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Place: Brittany
Time: 14th century
Act 1
Overture
Scene 1: Central courtyard of the Castle of Montolino
A chorus of local people on boats proclaims the upcoming wedding of Isoletta, daughter of Montolino, to Count Arturo of Ravenstal: (Men: Voga, voga, il vento tace........e l'alma pace / Messaggiera dell'amor / "Row, row, the wind has dropped......this blessed peace is the message of love".) But, together on the shore, Isoletta tells Baron Valdeburgo that she fears her Arturo has changed his attitude toward her and believes that he has fallen in love with a mysterious woman living as a hermit in a hut by the lake: (Duet: Isoletta to Valdeburgo: Agli atti, al volto / non mortal, divina imago / "From her gestures, her expression, she did not appear to be mortal, but rather a divine image". Valdeburgo, to himself: Giovin rosa, il vergin seno / schiudi appena al ciel sereno / "A newly bloomed rose has scarce opened / her virgin breast to the serene sky, / and already she wilts in pallor".) In the distance a crowd is heard following "La straniera" who has been seen from the lake shore. They curse her as a witch.
Count Montolino enters, supporting his daughter Isoletta's concerns, but is reassured by his friend Osburgo who promises to bring Arturo to his senses. Together, Isoletta and Valdeburgo share her concern as to what has transpired: (Duet and ensemble: Isoletta, then Valdeburgo, then chorus, as Montolino returns: Oh tu che sai gli spasimi / "Oh you who know the quakings of this wounded heart of mine"). Valdeburgo offers his services as someone from whom she may find comfort, while her father and his retinue urges calm and that she adopt a happier expression. Montolino and Osburgo discuss the situation, the former fearing that Arturo lacks concern for his intended bride while the latter describes Arturo's interest in other hermit-like people as part of his character, but promises to do his best to return Arturo to his intended bride.
Scene 2: La straniera's cabin
Furtively, Arturo enters "The Stranger" Alaide's hut, desiring to know the identity of this mysterious woman. Inside, he sees a portrait of her dressed in royal robes, wearing jewels. He hears a voice in the distance, singing a lament which expresses the joys of solitude and of a lowly life. He realises that it is she and, when she comes into the room, she chastises him for entering her hut. He continues to demand that he is there only to help her and that he loves her, while she keeps pressuring him to leave her in peace expressing the feeling that there is "an insuperable barrier between us".
He persists with his questions, asking if she has been banished long ago and, finally, apologises for his intrusion. In an extended duet, first he, then she, then together proclaims: Serba, serba i tuoi segreti / "Keep, keep your secrets....but it is in vain to forbid me to love you", while she responds with Taci, taci, è l'amor mio / condannato sulla terra / "Hush, hush, my love is condemned upon this earth; I cannot associate you with a destiny that is so hostile towards me". She tells him that she will reveal nothing about her past and begs him never to return. However, as the duet continues, she exclaims: "Ah! would that I could so easily / Erase you from [my heart]", admitting an attraction to Arturo. He says that he will continue to follow her "even into a desert" while she responds: "Your wish will prove your undoing".
Then the sound of huntsmen is heard in the distance. Alaide urgently urges Arturo to leave. In the scene finale duet, the couple each expresses his or her feelings and anxieties, hers being to continue to warn him, his being to insist that "your fate will be mine / In life or in death".
Scene 3: A forest near Montolino
During a hunting expedition, Osburgo and Valdeburgo encounter Arturo, but are aware that Alaide's cabin is close by. Osburgo begs him to return for his wedding to Isoletta, but he refuses, declaring that he does not love her. He asks Valdeburgo to meet his true love, after which he promises that he will never see her again if Valdeburgo judges her unworthy. The pair approach the cabin, from which Alaide emerges. Upon seeing her, Valdeburgo hails her and almost calls out her real name, but Alaide stops him. Valdeburgo tells Arturo that —for reasons he cannot reveal— Arturo must renounce any intentions toward Alaide. She cannot ever marry Arturo. Thinking Valdeburgo is his rival for Alaide's affections, Arturo is about to attack him with his sword, but he declares that he is not a rival. (Trio: first Valdeburgo No: non ti son rivale; / non io ti tolgo a lei / "No: I am not your rival; then Arturo "Ah, if he is not my rival, / What does he wish of me"; then Alaide "No, you have no rival".) Alaide begs Arturo to leave, promising that she will see him again: "Your life, Arturo, matters to me as my own". Both Alaide and Valdeburgo urge Arturo to leave.
Scene 4: A remote place, with Alaide's cabin to be seen in the distance
Arturo is alone, still mistakenly crazy with jealousy directed at Valdeburgo: (Aria: Che mai penso? Un dubbio atroce / Mi rimane e il cor mi preme... / "Whatever am I to think? My heart is heavy / and I am left with an atrocious doubt..."). When Osburgo and his entourage enter, they tell him that he is betrayed because they have overheard Valdeburgo and Alaide planning to flee together.
The couple comes out of the cabin, observed by Arturo, who overhears that they plan to leave together the next day. Arturo concludes that they are lovers, and after Alaide has returned to her cabin, he confronts Valdeburgo furiously and demands revenge. The men fight a duel, Valdeburgo is wounded, and he falls into the lake. Alaide then appears and Arturo declares that he has killed his rival, but Alaide, heavily shocked, reveals that Valdeburgo is actually her brother. Upon hearing that news, Arturo jumps into the lake in an effort to save Valdeburgo. Attracted by the shouting, a crowd finds Alaide standing with Arturo's bloody sword, and they accuse her of murdering Valdeburgo. She is dragged off as a prisoner.
Act 2
Scene 1: The great hall of the Tribunal of the Hospitallers
Alaide is brought to trial before the assembled judges, but concealed beneath a heavy veil. Osburgo testifies against her. When asked her name by the presiding Prior, she responds only with La straniera. The Prior feels that he has heard her voice before, and he demands that she prove her innocence. She is reluctant to say much more. Suddenly, Arturo rushes in and proclaims her innocence and confesses his own guilt, stating that he killed someone whom he assumed was a rival. All appears to doom both Alaide and Arturo when, into the chamber Valdeburgo suddenly appears, announcing that Arturo is innocent and that it was in single combat with Arturo that he fell into the lake.
The Prior again demands that Alaide reveal her identity, but she refuses. However, she does agree to lift her veil for the Prior alone and he gasps upon seeing her face. Immediately, he sends her away with Valdeburgo. Arturo is left alone, while the Prior chastises Osburgo for his false testimony against Alaide, stating that his actions will be watched.
Scene 2: In the forest but close to Alaide's cabin
Arturo comes to beg Alaide's forgiveness and confess his love, and, as he is about to enter the cabin, he encounters Valdeburgo, who again pleads with Arturo to desist in his attentions toward his sister, demanding that he draw his sword: (In an extended duet, first Valdeburgo —Si...Sulla salma del fratello / T'apri il passo, a lei t'invia / "Yes, over the corpse of her brother / Clear your way and approach her"—then Arturo—Ah, pietà... non io favello; / È un amore disperato / "Ah! have pity.... It is not I who speaks; / It is a love that is desperate, / It is the grief of a wounded heart".) Arturo continues to describe the "torturing madness of a burning heart" while Valdeburgo explains that, for Alaide's peace of mind, Arturo must leave her in peace and that he should fulfill his promises to Isoletta by marrying her. Reluctantly, Arturo agrees to return to marry Isoletta, but asks that Alaide attend his wedding so he can see her one last time. Valdeburgo agrees.
Scene 3: Isoletta's apartment in the Castle of Montolino
Isoletta, truly unhappy and understandably feeling ignored and unloved, prepares for her wedding. (Aria, Isoletta: Nè alcun ritorna?....Oh crudel. / Dolorosa incertezza / "And not a soul returns? Oh cruel, / Grievous uncertainty! All leave me in / Ignorance of what has happened"). In her grief and misery she speaks to Arturo's portrait until the wedding party joyfully appears proclaiming that Arturo is in the castle and that he wants to marry her that very day.
Scene 4: A courtyard leading to the church
Knight and ladies assemble and Montolino welcomes them, but Arturo is confused, then seeing Valdeburgo, he approaches him. Meanwhile, Alaide has entered and concealed herself. Valdeburgo tells Arturo that Alaide is present, but hidden. (Quartet: Arturo, Isoletta, Valdeburgo, and Alaide, aside). Isoletta greets Arturo who ignores her and remains in an anxious state, to the point where she realises that he does not love her and, essentially, releases him from his obligations. Then Alaide suddenly reveals herself, declaring that she has come to give Isoletta courage. As "La straniera", she begs Isoletta to continue with the wedding, and, taking the prospective bride and groom by the arm, begins to lead them into the church.
She then leaves the church in deep anguish: "I have abandoned, not love, but hope", she cries. (Aria: Ciel pietoso, in sì crudo momento, / Al mio labbro perdona un lamento / "Merciful Heaven, in such a cruel moment, / Forgive my lips if they utter a lament"). Then religious music is heard from within the church with the choir singing blessings to the couple. Alaide's torment continues, until—suddenly—there is silence, followed by chaotic sounds from within.
Arturo burst out from inside the church, takes Alaide's hand, begging her to run off with him as he tries to drag her away. At that moment, the Prior rushes from the church and recognises Alaide as Queen Agnes. He announces that he has just learned that the Queen's rival for the throne, Isemberga, has died and now Alaide must return to Paris. Arturo, rendered mad by this news, throws himself on his sword and dies. Finally, La Straniera/Alaide/Agnes is in total despair. (Aria, then choral finale: Or sei pago, o ciel tremendo... / Or vibrato è il colpo estremo / "Now you are glutted, O fearful Heaven... / Now you have dealt your direst blow...... I ask for death, I await death")
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