“La fanciulla del West” – Act 3
by Giacomo Puccini libretto (English)
| THIRD ACT |
| The Great Californian Forest. (The outer edge of the forest on the gentle slope of a spur of the Sierra. A clearing surrounded by the enormous, straight and bare trunks of age-old conifers, which form around it a sort of gigantic colonnade. At the back, where the forest grows ever denser, a path opens, winding inward among the trunks; here and there appear towering snowy peaks of mountains. Across the clearing, which is like a miners’ bivouac, lie great felled trunks, serving as seats; beside one of them burns a fire fed with thick branches. In the uncertain light of first dawn, the grand recession of the reddish trunks fades into a thick veil of mist. On one side, in the broad trunk of a colossal tree, there is hollowed out a store for miners’ tools; on another side, among ferns and shrubs, tied to a branch, a saddled horse. Rance is seated to the left, near the fire, his clothes in disorder, his face tired and distraught, his hair disheveled; Nick, pensive, sits opposite Rance. Ashby lies on the ground near the horse, listening. All three wear heavy coats. No sound disturbs the silence of the winter dawn.) |
| Nick (stirring the fire with the toe of his boot, in a low, gloomy voice) I swear to you, Sheriff: I’d give all the tips from ten whole weeks just to turn back the clock by one, to when that damned good-for-nothing Johnson hadn’t yet gotten in our way! Rance (angrily, gloomily) Cursed dog! He seemed mortally wounded... And to think that ever since, while we were freezing in the snow, he’s been up there, warmed by Minnie’s breath, caressed, kissed... Nick (with a sudden outburst of protest) Oh, Rance!... Rance A thief of his kind! I wanted everyone to hear what I knew... |
| Nick (approvingly, with a slightly teasing tone) And you didn’t do it. That was quite a gentlemanly gesture... Rance (smiling bitterly to himself) Ah, yes! (to Nick, with lingering resentment) But tell me, what does our lovely Minnie see, what can she possibly find in that dummy?... Nick (smiling knowingly) Well! She must see something in him!... (with comical philosophical wisdom) Love, love! Heaven and hell, that’s what it is! The whole damned world falls in love! And now Minnie’s hour has come as well. (Gradually, daylight begins to brighten the scene. Suddenly, a distant, vague and confused clamor comes from the mountain. Ashby leaps to his feet, unties the horse, seizes its bridle, and moves into the middle of the clearing, toward the path at the back; Rance and Nick also rise) Distant voices Hello!... Hello!... Hello!... Ashby (hearing the voices, he shouts:) Hurrah, boys!... Hurrah!... (turning to Rance) Sheriff, did you hear? I knew it, by God! They’ve found the bandit!... A good day for Wells Fargo!... Voices drawing nearer (from various directions) Hello!... Hello!... |
| (The shouts are repeated more distinctly. Rance rises) Ashby (to Rance) Don’t you hear? Ah, this time you won’t escape me, you scoundrel!... Rance (bitterly) You’re luckier than I am... Ashby (watching him, narrowing his eyes in a searching look) Ever since that night at the “Polka”, I haven’t been able to understand you, Sheriff... (Rance shrugs and does not answer) Voices very close Halloo!... (A group of men comes running in from the right, crossing the rear of the stage in a sweeping movement. Some carry large knives and pistols; others carry shovels and clubs. They all shout confusedly, like hounds pursuing wild game) Ashby (rushing toward them) Halloo!... Everybody stop, by God! (The crowd of pursuers stops for a moment, turning toward the shouts) Lower your weapons! He must be taken alive! (Some run offstage, shouting: Halloo, halloo! Another five or six miners arrive, whom Ashby confronts; they stop, breathless from running) Where is he? Some miners We’re after him... Halloo!... Others (pointing in the direction) This way... |
| Ashby Where? Where?... Other miners Over there, beyond the mountain! Others The whole forest down to the valley is already on the alert. Others Ashby, see you soon! Farewell! Ashby (leaping into the saddle) I’m coming with you! All Hurrah!... (Ashby waves goodbye to Rance and Nick and rides off at a trot, following the miners) Some miners (pointing in the direction) This way! This way! (The group disappears among the trees. Nick and Rance remain alone) Rance (raising his arms, as though addressing Minnie’s house, in a sudden burst of cruel joy) Minnie, now it’s your turn to weep! For you alone, gripped by jealousy, I’ve wasted away through nights of tears, while you laughed at my misery! Now all those tears overflow as laughter! The man you loved will never return. Minnie, now you must weep, you who mocked me! The noose is ready to hang him! (He throws himself down upon the fallen trunk, a wicked smile still on his face. Nick paces apart, then stops to gaze into the distance, anxious and uncertain. Several miners come running onto the stage) |
| Nick (questioning the nearest miners) Tell me!... Some miners (continuing to run) He’s cornered! Other miners (from the back, to those following them) Onward! Others (to Nick, without stopping) Soon! Others (arriving and urging the others to hurry) Onward!... (The furious pack of pursuers has moved away. Nick resumes pacing, deep in thought, then stops near Rance, who is still seated, withdrawn and grim) Voices offstage Hurrah!... |
| Nick Sheriff, did you hear? Rance (without answering him, looking down in suppressed rage) Johnson from Sacramento, a demon protects you! But, by God!... if they catch you in a noose and I don’t make you pay for every torment, you can spit in my face!... (Another shouting crowd of men arrives on horseback and on foot. Seeing Rance and Nick, they stop. Harry and Bello are at the front) Voices (confusedly) He’s escaping! He’s escaping!... Rance (leaping to his feet and rushing toward Harry) Ah, by God! Harry He’s mounted a horse!... Rance (pushing into the shouting crowd, calling out) How? Where?... Bello (panting) At the Bota, a man was already on top of him... Harry He seemed as good as finished!... A miner He had no way to escape! |
| Another miner He’d already grabbed him by the hair... A third miner When suddenly... Rance Tell us... go on... go on... Bello When suddenly the scoundrel knocks him down with a blow, throws him out of the saddle, grabs the horse’s mane, leaps into the saddle, digs in his spurs, and... he’s off like lightning! (Some accompany the account with a chorus of angry exclamations; others continue it, wildly waving their arms in violent gestures) Voices (various) - The Wells Fargo men are chasing him on horseback! - Ashby is with his men! - They’re all close behind him! - They’ve crossed the stream! - They’re racing down the valley! - He’s like a whirlwind sweeping past!... (A tremendous, savage shout echoes in the distance. Everyone falls silent, turns toward it, and waits a moment in suspense. The shout is repeated. The crowd joins in with a cry of “Hurrah!”) - Come on, boys!... - After him! - Go! All of you, go!... - To the valley!... |
| (They are about to rush off again when the distant galloping of a horse at full speed brings them to a halt) Joe (pointing toward the trees on the right) Look, it’s Sonora!... Sonora (from a distance) Halloo!... Joe and others Halloo!... Halloo!... (Sonora gallops in. Rance seizes the horse by the bridle and stops it. Sonora dismounts) Rance (grabbing Sonora by the arm) Tell us!... Sonora (with a choked cry) He’s caught! All (with a single shout) Hurrah!... (More groups of men come running in. They all crowd around Sonora, asking for news. Billy emerges from among the trees. He carries a long rope, which he keeps throwing over the branches, searching for one suitable for a hanging) |
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