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Synopsis
Act 1
Scene 1: The curtain rises on a hot spring in a clearing, in the shadow of a glorious castle; its spires are barely visible amidst the morning mist. The Queen and King sing offstage of their desire to have a child, implying the fact that they can't. The Queen enters, and wades into the hot spring. Her slight troubles in her entrance are visibly wiped away. She sings in the hot spring of how the water takes away her troubles, but not her biggest trouble: the fact that she can't have a child (“Ah, the Water”). A frog hops out of the water, and states that he is a prophet from God, delivering a message that the Queen will have a beautiful daughter that will grow up loved and will one day find true love in a prince. The Queen wonders if this is too good to be true. But as if on cue, she rocks unstably and feels sick. She interprets this as a symptom of pregnancy (which in fact it is), and calls the King. Together, they embrace and sink to their knees in thanks as the scene ends.
Scene 2: The next scene is ten months later. The Queen has given birth to the child, and a celebration is taking place at the castle. The chorus sings, dances, eats, and drinks, and all is well. Amidst the joyous celebrating, the Wise Woman present their gifts to the child. The Last Wise Woman, however, cannot present her gift: the chorus sings again and the celebrating continues. But suddenly, the Evil Wise Woman bursts in, furious and burning with revenge. She was not invited to the party (for obvious reasons) and decides to bring a “present” of her own. She curses the child, saying that she will live to be fifteen years old, and then she will prick her finger on a spindle and die. The King declares that all spindles in the land shall be banished, and then breaks down. He and the Queen are heartbroken to have their new greatest joy taken away after only fifteen years. The Queen realizes that the Last Wise Woman hasn't presented her gift, and has the power to save the child. The Last Wise Woman says she “will do what [she] can do,” and changes the spell so that the spindle will result in a one hundred year sleep. The King, Queen, Last Wise Woman, and chorus sing good luck to the baby Rosamond.
Scene 3: The final scene of Act 1 is fifteen years later, at the Gate of the castle. The King and Queen are off to sign a peace treaty with a kingdom that is now on peaceful terms with them. The now fifteen-year-old Rosamond enters, innocently beautiful. She bids them farewell on their journey.
Now alone, she examines a trinket that a loving prince gave her, but she dismissed him. She sings of how one day she'll find her true love, and she'll become Queen and rule forever with her love. As she wanders the castle, she comes upon a strange old door. She turns the key and goes inside. The Evil Wise Woman disguised as an old woman is spinning flax on a spindle. As spindles had been banished from the kingdom, Rosamond never had seen one, and didn't know the reason it was banished. Unsuspecting, she tries spinning flax, and the prophecy is fulfilled: she pricks her finger, and falls back on a bed that was put there. The Evil Wise Woman sheds her disguise and flies away, laughing maliciously. All the servants of the castle, the King and the Queen, and all of the animals collapse in a deep sleep. A hedge of thorns grows all around the castle until it is barely visible. The skies turn dark as the curtain falls.
Act 2 ( further detail to follow)
A tavern. A couple of local men are drinking and being merry. The Prince's horns are heard, and moments later, he rides in on a horse. Stating that he stopped for a rest on a hunting trip, he sits and takes a cup of wine. The Old Man enters, in a haunted stupor. He sings that his son is dead because of a princess and “the thorns.” The Prince, eager for a princess, asks the Old Man to tell of him of the princess and his son. The Old Man repeats the story, stating in addition that many a prince, like his son, tried to save the princess, “only to die a lamentable death in the thorns.” The Prince declares his love for the princess, and says that he will go and save her. The Old Man tries to dissuade him, telling him that his life will end like the Old Man's son. The Prince attempts to leave, but the Old Man draws his sword and says that the Prince will leave over his dead body. The Prince fights him and wounds (or kills?) him. He ends up finding the castle with the help of the Last Wise Woman's spirit and the thorns turn into flowers after his deadly battle with the Evil Wise Woman. He finds the princess and kisses her awake. They are now together, and they become King and Queen as the curtain falls. a
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Title Information
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