121 I DUE FOSCARI Opera in three acts. Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, after the play by Byron First performed at the Teatro Argentina, Rome, November 3, 1844 CHARACTERS Francesco Foscari, octogenarian Doge of Venice: Baritone Jacopo Foscari, his son: Tenor Lucrezia Contarini, Jacopo's wife: Soprano Jacopo Loredano, member of the Council of Ten: Bass Barbarigo, member of the Council: Tenor Pisana, friend and confidant of Lucrezia: Soprano Attendant of the Council of Ten (Fante): Tenor Servant of the Doge: Bass Members of The Council of Ten and the "Giunta", Lucrezia's Maids, Venetian Ladies, Maskers, Jailers, Gondoliers, Pages ‘and Jacopo Foscari's Two Small Children The time is 1457 in Venice. ‘THE PLOT ACTI ‘A chamber in the Doge's Palace in Venice The members of the Council of Ten’ are assembled and discussing the implacable nature of their deliberations. When the two missing members, Barbarigo and Jacopo Loredano appear, the Council's numbers are complete and they all retire to their chambers. Jacopo Foscari is brought in and is left to wait while the Council tries to decide his fate. He is the son of the ‘aged Doge Francesco Foscari and has been exiled after an accusation of murder. Now he has ilegelly returned to Venice in order to soe his family and his beloved native city and it is this transgression of the law which the Council is at present considering. Jacopo is determined to prove his innocence. The scene changes to a room in the Foscari Palazzo. Jacopo Foscari's wife Lucrezia gets away from her female attendants and rushes into the room to plead with her father-in-law the Doge Francesco Foscari for clemency for her husband. Her confidant Pisana comes in to inform her that the Council of Ten has decided again to condemn Jacopo to exile, and Lucrezia rails against the injustice of the sentence. “In Venetian History there was a "Council of Forty", consisting of members of patrician families charged with the elections of new Doges. Tho infamous "Council of Ten’ was formed in 1310 or thereabouts to prevent the danger of conspiracies. Acting on denunciations secretly left in a prominently placed receptacle called Bocca del Leone ("The Lion's Mouth’) the Council of Ten conducted its investigations in secret. As set forth in one of its statutes: "When the Tribunal shall have determined the death of anyone as necessary, the execution shall not be public. ‘The condemned shall be secretly drowned during the night in the Orfano Canal.” (George Jellinek: “History Through the Opera Glass")322 In his private apartments the octogenarian Doge soliloquizes unhappily. He feels his every move, every gesture is observed by the Ten, and foels powerless to help his son Jacopo in his predicament. In any case he feels bound to obey the laws of Venice. Lucrezia enters, accusing him of having unjustly condemned his own son, and the Doge attempts to make her understand his position, crippled by his stern sense of duty to the State and by the power of the Ten. ACT IL ‘A dungeon in the State Prison, where Jacopo is incarcerated. Weakened by torture and illness to the point of delirium Jacopo is beset by visions of horror. One moment he thinks he sees the vision of another victim of the Council of Ten, Carmagnola, and a moment later he fails to recognize his own wife as she enters his prison. She informs her husband about the Council's decision to exile him once again and thet neither she nor their two sons will be allowed to accompany him. The Doge enters to bid farewell to his son, and Jacopo again proclaims his innocence, while Lucrezia asks for heaven's vengeance on the authors of their misfortune. At this point Loredano, one of the members of the Ten who has sworn vengeance on the Foscari family for their responsibility, as he maintains, for the death of his father and uncle, comes into the prison to conduct Jacopo Foscari to hear the judgement of the Council. In the Council chamber the Ten are ready to pronounce the sentence to the prisoner. The Doge, preceded by Loredano and attonded by his officers and pages, makes a ceremonial entrance. ‘When he sits on his throne, all members of the Council sit and the prisoner is brought in. His sentence is handed to him to read. "It is clemency", says Loredano, "the Council spares your life’. Handing back the parchment, Jacopo simply states that he shell die in exile. He makes a last appeal to his father, but the old Doge can do nothing and simply tells his son to resign himself and leave. Lucrezia now enters with her children and pleads in vain for pardon for her husband, but all is in vain. The Council's decision is irrevocable. ACT I Itis carnival and St. Mark's square is filled with masked revellers. Gondoliers sing a barcarole. Jacopo is escorted from the Doge's Palace to the state barge, which waits to take him into exile. His mournful song of farewell turns into despair when he recognizes his hated enemy Loredano. In his private apartments the Doge sings of the fate which has deprived him of three sons in infancy and now banishes a fourth, leaving him to die alone. Barbarigo enters and announces that another man [Nicol Erizzo] has confessed to the murder of which Jacopo stands accused, but Lucrezia is not far behind to tell them that this fact cannot avert the inevitable tragedy, for Jacopo has breathed his last the moment the barge left the confines of the lagoon. Lucrezia now fools that sho alone can provide the strength for the Foscari family, and obtain retribution for their enemies. ‘The Doge receives the Council of Ten, which through the mouth of Loredano, demands his immediate abdication on the grounds of age and the bereavement he has recently suffered. The Doge at first refuses--when he for his part asked to abdicate years ago, was he not forced to swoar to remain in office until death? The Council press on with their demands and even make threats. The Doge begs them to give him back his son, and when he finally removes his ring and cap, the ducal emblems, he has barely the strength to order Loredano away from these symbols of his former power. Lucrezia arrives in time to hear the great bell toll for the election of a new Malipiero Doge. Old Foscari sinks down exhausted and broken in spirit, expiring in view of his daughter-in-law and the Council, among them the exultant Loredano, who mutters "Now I have been paid”.1 Due Foscari, Act I 123 ACTI A hall in the Doge's palace in Venice (Part of the city and the lagoons can be seen in the moonlight through a row of Gothic windows. A door leads to the Doge's private apartment, another to the main entrance and a third to the chambers of the Council of Ten and the state prisons. The scene is lit by torches hanging on the walls. The Council of Ten and "Giunta" members are gathering.) CHORUS 1 silentsjo Silenzio... Silence... ‘CHORUS 2 mistero Mistero.. Mystery... CHORUS 1 ‘kwi‘teppino intomo Qui regnino intomo Here may they reign all about us. (Let mystery and silence abide all around us.) CHORUS - ALL kwi ‘veAKa kostante la ‘notte e'dil ‘dgommo: Qui veglia costante la_— notte. ed il_giomo Here watches constantly at night and day ‘sul ‘veneto ‘fato i 2 ‘Teon sul veneto fato di Marco il Loon. over Venetian fato of Mark the _ Lion. (Here the Lion of Saint Mark watches day and night over the fate of Venice.) silentsjo mistero venettsja fanitfulla Silenzio, _ mistoro Venezia_—_fanciulla Silence (and) mystery Venice infant ‘nel ‘sen ‘di. -kwestonde —protessero.— in nel sen di questonde —protessero. in culla, in the bosom of these waves protected inits cradle, (Silence and mystery protected the infant Venice in her cradle within the bosom of these waters.) e i ‘fremer ‘del ‘vento ‘fu ‘prima kan'tson e il fremer del vento fu prima canzon. and the shuddering of the wind was (its) first song. silentsjo mistero ‘la ‘kreb:ber po'sisente ilenzio, _mistero—ila crebber possente Silence (and) mystery made her grow powerful124 ‘dei ‘mari dei mari of the seas ‘per per ‘through silentsjo Silenzio, Silence, may they be the spirit sipnora signora mistress “fortsa forza strength misters ‘mistero mystery ‘anima Yenima I Due Foscari, Act I temuta prudente temuta, _prudente, feared (and) prudent, © salpere ‘per ‘glorja & valor © sapere, por gloria. e valor. and learning, through —glory and _valor. ‘la ‘serbino elema Ia serbino eterna, may they keep her eternal, ‘prima ‘di ‘ki. ‘la govema prima di chi_—_la governa... uppermost of who governs hor... (may silence and mystery keep Venice eternal, and may they be the primary guiding spirit of her governors.) ispirin peresisa timore ‘edamor ispirin peressa _timore ad amor. may they inspire for her foar and love. (and may they inspire love and fear for her as well.) (Barbarigo and Loredano enter and join the assembled.) BARBARIGO ‘sjam ‘uti rak:kolti Siam tutti raccolti? ‘Aro we all gathered? ‘CHORUS il ‘wumero © pjeno 1 numero 8_—Co#pieno. Our number is. complete. LOREDANO e ‘i E il And the CHORUS ‘va i ‘primi ‘kwi ‘dsunse se'reno Tra i primi qui giunse sereno: Among the first here he came serene: (He came quietly here among the first ones:) *The word doge comes from the Latin “dux", meaning "leader". It gives us the Italian Doge, Duca, duco (meaning "leader’ - the name Mussolini gave himself during Italy's fascist regime in the 30's), the Italian word conducere, "to lead", and our English words "Duke", "conductor’ either a musical leader or an electrical wire that leads electricity through it.I Due Foscari, Act I 125 ‘poi ‘tatfito entra Dei poi tacito entrd. Ofthe Ten into the hall then quiet he entered. (then he quietly went into the hall of the Council of Ten.) ALL ‘or vadasi adunkwe —dyustitsja_—_ne attende Or — vadasi adunque, —_giustizi ne attende, Now let us go then, justice awaits us, dgustitsja ke = egwali‘kwi_ ‘tutti ‘ne ‘rende giustizia cho eguali qui tutti no rend justice which equals here all of us _renders, dsustittsja. = ke_~—‘splendido = ‘kwi_—‘sedidso poz giustizia che splendido qui_seggio posd. justice who splendid here _a seat placed. (justice who placed here its splendid seat.) silentsjo _—_dsustittsja Silenzio, _giustizia, _silenzio, Silence, justice, silence, (They enter the hall of the Council of Ten. Jacopo Foscari enters from the prison, preceded by the Officer (Fante) of the Council and two Commandants.) OFFICER ‘kwi alkwanto figke ‘ilkonsitso ‘te —‘di'nwovo-—atppel Qui rimani alquanto, finchd il Consiglio te dinuovo —_appelli. Here stay fornow, until theCouncil you again calls. (Stay here for now until the Council calls you again.) Jaco a ‘si kio'senta’ = aanykora ‘kio respiri Ah si, cho senta_ ancora, —chiio respiri Ah yes, mayI fool again, may I breathe ‘aura. ‘nom ‘mista a ‘dsemiti e aura non mista a —gomiti e air not mixed with moans and (The Officer enters the Council chamber.) ‘bred:dza ‘del ‘swol_nattio Brozza del suol _natio, Breeze of my native land, ‘il volts a batfar ‘voli ablin;notfente il volto a —_baciar voli allinnocente!... the face to kiss mayitfly to the innocent men!... (Brooze of my native land, may you fly to kiss the face of an innocent man...)126 I Due Foscari, Act I (He approaches the window.) ‘ek:ko ‘la ‘mia velnettsja ‘ekko ‘il ‘suo ‘mare Ecco la mia Venezia! Ecco ilsuo mare! There's my Venice! There's her sea! redsina del:londe ‘jo ti sa‘luto Regina dell'onde, _ io ti saluto! Queen of the waves, I salute you! sebiben ‘meko- krudele Sebben meco crudele, Even though with me (you were) cruel, ‘jo ti'som ‘pur dei “TdKi ‘piu fedele To tison pur dei figli pit fedele. Tam yet_—of your sons the most faithful one. ‘dal remota eZikko Dal remoto esiglio? From the most remote exile, sullali ‘del dezio a te so'vente ‘rapido sullali del desio, a te _—sovente ~—rapido on wings of __ longing, to you often quickly vollava pen'sjer ‘mio volava pensier mio. flew thought mine. ‘kome ado'rata ‘verdgine te vage'd:dsando ‘il ‘kore Come adorata vergine te _vagheggiando il core, Like anadored — maiden you wooing the (my) _ heart, (And as my heart wooed you like an adored maiden.) lezikko dil dollore ‘kwazi spa'rian ‘per ‘me Tesiglio ed il dolore quasi sparian —per_— me. exile and grief almost disappeared for me. (The Officer enters from the Council chamber.) OFFICER ‘del kon'siffo ‘alta pre'zentsa ‘vjeni ‘ost e dizvela Del Consiglio _ alla prosenza vieni tosto, © ill ver disvela. To the Council's presence come soon, and thetruth reveal. (Soon you will come before the Council to reveal the truth.) °The word for “exile" in Italian is commonly spelled esilio. However, in this Libretto, Piave uses both the better known spelling of the word and esiglo, a rarer form. Both, however, mean the same. ‘The pronunciation, of course is almost identical, except that esilio is pronounced [eziljo] and esiglio is pronounced [e'iKko}.1 Due Foscari, Act I 127 JACOPO ‘al —'mio."zgwardo almen ‘vi tfela ‘Yel pjetozo ‘1 dgenitor (Al mio sguardo, _almen vi cela, ciel pietoso il genitor!) (From my sight, at least hide, heaven merciful, my father!) (At least don't let my father see me, merciful heaven!) OFFICER spe'rar ‘pwoi pjeta Klementsa Sperar puoi pieta, clemenza... Hope for youcan —_—mercy, clemency... JACOPO “kjudi ‘il ‘lab:bro ° mentitor Chiudi il labbro, © mentitor! Close your lip, oh liar! (Shut up, you liar!) ‘odjo ‘solo e'dodjo atrotfe in —kweldanime ‘si ‘serra Odio solo, ed odio atroce: in quell'anime si serra; Hate only andhate atrocious in _—those souls _is locked; sangwinoza drrenda ‘gwerra ‘da_—_kostor ‘si fa'ra Sanguinosa, orrenda guerra da costor si fara. Bloody, —_terrible war by them will be waged (on me). ‘ma ‘sei ‘foskari ‘una ‘votfe ‘va two'inandomi_ ‘nel ‘kore Ma una voce va tuonandomi nel core: But a voice thunders in my hart: fortsa ‘kontro ‘loro rigore lin:notfentsa tidda'ra Forza contro il loro rigore Vinnocenza tidara. "Strength —_ against thoir severity your innocence _shall give you.” (But there is a voice which thunders in my heart "You're a Foscari and your innocence shall give you strength to withstand their severity.”) (They go into the Council chamber.) A hall in the Foscari palace. (There are various inner doors surrounded by portraits of Senators, Procurators, etc., of the Foscari family. One can perceive a view of the Grand Canal and the Rialto bridge. Lucrezia comes out in haste followed by her attendant women, who try to hold her back.) LUCREZIA, ‘no ‘mila‘ffate andar io ‘voKKo alu No... mi lasciate.... andar io oak No... leaveme.. togo I wish to him. (No...leave me...I wish to go to him (the Doge)...128 1 Due Foscari, Act 1 ‘prima ‘ke ‘dodge ‘ekfi ‘era ‘padre Prima cho Doge gli ora padre... Before that (he was) Doge he —_ was (a) father... ‘il ‘kore kan'dgar_ == ‘nom'pwote il ‘sokKo core cangiar = non puoteil_—_—_soglio. The heart change cannot the throne. (A throne cannot change his heart.) “tikka ‘dodgi ‘al ‘dodge ‘nwora ‘sono Figlia di Dogi, al Doge nuora sono: Daughter of +—_ Dogs, tothe Doge daughter-in-law = Tam: (Lam a daughter of Doges, and I am the daughter-in-law of the Doge:) dgustittsja —_‘kjeder ‘vokko ‘nom — perdono Giustizia chieder_—_voglio, non perdono. Justice toask for I wish, not pardon. (I want to ask for justice, not pardon.) CHORUS ‘resta ‘kwel ‘pjanto akikreffere pw ‘dsoja ‘wo Resta. quel pianto accrescere pud gioja a’ toi Stay. those tears increases can joy to —_your ‘al ‘kor kwi ‘non favellano Te lagriime ——imfetingi Al cor qui non favellano le _lagrime infelici! To the heart here don't speak tho tears unhappy! (Here your tears of unhappiness do not speak to the hearts of these men!) ‘tu pwoi_spe'rare © ‘kjedere ‘dal ‘solo Tu puoi sperar © chiedero dal solo. You can hope and pray from heaven justice only. (You can hope and pray for justice only from heaven.) ‘Yedi rafifrena il “‘dwolo pjetade ‘i Yfelo avra Codi, raffrona il i il ciclo evra. Yield (to us), restrain your heaven will have. LUCREZIA a ‘ssi komjforto, «= 'ai_—mizeri del tfel © — lapjeta Ah si, conforto. = ai._—misori del ciel & Ia piotat Ah yes, comfort tothe wretched fromheaven is the pity! (Ah yes, the pity of heaven is comfort to the wretched!) ‘wu ‘al ‘kui 7gwardo——onmnipo'ssente Tu al cui_—sguardo~—_—onnipossente Thou at whose glance almighty ‘tutto ezulta tutto tutto esulta, o tutto all men exult, or all men ‘deme geme: moan:I Due Foscari, Act I 129 u ‘ke ‘solo ‘sei ‘mia ‘speme tu che solo soi_ mia __speme, Thou thet alone are my — hope, ‘wu komjfora il ‘mio dolor fu conforta il mio dolor. Thou comfort my — grief. ‘per difeza ‘presta tu ‘del twon ta votfe Per difesa presta tu del’ tuon la voce, To defend the innocent one lend Thou of thunder —the_voice, (Lord, lend Thou Thy voice of thunder to defend my innocent husband.) a‘onni ‘kor ‘pju fe'rotfe fara ‘mite ‘il‘suo rigor Ab! ogni cor _ il pid foroce fara mite il suo rigor. Ah! every heart the most ferocious will turn _— soft His severity. (Ah! His severity will soften the most ferocious heart.) CHORUS spe'rar ‘pwoi ‘dal ‘tfel kle'mente ‘uy komforta ‘al ‘tuo dolor Sperar puoi dal ciel clemente un conforto al tuo _—_dolor. Hope youcen from clementheaven comfort to -—your grief. (You can hope for comfort from clement heaven for your grief.) LUCREZIA. ‘ke ‘mi ‘reki fa'velila ‘di'morte Ppronuntfata ‘fu ‘lempja sententsa Cho mi rechi? Favela... Dimorte _—_pronunciata fu I'empia sentenza? What news bring you? Speak... Of death pronounced was the unholy sentence? (What news do you bring me? Speak...Was the unholy sentence of death pronounced?) PISANA ‘nwovo ezikKo ‘al ‘tuo ‘nobil _kon'sorte Nuovo esiglio al tuo consorte New exile to your consort ‘del kon'sikko akikordo ‘la klementsa del Consiglio accord = Ia_—sclemenza. the Council granted ~—the_—_ clemency. (The Council in its mercy has granted clemency and further exile to your noble husband.) LUCREZIA ‘la kle'mentsa_ d:dgund3e_ ‘lo 'skerno Staggiunge lo schorno!... They're adding insult!... dindsustittsja ‘era ‘poko ‘i dellit:to Dingiustizia era poco il delitto? Of injustice was too little the crime? (Was their crime of injustice too little?)130 I Due Foscari, Act I ‘si kon'dan:na © sinsulta lafeflitto Si condanna e — sinsulta —_T'afflitto. ‘They condemn and insult the unhappy man ‘di klementsa~parlando «=e = peta di clemenza parlando © e _pieta? of clemency __ talking end mercy? (speaking to him of clemency and mercy?) 2 patittsi © tremate letemo O patrizi, tromate.... _'Etomo Oh patricians, tremble... the Eternal One ‘Topre ‘vostre ‘dal tfelo mitzura Yopre vostre dal cielo misura... the deeds yours from heaven measures. ‘donta etema immensa Jagura dionta eterna, dimmensa ‘sciagura with shame everlasting, with immenso misfortune ‘ekki “dgusto paigarvi sa'pra Egli_giusto Pagarvi sapra. He in His justice will know how to repay you. PISANA AND CHORUS ‘tikonjfida pre'mjare letemo Jinznot fentsa ‘dal tfelo vorrra Ti confide; — promiare I’Eterno Yinnocenza dal cielo vorra. Have faith: reward the Eternal One _the innocence from heaven will wish. (Have faith: The Eternal One will wish to reward innocence.) A hall as in the first scone (Members of the Council of Ten and the Giunta enter from the adj CHORUS 1 ‘takkwe il ‘Teo Tacque il reo! Kept silent the guilty man! (The guilty man kept silent!) CHORUS 2 ‘ma ‘lo kon'dan:na ‘allo ‘sfortsa ‘il “fokKo 'skritsto Ma lo condanna allo Sforza il _foglio scritto. But itcondomnshim to _—Sforza the —_ written letter.* (But the letter he wrote to Sforza condemns him.) ‘It is a historical fact that Jacopo Foscari, during his first period of exile, longing to see his family and native city, wrote a letter to Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, asking for his intercession. This lotter fell into the hands of the Council of Ten. It is this letter that is being referred to.1 Due Foscari, Act I CHORUS 1 ‘dgusta ‘pena ‘al ‘suo dellitto Giusta pena al suo dalitto Ajust punishment for his crime CHORUS 2 nekleziljo —_trove'ra nell'esilio —_trovera. in exile he shall find. CHORUS 1 ‘tieda a ‘kreta Rioda a Creta, Let him return, to Crete. CHORUS 2 ‘solo ‘reda Solo rieda. Alone let him return. CHORUS 1 AND 2 ‘non ‘si tfeli ‘la Partentsa_ Non si celi la partenza.. Let it not be concealed the —_departure. (Let his departure be public.) impartsjale ‘tal sententsa ‘il_~—_—ikon'sikKo mostre'ra Imparzialo tal sentenza il Consiglio —_mostrera. Impartial sucha sentence the Council _willl show. (Such a sentence will show the Council as being impartial.) al ‘mondo ‘sia ‘nota ‘ke ‘kwi‘kontro Al mondo sia noto che qui contro To the world let itbe known — that here against pre'zenti ° lontani patrittsi ° ple’bei presenti 0 —lontani, ~——_patrizi 0 _plebei, present. or faraway, patricians + or _plebeians, ‘ve'khanti ‘son i de'gwale poter veglianti son leggi d'eguale —_poter. watchful are laws of equal —_force, (there are laws that keep their guard with equal force.) ‘kwi forte il leone ‘kol ‘brands kollale Qui forte il Leone col brando, —_—coll'ale. Here strong the Lion’ with weapons, _with wings 131 ‘iri irei, the guilty, Wo are talking here about the winged Lion of Saint Mark which can also symbolize Venice itself.132 I Due Foscari, Act I ra'd:d3undge == perkwote kwa'lujkwe — mortale raggiunge, percuote. qualunque —_mortale. overtakes, _smites whatever mortal ‘ke ardito levasse un detto ‘um —_penisjer che ardito levasse un detto, un —_ponsier. who daringly _ raised a word, a __ thought. (The Lion of Saint Mark, strongly armed with weapons and wings, will overtake and smite whatever mortal who dares to raise one word or one thought.) (They all leave. The Doge enters and falls into a chair.) DOGE ‘ekkomi ‘solo affine ‘solo ‘e il'sono ‘io Eccomi solo alfine.. Solol... ei sono io Herelam alone atleast... Alone!.... + am/I alone dove ‘ddei‘djetfi_ ‘nom penetra Dove dei Dieci_ non penetra Yocchio? ‘Where of the Ten doesn't reach the eye? (Where does the eye of the Ten not reach?) ‘ony ‘mio ‘detto ‘dsesto Ogni mio detto © —_gesto, Everyone (of) my words and movements, ‘il pen'sjero_perfino ‘me —_osiser'vato Ipensiero _ perfino me My thoughts even ere spied upon... ‘prentfe e ‘padre ‘kwi ‘sono zventuirato Prence e padre qui sono sventurato! Prince and father here Tem unfortunate! (Here I am indeed an unfortunate ruler and father!) ° vekikjo ‘kor ‘ke = ‘batt © —vecchio cor, che ttt Oh — ancient heart, that beats ‘kome ‘a priman:ni ‘in ‘seno come a! prim'anni in seno, as inmy early years in (my) breast, ‘tu ‘fred:do almeno ‘kome la'vel freddo almeno come l'avel if only you were cold at least, asthe grave ‘ma kor ‘di ‘padre ‘sei "vedi langwire Ma cor di padre sei, vedi languire But heart of (a) father youare, yousee —_ languishing (But you are a father’s heart, that sees a son languishing.) tara tavra. shall receive you. unyfikgo, un figlio. ason.I Due Foscari, Act I 133, ‘pjandsi ‘pur'tw ‘sei fikKo ‘pju‘lagrime no'na Piangi pur tu se il _ciglio pitt lagrime non ha. Weep therefore, since my eyes. more tears —_not have. (Weep therefore, my old heart, since my eyes have run out of tears.) (A servant enters, followed by Lucrezia Contarini.) SERVANT ietustre ‘dama ‘foskari Lillustre dama Foscari. The illustrious lady —Foscari. DOGE ‘altra imfetitfe ‘venga (Altra infelice!) Venga. (Another unhappy one!) Lot her enter. (The servant leaves.) noniskordare ‘dodge ‘ki 'tu'sia (Non iscordare, Doge, chi tu sia.) (Don't forget, Doge, who you are.) (Addressing Lucrezia and going towards her.) “fikga tavantsa ——_‘pjandsi Figlia... tavanzé piangi? Daughter... come closer... you are weeping? LUCREZIA ‘ke far imi ‘esta se 'mi'mankam —‘folgori Che far mi resta, so mimancan —folgori ‘What is there left for me todo, if Tam lacking thunderbolt a intfenerir——kweste kanute ‘tigni a incenerir ~—_queste canute tigri to incinerate these gray-haired — tigers ‘ke ‘dei “‘djetfi_sa'ppel:lano che de’ Dieci_s'appellano who ofthe Ten call themselves (who call themselves the Council of Ten?...) DOGE ‘donna ‘ove pparli ea raimmenta Donna, ove parli, e a Woman, — where you're speaking, and to whom,134 1 Due Foscari, Act I DOGE te ‘patrje ‘Ted:dgi ‘dunkwe rispetta Le patrie leggi dunque rispetta, The (your) country's laws then respect. LUCREZIA ‘son ‘led:d3i ‘ai ‘djetfi_ ‘or ‘sol ‘odjo e vendetita Son leggi ai Dieci or sol odio © _ vendetta! Are laws ofthe Ten now only hate and vengeance! (The laws of the Ten are now only laws of hate and vengeance!) ‘tw puro ‘sai ‘ke imed:dz9 'a'lor_se'desti Tu purlo sai che in mezzo —alor_sedesti, You know full well since (as) among them you sat, ‘ke Tinmotfente —‘vittima che Tinnocente —_vittima that the innocent victim at your feet you saw; e kona 'ffut:to konda'n:nato € comasciutto ciglio hai condannato un figlio... and with dry eyes you've condemned a son. ‘spozo ‘rendimi ‘barbara dgenitor sposo rendimi, barbaro ——_genitor! my beloved husband give back tome, cruel father! DOGE ‘oltre opi umano ‘kredere e ‘kwesto Oltre ogni umano credere questo Beyond every human belief is this (my) noninsuftarmi ‘pjandsere —dovresti_ = ‘sul mio’ fato Non insultarmi, piangere —dovresti_ sul. mio _fato. Don't insult me, weep you should over my fate. ‘onpi. ‘mio ‘ben date’ “Kjultimi ‘dsomi Ogni_ mio ben darei... gliultimi —_giomi Every my possession _I would give... the last days (I would give my every possession and even my remaining days...) perke inotfente ‘libero ‘fosise ‘mio ‘fifo ankor percha innocente ¢ __libero fosse mio figlio ancor. so that innocent and free were my son again. (to see my son freed and innocent.) LUCREZIA L'amato sposo rendimi, etc. ‘di ‘sua inmotfentsa_“dubiti ‘non ‘lo ko'noffi ankora Di sua innocenza —_dubiti? Non lo conosci ancora? Of his innocence _do you doubt? Don't you know him yet?1 Duo Foscari, Act I 135 DOGE ‘i'ma intertfetto —um'foKko—kjaro ‘lo akkuza 0 'nwora Si, ma intercetto un foglio —_chiaro To accuse, o nuora. Yes, but intercepted a letter _—_clearly accuses him, oh daughter-in-law. (Yes, my daughter-in-law, but the intercepted letter clearly accuses him.) LUCREZIA ‘sol ‘per velder velnettsja —_ver'go. perde Yo ‘skritto Sol per vodor Venezia —_vergd porda lo scritto. Only to see Venice he wrote it; ho (then) lost the —_letter.° DOGE © ‘wer ‘ma fu delitto E ver, ma fu delitto.. Its true, but it was a crim LUCREZIA e aver ‘ne dei pieta E aver ne déi picta. And have you must pity. DOGE vorrei nol 'pasiso Vorrei... nol posso.. I would like to... I cannot do i askoltami —‘senti_ ‘il patemo amore Ascoltami: enti Paterno amore... Listen tome: Feel the paternal __ love... ‘2 ‘tutta anima ho tutta anima... Thave all my soul... (My soul is deeply moved...) LUCREZIA deponi Deponi Put aside DOGE none Non d Itisn't ‘kwel quel thet rigore rigore. severity. intendi intendi? do you understand? rigore rigor... severity... As explained above, Jacopo wrote a letter to Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan to ask for his help. ‘The said letter was intercepted by the Council of Ten. Jacopo didn't really "loso it’, as Lucrezia is stating.136 1 Due Foscari, Act I LUCREZIA perdona ame tarrendi Perdona, a me tarrendi... Forgive, _ give in to me... venetsja ‘printfipe info Venezia principe in cio Venice the prince in that 1, the Prince of Venice have no power to do so.) LUCREZIA ‘se tu ‘dunkwe. potere nonai Se tu dunque _potere non hai, If you then power not have, ‘meko ‘pel fikKo a pre'gare Vieni meco pel figlio a _pregare... Come withme for the son to pray... ‘il mio. ‘pjanto il tuo ‘krine Il mio pianto, il tuo crine, my — tears, your gray hair, veidrai potram ‘forse ottenere vodrai potran forse ottenere you will see will be able to. maybe obtain (my tears and your gray hair maybe will move them to pity.) ‘kwesta almeno kwestultima ‘prova Questa almeno, —_quest'ultima _prova, This one at least, _—this last —attempt, sinpor ‘di tentare signor, di tentare; may it be allowed us, sir, to ty; (Let us try, sir, to make this one last attempt.) la'mor ‘solo ‘di ‘padre ‘ti ‘mova Lamor solo di padre ti mova, Thelove alone of _fathor may it move you, (May a father's love alone move you.) ‘sora il ‘dodge potere nona sora il Doge potere non ha. If now the Doge, power doesn't have. {if you as the Doge now have no power.) DOGE 2 vekki ‘padre ‘mizero a ke 1 ‘dsova (0 _ vecchio padre misero, a che ti giova (Oh old father wretched, what good is your poter nana poter non ha. power not has. pieta. pity. ‘trono trono, throne,1 Due Foscari, Act I 137 se ‘dar ‘nom'pwoi-—‘ne‘kjedere —dyustittsja._ © ‘ne_~—_—perdono se der non puoi nachiedere giustizia n8_—_—perdono if give youcannot norask for justice nor pardon ‘pel 'fixKo tuo ‘ke dimvolontarjo error pel figlio tuo ch dinvolontario error? for the son yours who is victim of an involuntary — error? a ‘nella ‘tomba ‘'ffendere mastrindse'ra a dolor Ab, nella tomba scendere _mastringera il dolor?) Ah intothe tomb todescend willcompelme the _ grief”) (Ab, will my grief compel me to sink into my grave?) LUCREZIA ‘tw pjandsi ‘la ‘tua ‘lagrima spear ‘mi ‘laffa arykor Tu __piangi.. Ta tua lagrima —sperar milascia _ancor! You are weeping... your tear hope lets me still! (You are weeping...Your tears still let me hope!) END OF ACTI138 I Due Foscari, Act I ACT I The State Prison (A faint light penetrates through a vent high up the wall. There is a staircase leading to the palace. Jacopo Foscari is seated on a large stone.) JAcoPO ‘notte perpetwa ‘notte ‘ke ‘kwi‘reppi Notte! Porpetua notte, che qui_regni! Night! Perpetual night, that here reigns! sik:kome alkAjok:ki ‘il ‘dgorno Siccome agli occhi_il_—_giomo, As tomy eyes the day, potes:si almen Yellare ‘al pen'sjer ‘mio potessi ‘almen colare al pensier. = mio. could you at least conceal from thoughts mine il ‘fine disperato ‘ke ~—s mmaspetiia il fine disperato che _m'aspotta! the end desperate that _awaits me! (Perpetual night that reigns in this dungeon! Just as you conceal daylight from my eyes, could you at least banish from my mind the thought of the desperate end that awaits me!) ‘tormi potes:si ‘alla ‘kostor ven'detta Térmi* potessi alla costor vendetta! Snatch me youcould from their vengeance! (f only you could snatch me from their vengeance!) ‘mao tfel ‘ke ‘mai Ma, ociel Che mai But, oh heavens!... What (Ho rises in fright.) ‘sorgon ‘terra ‘mille © Sorgon, terra mil ° Riso up from ground thousand and a thousand specters! (Thousands of specters are rising from the ground!) aniirto kin ‘gwardi fe'rotfi ardenti Han irto il crin.. guardi feroci, ardenti! They have shaggy the hair... looks ferocious, burning! *Tormi is a contraction of togliermi, a derivative of the verb togliere, meaning to take away, snatch away, remove, etc. It is a poetic form, of course, and the "o" vowel has a circumflex accent [0] to indicate that several consonants are missing, just as in French, the circumflex accent over a vowel usually implies that a consonant has been dropped, as in the word for "head’, téte, which in old French used to be testa, a closer cousin to its Italian testa,I Due Foscari, Act Il 139 a se ‘mi ‘kjaman 'es:si 86 mi chiaman essi and they call to mel... ‘uno sa'vantsa_ a dgiganteske — ‘forme Uno s'avanza! Ha sigantesche forme! One of them is approaching! He has e gigantic form! (One of them is coming closer! He is huge!) ‘suo retfizo ‘teskjo ferotfemente ‘manka ‘porta I suo reciso teschio ferocemente manca portal... His severed skull ferociously lefthand he carries!... a'mme ‘oaddia e€ —‘kokla ‘destra ‘mano Ame loaddita.. © colla destra mano To me he shows it... and with the — right-hand ‘mi'dsetta —im'volto = il ‘sangwe ‘ke ne ‘ola migetta involto —il'_~—sangue che ne cola. throws at me in my face the —_ blood that drips from it... ao ra'vwvizo eldesso © ~——_karmaippola Ah! Io ravviso!... Edesso.. & Carmagnola! Ah! recognize him!... Itishe.. Its Carmagnola!? ‘nom = maledimni = 9 'prode ‘se'son ‘del ‘dade il ido Non maledirmi, 0 _prode, seson del Dogo il figlio; Don't curseme, oh —_ mighty warrior, _—if I'm of the Doge the son; de jetfi fu iN konsikfo ke = amonte ‘ti dainno De Dieci fu il Consiglio che morte _ti dannd! Of Ten was theCouncil thet todeath condemned you! (The Council of Ten was who condemned you!) a ‘me pure sol per frode ‘vedi kwaddsu © dainnato Ah! Me pure sol per frode vedi quaggit dannato, Ah! I also only by lies see _downhere condemned, (Ah! Look at me down here, also condemned by falsehoods,) "During the reign of Filippo Maria Visconti, Milan and Venice were frequently at war. Francesco Bussone, a condottiero known as Carmagnola, was responsible for most of Milan's successful campaigns. But, rebelling against what he regarded as Visconti’s ungrateful attitude, Carmagnola abandoned him and offered his services to Venice — a step that was to bring tragic consequences. ‘The Doge of the Venetian Republic at the time was Francesco Foscari. When he was elected in 1423, he was already fifty, of noble birth, but not without influential enemies, chiefly Jacopo Loredano. Foscar's first major crisis involved Carmagnola. Foscari had entrusted the Milanese defector with the command of the Venetian forces, but the Council of Ten, faulting Carmagnole's conduct of the war, suspected him of treason. Under the pretense of summoning Carmagnola to a conference, they captured and beheaded him in 1432 undor Foscari's objections. (George Jellinek: "History Through the Opera Glass"). It is the specter of this Carmagnola that Jacopo Foscari is referring to in his delirium.140 I Due Foscari, Act IT e ‘il padre sventurato difendermi ‘nom '‘pwo @ ilpadre —sventurato difendermi non pud... and myfather hapless. defend me cannot... (and my hapless father cannot defend me...) ‘Ta ‘vista orribile ‘piu sostener Lavista _orribile pid sostener The sight horrible —no longer _—_ stand (Stop... can't stand your horrible sight any longer.) ‘non'so non 50. Ican't. (He falls to the ground in a faint as Lucrezia Contarini comes down the steps.) LUCREZIA a ‘spozo ‘ke ‘wedo Ah, — sposo che vedo? Ah! husband What do I soo? ‘me ‘Tan:ng “forse utsfizo i maledetsi Me I'hanno forse ucciso i malodeti, They havehim perhaps _—ikilled the accursed ones, e ‘per ma'd:dgore ‘skerno ‘man:no: ‘kwi‘tratta © per maggiore schemo = mhanno— qui and as abigger —_—insult they have me here dragged (and to heap further insult upon me they dragged me here) a kontemplar ‘la ‘salma a 'spozo ‘mio © —contemplar la salma? ‘Ah, sposo mio! to gazoupon his corpse?) Ah, husband ~—mine! (She fools his heart.) arkor ‘kwale ‘fred:do sudore. ancor! Quale freddo sudore! still! What cold sweat! ‘ti 'poza ‘sul. ‘mio ‘kor ti posa sul mio cor. rest upon my heart. What are you saying?JACOPO matitendi —orrrendo Mattendi, —_orrendo Wait for me, dread LUCREZIA sonio Son io. Itis I. JACOPO ‘ke ‘Ywoi Che vuoi?... ‘What do you want?... LUCREZIA ‘non rikonoffi ta Non riconosci Don't you recognize the JACOPO none ‘vero Non & vero!, It's not true!... I Due Foscari, Act II 141 ‘spetitro spettro. phantom... venidetita vendetta? vengeance? ‘spoza. ‘tua sposa tua? wife yours? a seit Ah! sei tu? Ah! its you? (Lucrezia embraces him passionately.) LUCREZIA. Ah! Ti posa sul mio cor. JACOPO ‘fia ‘vero ‘fra ‘le tue ‘brattfa aykor Fia vero! Fra le tue braccia ancor? Could it be true! In your_ arms again’? respiro ‘fu ‘dugkwe ‘sonno grrendo ‘sono ‘il ‘mio Respiro! Fu dunque sogno... orrendo —_—sogno il mio! Ibreathe! Wasit then (a) dream. horrible dream mine! il karnefitfe attende lestrems ——ad:dio ‘ora ‘vjeni a ‘darmi Tl camefice attende? —Lestremo —addio ora vieni a darmi? The headsman is waiting? The last farewell ~—_ now you come to bid me? LUCREZIA. (weeping) ‘no No. No. JACOPO, SAGA je ‘mio ‘padre ‘loro ‘kweste ‘porte Ei figli miei, mio 2 loro queste porte, ‘And my sons, my father? Will they be opened to them these doors, (And will these doors be oponed to my sons and my father)142 I Due Foscari, Act I 'pria ‘ke ‘il ‘sonino ‘mi ‘kopra della ‘morte priache il ~—sonno micopra della morto? before the sleep covers me of death? (before the sleep of death envelops me?) LUCREZIA eS ‘nom morrrai ‘ke ‘perfidi ped:dsore —‘doppi_ ‘morte io, non morrai; cha perfidi ore dogni morte, No, you will not die: forthe evilones wee then doath a ‘noi kle'menti ‘serbano ‘pin orribile ‘una ‘sorte @ noi, —_clomenti, sorbano pit orribile = una_ sorte. for us, in their clemency, they've decreed more horrible a_—- fate. (No, you will not die. For the evil ones, in their clemency, have decreed for us a more horrible fate, worse than death.) tw ‘viver ‘dei morendo ‘nel ‘prisko| eZiljo orrendo Tu viver déi morendo —nel_prisco osiglio orrendo. You live must dying in the former exile horrendous. (You must endure living death in your former place of exile...) ‘noi dezollati ‘in ‘lagrime dovremo ‘kwi lanygwir Noi desolati in lagrime © dovremo qui languir. We, desolate in _ tears will have to hore languish. (And we, desolate and in tears will have to languish here.) JACOPO ‘oben ditfesti allezule ‘piu ‘krudo ‘della ‘morte Oh, ben dicosti! Allesule pitt crudo dolla morte Oh well yousaid it! Tothe exiled one more cruel than death da ‘swoi Jontano © vivere da’ suoi lontano = _——ail' vivore! from his dear ones far is living! (Oh, how well you've said it! For me, the exiled one, living far away from my dear ones is worse than death!) © © Ki. 9 ~— mia konisorte —askondimi —kwel__‘pjanto © figli, o mia consorte, —ascondimi quel _pianto. Oh sons, oh my wife, hide from me that weeping... ‘su ewesto ‘kore alffranto ‘mi ‘pjomban ‘Te ‘we ‘lagrime Su questo core affranto mi piomban le tue lagrimo upon this hoart broken fallon me your tears (because your tears fall upon my broken heart.) e —‘kreffeme il softfrir e cresceme il__—_sofrir. and it increases my suffering. (A far off sound of singing and playing is heard.)I Due Foscari, Act II 143 ‘kalma ‘la laguna ‘voga _gondailjer calma la laguna! © Voga_gondolier. calm the lagoon! Row, gondolier. JACOPO ‘kwale ‘swono Quale suono? What sound (is that?) LUCREZIA. . e il gondolljero ke ~— ‘pel ‘likwido senitjero E il gondoliero cho pel_liquido sentioro Its the gondolier. = who on __liquid path ‘provar ‘debibe ‘il 'sua valor provar dobbe il suo valor. test must his valor. VOICES ‘battti ‘onda e ‘la fortuna, ti sekondi_ ° gondoljer Batti Yonda, © lafortuna ti socondi, © gondolier. Strike the waters, and fortune may it smile on you, oh —_gondolier. JACOPO ‘la * ‘ky ‘si ‘mmwor La siride, qui si muor. There they laugh, here one dies. male‘detto ‘ki ‘mi 'tokKe ‘kari ‘al ‘swol nati Maledetto chi__mi toglie cari, al suol natio; Cursed be who takesmeaway from my — dear ones, _—_from my homeland; ‘sul. ‘suo ‘kapo_‘pjombi itd:dio labbominjo ‘il dizonor Sul suo capo _piombi Iddio Tebbominio © il disonor. Over his head may God let fall abomination and dishonor. sperantsa —‘doltfe_anykora ‘nom mab:ban'dona ‘kore Speranza dolce ancora non m’abbandona core: Hope sweet still doesn't leave heart: (A sweet hope still hasn't left my hoart:) un 'd3omo ‘il'mio dolore ‘kon te a Ungiomo ilmio dolore con te ah, Someday my grief with you ah, vitfino a ‘ki saidora ‘men ‘krude ‘son ‘le ‘pene Vicino a chis'adora| men crude son __le pene; Close to the ones we love less cruel are our trials;144 1 Due Foscari, Act II perduto oppaltro "bene ‘tuo vivo Perduto cogn’altro bene, tuo vivrd. Lost all other blessings, of the love _yours I shall live. (When every other blessing is lost, I shall live from your iove.) LUCREZIA Speranza dolce ancora, non m‘abbandona, etc. leziljo edil dolore ‘kon te a divide'ro Lesilio ed il dolore con te ah, _dividerd. Exile and grief with you ah, Iwill share. Vicino a chi s'adora men crude son le pene, etc. CHORUS (off stage) Ti secondi la fortuna, etc. (The Doge, wrapped in a dark cloak enters the prison, preceded by a servant carrying a torch, which he places at one side before leaving.) JACOPO AND LUCREZIA (running towards him) ‘a ‘padre Ah, padre! Ah, father! DOGE 'fikKo ‘nwora Figlio! Nuora! Son! Daughter-in-law! JACOPO AND LUCREZIA ‘sei tu Sei tu! Its you! DOGE sonio volate ‘al ‘seno ‘mio Son io, volate al seno mio. Itis], fly tothe bosom mine. (Yes, it is I! Fly to my bosom.) ALL ‘provo ‘una dsoja axjkor Provo una gioia ‘ancor! Ifeel a happiness still! (can still feel some happiness!) DOGE ‘padre ‘ti'sono aykora o'kredi = a'kwesto—pjanto Padre ti sono ancora, To credi ‘a questo pianto; (A) father to youTam still, believe it from these tears; (1am still a father to you; you can believe it from my tears;)[Due Foscari, Act I 145 “il ‘volto. ‘mio —softanto findsea ‘per te tit jor, 1 volto mio soltanto —_fingea per te rigor. The face mine only feigned for you _ severity. (It was only my face that feigned severity towards you.) JACOPO w ‘mmami_ Tu mami? You love me? DOGE ‘si si. Yes. JACOPO 2 kon'tento ripeti ‘il ‘karo at:tfento Oh contento!_—_—Ripeti il caro acento. Oh joy! Repeat the dear word? DOGE ‘tama 'si ‘tama o'mizero ‘il dodge ‘kwi ‘non ‘sono Tamo, si, tamo, 0 misero. I Doge qui non sono. Ilove you, yes, Tlove you, oh wretchedman. TheDoge here I am not. JACOPO kome save allanima ‘della ‘tua ‘votfe ‘il —‘swono Come soave all'anima della tua voce il —_suon How sweet tomy soul of your voice the sound! (How the sound of your voice is sweet to my soul!) DOGE ° “fUAAL ‘sento ‘batstere ‘il ‘vostro. ‘sul ‘mio ‘kor Oh figli, sento battere il vostro sul. mio cor. Oh children, I feel beating your upon my — heart. (Oh children, I fee! your hearts boating upon mine.) JACOPO AND LUCREZIA kozi furtiva ‘palpita ‘ta ‘dgoja ‘fra'il dolor Cosi furtiva palpita Je gioia frail dolor. Thus secretly __beats joy amid grief. (oy amid one's grief beats secretly like that.) JACOPO ‘nel ‘tuo pattem amplesso ‘is 'skordo ‘omni dolore Nel tuo patemo -—amplesso io _—scordo ogni dolore. In your fatherly embrace = I forget every pain. °The common word for word is parola, However in poetic language one often encounters ‘acento, motto, and detto, all meaning the same thing.146 I Due Foscari, Act It ‘mi bene'‘ditfi_ a'des:so ‘da ‘fortsa, a ‘kwesto ‘kore Mibenodici adesso, da forza questo core. Bless me now, give strength to_—this (my) ~—_—heart. e il ‘pane del:le'zixko ‘men ‘duro ‘fia ‘per ‘me. e il pane dolfesiglio men duro fia per me. and the bread of exile less hard be for mo. (May your blessing strenthen my heart so that the bread of exile may be less hard for me.) ‘kwesto inmotfente —fikkotrovi un konjforts inte Questo innocente —figlio_trovi un conforto in te. This innocent son mayhefind comfort in —_you. DOGE ‘abi lamplesso estremo ‘dun. dgenitor ——kaldente Abbi Tamplesso ostromo d'un genitor cadente; Receive the embrace last from a father failing; (Receive the last embrace from your failing father;) ‘I dguditfe suprems —_—_proteg:ga linznotfente I giudico supremo —_protegga Tinnocente... The Judge Supreme may He protect _the innocent man.. (May the Supreme Judge (God) protect you, the innocent man...) terreno e'2ikko dgustittsja. —etema ‘ve terreno esiglio, giustizia —otema va. earthly exile, justice otornal there will be. ‘al ‘suo kos'pet:to ° “fikko kompa'rirai ‘kom ‘me Al suo cospetto, 0 ~_—figlio, comparirai con mo. Before His presence, 0 son, youwillappear with me. LUCREZIA ‘di ‘kwesto fifan:n> orrends farai vendetta 9 'tfel Di questo _affano orrendo fara vendetta ciel, Of this suffering horrendous _you will make vengeance, oh heaven, (Oh heaven, you will wreak vengeance for all this horrendous suffering,) kwando ‘nel ‘di_—tremendo ‘si skwartfe'ra ‘gram ‘velo quando nel di_—tromondo _si squarcierd gran velo, when on the day _ fearful will be ripped off the great veil, (when on that fearful day the great veil (hiding the truth) shall be ripped off,) e skordge'ra, ‘omni ‘tfiKKo i ‘dgusto ‘reo © scorgera ogni ciglio il _giusto reo and shall perceive every eye the real guilty one (and every countenance shall realize who the guilty one really is!) ‘dopo ‘il terreno: e'zikko ‘spozo_ sara ‘kon te Dopo il terreno esiglio, sposo, sard con te. After the earthly exile, husband, Ishallbe with you. [They all remain tightly embraced. The Doge tears himself away.)I Due Foscari, Act It DOGE ad:dio Addio... Farewell... JACOPO AND LUCREZIA parti Parti? Are you going? DOGE konjvjene Conviene. I must be. JACOPO ‘mi Taffi ‘in ‘kweste ‘pene Milasci in queste —_ pene? ‘You leave me in this misery? DOGE ‘il ‘ded:dso 1 deggio. I must. JACOPO askolta ‘ti rive'dro. Ascolta... ti rivedré? Liston... will I see you again? DOGE ‘una ‘volta ‘ma i ‘dodge ‘vi sa'ra Una volta... ma il ‘Doge _vi sara! Once more... but the Doge _will be there! (Once more...but as the Doge!) JACOPO AND LUCREZIA e iil padre E il __ padre? And the — father? 147148 I Due Foscari, Act Il DOGE pene'ra sappresisa ‘tora Penera.* Stappressa ora... He will suffer. Is nearing the hour... farewell! (I shall suffer. The hour has come... must leave...farewell!) (He starts to leave.) JACOPO (in despair) ‘vel ki maita Ciel. Chi moita? Heaven! Who will help mo? (Loredano enters the prison, preceded by the Officer of the Council and four guards carrying torches.) LOREDANO. ‘io To! u! LUCREZIA kw Chi? Tul Who? You! JACOPO 9 tfel Ociel! Oh heaven! DOGE lore'dano Loredano! LUCREZIA. ‘anko invmano No irridi, ‘You mock us, LOREDANO (coldly, to Jacopo) rakkolts =e ga ‘il_——_-komisiéo Raccolto 8 git il Consi Gathered is _alroady the — Council; ‘vjeni ‘di ‘la ‘maiko ‘ke = ‘de tratdurti a‘kreta anidrai Vieni, di la ilneviglio che doo tradurti. =a Crota. © Andrai, Come, over there is theship that will takeyou to Crete. ‘You will go... “One hears soffrira often in place of penerd. Thoy are interchangeable. Penare and soffrire have the same meaning: to suffer.I Due Foscari, Act IL 149 LUCREZIA ‘io pur To pur. 1 as well. LOREDANO ‘tel 'vjeta ‘de ‘djetfi ‘la sententsa Tol vieta de’ Dieci Ia —_sentenza, It is forbidden to you ofthe Ten the sentence. (The sentence of the Council of Ten forbids you to do it.) DOGE (ironically, to Loredano) ‘deppo ‘di te € a me's:sad:d3 Dogno dite «= 8 ils mossaggio! Worthy of_~— you isthe message! LOREDANO: ‘se ‘vekkjo ‘sei si ‘saddgo Se vocchio 5 sii saggi old youere, be —_ wise. (if you are old, be wise.) (To his guards.) ‘a partentsa la partenza. the (his) departure, JACOPO AND LUCREZIA ‘padre unam'ples:so an'kora Padre, un amplosso ancora. Father, one last embrace. DOGE (embracing them) “FUL Figli... Children... LOREDANO (interposing himself) varkata e ‘lora Varcata a Tora. Passed hes the hour. (The hour has passed.) JACOPO AND LUCREZIA (to Loredano) a ‘si ji ‘ke ‘mai ‘non sa'rresta, Ah si, cho mainon —_—s'arresta Ah yes, that never waits ‘reki ‘pure ate unora fatale rechi pure ate unora fatale, may it bring also toyouanhour fatal, (Ah, yes. May time that waits for no man yet bring you that fatal hour,)150 1 Due Foscari, Act II e — laffanno “ke ~— mands mortale © Veffano che mango mortalo, and the anguish that grieves me mortally, ‘piu temendo rikada ‘su te pia tremendo —_ricada su te, more terrible may itfall on you. ‘il rimorso: ‘in ‘kwel:lora funesta Irimorso in quellora—_funesta The remorse in that hour —_ dire ‘ti tormenti a krudele ‘perme a ti tormenti, © erudele, perme abt may it torment you, oh cruel man, for my sake, ab! DOGE (to Jacopo and Lucrezia) ‘de frenate Kwestira —_firnesta Deh frenate quostira —_funesta; Please stop this anger _fearful; limveire © imfe ‘nom ‘vale. Linveire, 0 infelici, non vale! To invect so, oh unhappy ones, _ is useless! sezegwiska I dekreto fatale Sresoguisca il decreto fatale... Let it be carried out the decree fatal... ‘sparve il ‘padre ‘ora il ‘dodge “kwi tfe Sparve il padre, ora il Doge quic’ Has vanished the father, now the Doge is here. {Lot the fatal decree be carried out. The father has vanished...now there's only the Doge.) ‘Ja dgustittsja. ‘kwi ‘mai ‘non La giustizia qui mai non Justice here never obibe'dire a'sue ‘le Obbedire suo leggi si dd. to obey its laws one must. LOREDANO (to himself, looking at them with contempt) ‘empja ‘skjatita ‘al mio ‘sangwe funesta (Empia schiatta’ al_~—mio_sangue funesta, (Wile race to my __ blood deadly, a fenderti ‘un — ‘dodge ‘nom ‘vale a diffonderti_ un Doge non vale; to defend you a Doge is powerless;1 Due Foscari, Act It 151 ; 7 ; % ‘per te ‘dgunse al'fin ‘lora fatal Per te —giunso alfin Yora fatale For you hascome finally the hour fatal kotanto ‘da ‘me cotanto da me.) longed for for such a long time by me) (Le giustizia qui mai non s'arresta, etc.) Jacopo is led out by the guards, preceded by Loredano, and followed slowly by the Doge, who leans on Lucrezia} Finale (A hall of the Council of Ten. The Councillors and the Giunta, among which is Barbarigo, aro gathering.) CHORUS 1 ‘ke 'pju's ‘tarda Che pit si tarda? Why this further delay? CHORUS 2 a'fsfretitisi omai ‘kwesta ‘partentsa Afrotti omai questa partenza. Let us hasten now this departure. CHORUS 1 inulte ‘lombre ‘fremono ‘ne akk:kuzan dindolentsa Inulte Yombre _fremono, ne accusan —_—d'indolenza. Unavenged the ghosts are trembling, us accuse of indolence. (The trembling unavenged ghosts will accuse us of indolence.) CHORUS - ALL ‘parta inikwo: ‘foskari uttfizo ekXja ‘un donato Parta Tiniquo ——Foscari...-—_ucciso gli ha un Donato. Let him leave the evil Foscari....__—killed he has a Donato.* (Foscari should depart...he killed a Donato.) per istrainjeri_ —_printfipi denn a parte'd:dgato Per istranieri —principi__—indegno hha parteggiato. For — foreign princes the worthless one _took sides. (He, the worthless one, took sides with foreign princes.) ‘Historically, Ermalao Donato was the head of the Council of Ten. He was assassinated on the night of November 5, 1450, while returning to his palace from a Council session. Suspicion fell onto Jacopo Foscari, who had already been suspected of receiving gifts from foreign princes. He was interrogated and tortured and the Council, failing to extract a confession, exiled him, firmly believing that he had murdered Donato.152 1 Due Foscari, Act It ‘nom ‘fia ‘ke ‘di venettsja ‘ei ‘sfug:ga ‘alla ven‘det:ta Non fia cho di Venezia. © ci_—ssfugga alla vendetta... Let it not be that from Venice he escapes the -—_-vengeance. (Lot him not escape the vengeance of Venice...) dgustittsja —_inkorrutttibile ‘nom ‘fia ‘kwi ‘mai negletta giustizia _—incorruttibile non fi qui mai noglettal justice incorruptible may it not be here ever neglected! balleni e ‘kome ‘folgore puniska ‘i Baleni, e come folgore punisca il Letitflash and asa thunderbolt may it punish the ‘mostri ‘ai soldidget ‘popoli ‘um ‘vidgile rigor Mostri ai soggetti pool un vigile rigor. Let it show tothe subject peoples avigilant ~—_ severity. (The Doge enters. He is preceded by Loredano, the Officer of the Council and the Comandatori, and followed by pages. He goes solemnly to take his place on the throne. When he has seated himself, all others do likewise.) ‘il voleste il voleste... you have wished it so... Oh patricians.. innoro se in kon Ignoro so Consiglio Tdon't know if to the Council ‘sia ‘per tormento oppure ‘al sia per tormento oppure al is to _ torment or the ‘mail Mail But the ‘me ‘dwopo rispettane M® duopo rispettamne Tmust respect salto ‘dodge ‘nel ‘volto Sard Doge nel _volto Ishall be Doge inmy face and father in my heart. (My face will be the Doge's and my heart will be the father's.) a'vvoi avoi... before you... “fikKo- figlio; son;1 Due Foscari, Act II 153, CHORUS - ALL ‘ben ditfesti ‘ite sa'vantsa Ben dicesti. 1 reo stavanza... ‘You have said well. The criminal _—_ approaches... DOGE ‘dona ovfel ‘ame kostantsa ona, o ciel, ame costanza!) (Give, oheaven, — to mo steadfastness!) Gacopo enters escorted by four guards.) LOREDANO ‘leg:ga i ‘reo, ‘la ‘sua sententsa Logga il reo Ja sua sentenza. Let him read, the criminal, his sentence. (Let the criminal read his sentence.) (He gives a parchment to the Officer, who gives it to Jacopo. The latter reads it) ‘del kon'sikéo ‘la kle'mentsa ‘or ‘la ‘vita ttidono Del Consiglio la clemenza_-or_—ilavita tidond. Ofthe Council the clemency now yourlife gave you. (The Council in its clemency has now saved your life.) JACOPO (giving back the parchment) nellezi