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Jim and Delia's small flat. Christmas Eve.
Scene One: Della prepares for Christmas before Jim returns home. She lets her hair down and sings of her love and happiness. When Jim comes home, he briefly tries to entice her, then announces he has an errand to run. Being poor, Della reminds Jim, he should not get her a present for Christmas. Jim shrugs it off until she begs him to promise, then he leaves.
Scene Two: Having no money, Della calls her friend Maggie to help figure out how to buy Jim a Christmas present. Della decides in her eponymous aria to sell her hair, over Maggie's objections. They leave to sell her hair.
Scene Three: Jim and his friend, Henry, carry in a Christmas tree. Knowing Jim's financial situation, Henry asks how he purchased it. Jim evades the question at first but eventually tells Henry he sold the watch that once belonged to his father. Henry chides Jim for being foolish. Jim tries to explain his love for his father and his wife in the aria “Jim's Soliloquy”.
Scene Four: Jim and Della reunite in their flat. Each admits having broken their promise and gives the other a gift. Jim receives from Della a gold chain bought with Della's hair. Della receives ornate haircombs from Jim bought with his father's watch. They sit in melancholy silence evaluating what they have received. Their mutual sacrifice shines forth in their minds and they sing of their love and renewed fidelity.
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