HEDWIGE O wondrous return! TELL (pointing to the burning house) What fire is this shining in my eyes? JEMMY For want of a signal-pyre I myself set ablaze our ancestral roof. But at least - (handing him his weapons) I have saved your weapons! TELL (seizing the bow and arrow handed to him) Gessler, you may come! (Gessler and soldiers come into view on the rocks above.) SOLDIERS In vain does he try to escape us: let's follow his trail. GESSLER Let him find his mercy only in the mortal blow, let him find his mercy only in the mortal blow! SOLDIERS Let him find his mercy only in the mortal blow! HEDWIGE It's he! JEMMY, HEDWIGE, WOMEN It's he! TELL (to his wife and son) Draw back. Let Switzerland breathe again! (letting fly an arrow) For you, Gessler! (Gessler, at the top of the rock, is struck by it.) GESSLER I die! (He tumbles into the lake.) SOLDIERS (running away) It's Tell's arrow! HEDWIGE O day of liberation! His death puts an end to our woes at last. JEMMY His death puts an end to our woes at last. TELL Recognise God's help. MATHILDE Nothing has been able to shelter him from the arrow of vengeance; neither his wealth nor his power, his tortures nor his executioners. (Enter Walter and the Confederates.) WALTER At these fiery signals let us cease to fear at last; it needs blood to put them out, it needs the oppressor's blood. But what do I see? William! He is free, o joy! Let us fly at the tyrant! TELL What do you intend? WALTER That he dies! TELL Go and look for his grave in the lake. (On this answer from Tell, Mathilde enters.) JEMMY, HEDWIGE Honour, all honour to the liberating arm, honour, all honour to the liberating arm! MATHILDE, WALTER, CONFEDERATES, PEOPLE Honour, all honour to the liberating arm! TELL Let's harbour no vain hope, so long as the proud battlements of Altdorf command our obedience. (Enter Arnold and the rest of the Confederates.) ARNOLD (presenting Tell with the banner that had flown over the castle at Altdorf in the third act.) You no longer have to make vows, Altdorf is in our power! ALL Victory! Victory! Altdorf is in our power! ARNOLD Why, o my father, is your presence wanting to the joy of all Helvetia? (The storm has by now quite passed away and we see in all its beauty a part of Switzerland. A multitude of be-flagged boats are sailing upon the Lake of the Four Cantons. The mountains which overlook Flüelen, still topped by great glaciers struck by the sun's rays, crown the picture.) TELL Everything here changes and grows in grandeur! What pure air! HEDWIGE What a radiant day! JEMMY In the distance what a boundless horizon! ARNOLD Yes, before our eyes nature unfolds its magnificence! TELL At our pious tones, Liberty, come down again from the skies and let your reign begin anew! Liberty, come down again from the skies! ALL And let your reign begin anew. Liberty, come down again from the skies! etc. END OF THE OPERA |