| (She
disappears as the Colonel enters, brandishing a piece of paper) |
| Colonel |
Bachetti,
I found this letter at my cousin's bedside. This is your signature,
isn't it? |
|
| Giorgio |
Yes. |
|
| Colonel |
You
have taken advantage of my cousin's affections. |
|
| Giorgio |
That
was not my intention, sir. Perhaps you should discuss this matter
with Signora Fosca. |
|
| Colonel |
My
Cousin is asleep. And in any event, I wouldn't subject her to such
a question. No one can make me believe that a man such as yourself
would desire a woman like Signora Fosca. Would ever write her a
letter like this. |
|
| Giorgio |
Why
is that? |
|
| Colonel |
The
reason seems obvious. |
|
| Giorgio |
Not
to me. Forgive me for saying this but you had no right to read that
letter, no right to take it from her room. |
|
| Colonel |
My
cousin is at the end of her life! She does not deserve to be led
on in such a manner! |
|
| Giorgio |
You
don't know your cousin. She is not a child! She is not just a sick
person. Signora Fosca is as responsible for her actions as I am
for mine. |
|
| Colonel |
You
have abused my good faith, come into my house to dishonor it. Your
attitude towards me is nothing short of contemptuous. I must demand
a reparation from you - and mere words will not suffice. |
|
| Giorgio |
What?
Fight? A duel? |
|
| Colonel |
I
confided you. You know that my cousin has been taken advantage of
before.
(The Doctor enters and stands off to the side)
We will meet tomorrow mornint at eight, behind the castle steps. |
|
| Doctor |
(trying
to make light of the situation)
Gentlemen, please. Colonel, there is an explanation. Captain Bachetti,
speak up. Say how she forced you - |
|
| Giorgio |
Not
at all. Nothing was forced on me. |
|
| Doctor |
Oh
please, let's come to our senses here. |
|
| Colonel |
My cousin knows nothing of this discovery. She must know nothing
of what is going to happen. I need your word on that. |
|
| Giorgio |
She
will not hear of this matter from me. |
|
| Colonel |
Very
well. Tomorrow. (he exits) |
| Doctor |
It's
deplorable that that woman should have brought you to this. Let's
not panic. The Colonel will calm down. There's still time to explain
- |
| Giorgio |
You
will arrange for me to see Fosca. |
| Doctor |
Are
you totally mad? |
| Giorgio |
Whatever
the outcome of this duel, I will never see her again. You will arrange
for me to see her as you did before. |
| Doctor |
Impossible. |
I Was Wrong |
| Giorgio |
Don't
you see what you've endured, Doctor?
What that woman has endured?
My rejection, my disgust
My indifference, my anger
My contempt and, yes, my ugliness
What that woman has endured, Doctor No
one has ever loved me as that woman has
No one has truly loved me, just Fosca
Love without reason
Love without mercy
Love without pride or shame
Love unconcerned with being returned
No wisdom, no judgement
No caution, no blame No
one has ever known me as that woman has
No one has truly shown me
What love could be like until now
I was wrong
I was wrong |
 |
| Doctor |
You're
taken leave of your senses |
 |
| Giorgio |
You
may have forgotten how to cure a disease, Doctor, but you induced
mine.
Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. |
| Doctor |
I
hope you understand that woman can never be your lover. Her physical
condition - |
| Giorgio |
I
was wrong,
Love's a demand,
I was wrong,
Love needn't grow,
Love can be sudden surrender,
Not tender, not slow,
And I know now that
I love Fosca,
No, not the way that she loves me,
But, I love Fosca,
And nothing will come of it,
And, if I should die tomorrow,
Or live and be forced to go,
No one has truly loved her but me,
And I want her to know... |
| Giorgio |
You
will arrange for me to see her. |
| Doctor |
No,
I take no part in this madness (The
Doctor exits) |
Scene
Nine
Fosca's bedroom.
Quietly, Giorgio enters. Fosca is resting on the bed and doesn't
hear him. |
| Giorgio |
Fosca.
Fosca.
(She lifts herself up)
I'm sorry to surprise you like this. |
 |
| Fosca |
Thank
you for coming. |
| Giorgio |
I
wanted you to know that I had nothing to do with this transfer. |
| Fosca |
I
know that now. The Doctor told me. |
| Giorgio |
That
letter from Clara ... |
| Fosca |
Yes? |
| Giorgio |
It's
over. Finished. |
|
| Fosca |
I'm
so sorry. |
|
| Giorgio |
Sorry?
I thought you'd be happy. |
 |
| Fosca |
There
was a time when I'd welcomed that. But I realise now I don't want
you to be unhappy. I don't wish to see you sad. |
| Giorgio |
I
feel so much ... but I'm not really sad. |
| Fosca |
I
thought you loved Clara? |
| Giorgio |
I
did love Clara. I did. But ... |
|
| No
One Has Ever Loved Me |
| Giorgio |
No
one has ever loved me
As deeply as you.
No one has truly shown me
What love could be like until now: Not
pretty or safe or easy
But more than I ever knew.
Love within reason -
That isn't love.
And I've learned that from you ... Are
you cold? |
 |
| Fosca |
No,
I'm afraid. |
|
| Giorgio |
Of
what? |
|
| Fosca |
All
this happiness,
Coming when there's so little time.
Too much happiness
More than I can bear.
I pray for the strength to enjoy it. You'll leave tomorrow. This
is the only time we have.
You do love me, don't you? |
 |
| Giorgio |
Yes,
I love you. |
|
| Fosca |
Say
it again. |
|
| Giorgio |
I
love you. |
|
| Fosca |
Once
more. |
|
| Giorgio |
I
love you.
Be calm. Be strong. I am yours. |
|
| Fosca |
This
isn't a dream? |
|
| Giorgio |
This
isn't a dream.
(She begins to lead him towards the bed but Giorgio resists)
W, e can't. |
|
| Fosca |
To
die loved is to have lived. |
|
(They
kiss. Fosca becomes weak, and Giorgio lifts her and carries her
to the bed where he gently puts her down. He stares at her momentarily;
her strength returns and she pulls him onto the bed as the music
swells and the lights fade.)
Scene Ten
An
open field.
We hear the sound of military drums. Daybreak. The Colonel, the
Doctor, Torasso, Barri, Lombardi, Augenti and two Soldiers are waiting.
Giorgio enters. He looks hollow-eyed and dishevelled.
|
| Lombardi |
Gentlemen
(The Colonel crosses to center; Giorgio stands numb) |
 |
| Doctor |
Captain. |
|
| (Giorgio
comes to life and makes his way to center; Lombardi presents a box
with the pistols. Giorgio and the Colonel each take one and then
move to their positions.) |
| Torasso |
Ten
paces, Gentlemen. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,
nine, ten. |
 |
(The
Colonel and Giorgio mark off ten paces. They turn and fire almost
simultaneously. The Colonel stands frozen for an instant, then trembles
and falls to the ground; the Doctor and the other men rush to his
aid, leaving Giorgio standing alone on the other side of the stage.
Suddenly, Giorgio lets out a high-pitched howl - a cry that is clearly
reminiscent of Fosca's - as lights fade to black)
Scene Eleven
A hospital.
Lights up on Giorgio, dazed, sitting at a desk. A nurse enters
and brings him a box with a letter. As Giorgio opens the letter,
the Doctor enters.
|
| Doctor |
Captain
Bachetti.
I didn't write to you before, because I knew your illness might
prevent you from comprehending the contents of my letter. I now
have heard that you're close to recovering and that your nervous
condition has improved.
I don't know what you've been told or what you even remember of
the events that led you away. Signora Fosca died three days after
the night you last saw one another. She died without knowing of
what took place between you and her cousin. The Colonel's wound
was serious, but not mortal. He recovered in a few months. I wanted
to speak to the Colonel about you in oder to convince him of your
innocence, but in the end I was afraid that I would hurt your cause
more than help it.
In a box that I am sending, you will find papers that were left
behind in your desk. Also, I've enclosed some personal belongings
of Signora Fosca's, and a letter she wrote to you just prior to
her death.
(As Giorgio goes through the papers in the box, he summons up
his past.) |
 |
| Finale |
| Barri,
Rizzolli, Torasso |
The
town, it is remore, isn't it?
And provincial -
Don't you think? |
|
| Clara |
I'm
filling up our room,
Our little room,
With every flower in bloom.
I'll have the fire lit,
The table set,
I'll wear the blue chemise ... |
 |
| Ludovic |
The
time has come to face the truth
Signorina ... |
|
| Attendants |
This
sterile little town
These pompous little men. |
|
| Lombardi,
Augenti, Soldier 1 |
This
military madness ... |
 |
| Attendants |
Military
madness ... |
| Lombardi,
Augenti, Attendants |
Uniforms,
uniforms ... |
| Clara |
Imagining
your fingers touching mine
Imagining our room
The bed, the secrecy
The world outside
Your mouth on mine ... |
| Colonel |
An
unattractive woman
Is easily deceived ... |
|
| Doctor |
What
is the cost of a few words when a life hangs in the balance?
(Giorgio
picks up Fosca's letter, opens it and starts to read) |
|
| Giorgio |
My
dearest Giorgio.
The end is near. The time has come for me to surrender life gracefully.
These past two days since you have left, since we were together,
have been a revelation. Now
at last I see what comes from feeling loved.
Strange, how merely feeling loved, |
 |
| Giorgio,
Fosca |
You
see things clearly.
Things I feared, like the world itself,
I now love dearly.
I want to live.
Now I want to live, |
| Fosca |
Just
from being loved.
All that pain I nursed inside
For all those years - |
|
| Giorgio |
All
that vain and bitter self-concern - |
|
| Both |
All
those tears and all that pride
Have vanished into air ... |
 |
| Fosca |
I
don't want to leave. |
|
| Giorgio |
Now
that I am loved. |
 |
| Fosca |
I
don't want to leave. |
| Both |
Everywhere
I turn, you are there. |
| Fosca |
Everywhere
I look things are different. |
| Both |
Everything
seems right
Everythings seems possible,
Every moment bursts with feeling.
Why is love so easy to give
And so hard to receive? |
|
| Fosca |
But
though I want to live,
I now can leave
With what I never knew:
I'm someone to be loved. |
 |
| Giorgio |
I'm
someone to be loved. |
| Fosca |
And
that I learned from you. |
| All |
I
don't know how I let you
So far inside my mind.
But there you are and there you will stay
How could I ever wish you away?
I see now I was blind. |
| Fosca |
And
should you die tomorrow,
Another thing I see: |
|
| Giorgio |
Your
love will live in me ... |
 |
| Fosca |
Your
love will live in me ... |
| Giorgio,
Group 1 |
Your
love will live in me ... |
| Fosca,
Group 2 |
Your
love will live in me ... |
| Giorgio,
Group 1 |
Your
love will live in me ... |
| Fosca,
Group 2 |
Your
love will live in me ... |
| Giorgio,
Group 1 |
Your
love will live in me ... |
| Fosca,
Group 2 |
Your
love will live in me ... |
| Giorgio |
Your
love will live in me ... |
|
| Fosca |
Your
love will live in me ... |
|
| Giorgio |
Your
love will live in me ... |
|
| |
|
End |
| |
|
|
