FIRST  ACT


Scene 1

(The curtain rises on a room in Donato's house, an old villa
overlooking a lake; once well cared for, it is now in a rather
dilapidated state. The room, which only recently has been converted
into a drawing room, is over crowded with ill-fitting and ill-matching
Victorian furniture, evi­dently belonging to other rooms. Stage left,
by the fireplace, a very low coffee table in front of a large sofa, a
rocking chair and an armchair. Stage right, a rather antiquated
upright piano. In a corner of the room, an architect's drawing table
on which, half-covered by an oilcloth, one can see small plastic
models of buildings and large plaster reproductions of anatomical
details from Greek statuary. A dark open corridor, upstage left,
apparently leads to the entrance hall and the rest of the house.
Near backstage center, a small door opens on a narrow winding
stairway which connects the room with the apartment upstairs.
Also at the back of the room a large French window looks out on
the garden terrace. Somewhere between the door and the window,
in a niche, stands a rather incon­gruous-looking porcelain statue
of a Chinese mandarin. A few architectural drawings of modern
buildings are hung indiscriminately on the walls, side by side, with
nondescript nineteenth-century oil landscapes. Strewn about the
room, but mostly half-hidden behind the furniture, one sees empty
bird cages of different shapes and sizes. In spite of the large
French window, which brightens the room, the atmosphere is
oddly oppressive, as if the people in the room were imprisoned
by its walls. It is mid-afternoon; a cold day in early spring. As the
curtain rises, Donato is sitting on the sofa holding a
small bird cage which he has just finished making,
while Agata looks intently out into the garden through
the French window)

AGATA
One... two... three... Good heavens
I Three maids, a cook, a tutor and a chauffeur.
They must spend their days tying each other's shoes, these people.
Nothing for me, through.
The tutor looks like a puppet and the chauffeur is as old as an owl.
There is the little boy! A devil I can tell.

(In a sing-song, after striking a comic attitude)

Let us say good bye to your mother's china.

(Looking again out of the window)

Oh, finally out steps madame!
 
(Donato crosses the room and places the bird cage on a table
and stands by the upright piano, amused by Agata's remarks)
 
A furcoat large enough for both of us.
Where does she think we are? In Siberia?
And what a hat! Oh la la!
Blue scarf and a corsage of violets!
So many people to help her out of the car,
you might think she could not walk alone.
Look at your mother bowing and scraping before them
as if they were movie stars!
 
(With exaggerated parody)
 
"How d'you do, how d'you do." "After you."
No, no, no, no, no, after you”
“Ah, joli, joli”Mais vous parlez français...
Help... help!

(Running toward the door with feigned terror)

Here comes the holy procession.

(The Mother comes into the hall, followed by Maria
Golovin. Trottolo and his tutor, Dr Zuckertanz)

MOTHER
This way, come in, come in! You will soon feel warm in here.

(She comes into the room with the tutor and Trottolo.
Maria is still in the little hall were she is taking off her
coat with Agata's help)

This is my son Donato.
Your name? I'm sorry.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Doctor Jose Maria Zuckertanz.

DONATO
How d'you do?
 
(Zuckertanz walks toward Donato as if to shake hands with
him; quickly realizes that he is blind and stops short; then
walks toward the French window)
 
DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
How do you do?...
Delightful here, delightful!

(Maria comes into the room with Trottolo)

MOTHER
And this Donato is madame Golovin.

(Spoken to Agata)

Yes, yes...

DONATO
Good evening.
 
(The Mother's attention is diverted by Agata, who whispers
 something in her ear and leads her into the kitchen)

MOTHER
(to guests)
Excuse me.
 
MARIA
How do you do?

(Maria not realizing that Donato is blind, extends her hand to him
without moving. Donato also remains motionless with his hand
extended. Ma­ria is suddenly made aware of the situation by a gesture
from Zuckertanz. She then talks toward Donato; but just as she
reaches for his hand, Donato unconscious of her movement, lowers
his arm. She stands embarrassed in front of him)

DONATO
And the little boy?
Isn't there also a little boy?

MARIA
Oh yes, there is also Trottolo. But where is he hiding?
Come, Trottolo.
Has the cat swallowed your tongue?

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Allons, Trottolo, saluez comme il faut!

DONATO
(shaking hands with Trottolo)
How d'you do, Trottolo. I know that we shall be good friends.
I can be trusted with all kinds of secrets. A blind man never talks.
 
(They all laugh)
 
DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Avez-vous bien compris Trottolo?

DONATO
(to Maria)
Was the journey tiring?
 
MARIA
Yes, just a little...
the roads are still scarred by the war,
and up here the snow has n't melted yet.
 
DONATO
Yes, spring is late this year.
 
(The Mother comes back into the room)
 
MOTHER
Tea will soon be ready.
 
MARIA
Thank you.
 
MOTHER
And while we wait,
would you care to see your apartment?
 
MARIA
I'd love to.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Trottolo, vous restez?
 
MOTHER
You have your own entrance outside.
 
DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Vous restez done?

MOTHER
I hope that we haven't forgotten anything.
This is the first time we have rented.
 
MARIA
You must not worry.
It is even prettier than I thought.

(They disappear up the stairway. Only Trottolo and
Donato are left in the room. Trottolo staring at Donato,
both fascinated and a little frightened)

DONATO
Trottolo. I know you're there.

(Trottolo backs away)

Why are you afraid?

(Trottolo backs away again)

Ne t'echappe pas.
 
(Trottolo runs upstairs as Agata appears with the tea tray)

AGATA
This is a sad place to take a little boy
I Those huge cold rooms upstairs full of motheaten velvet...
and then that tutor!
 
DONATO
Tell me, Agata, is she beautiful?
 
AGATA
What is it to you, signorino?

DONATO
Tell me... There is something... something in her voice;
it filled my darkness with a soft golden glow.
 
AGATA
Why, why shouldn't she be beautiful?
Women like her spend their whole day patching up their faces.
So why, why shouldn't she be beautiful?

(She drapes Maria's fur coat and scarf over her
shoulders, then places the hat on her head)

Oh, if you only could see this coat of hers,
I Buy me a hat just like this, and a scented scarf such as this,
and I too shall be very beautiful.

(Parading in front of Donato, like a grand dame)
 
Ah, joli, joli... Mais vous parlez francais? Oui, oui, monsieur.
 
(Donato snatches from Agata the scarf
which she has just brushed over his face)

DONATO
Enough, Agata! Are you out of your mind?

(Agata takes off hat and coat)

AGATA
Don't I stand a chance, signorino?
Not even with you who are blind?
 
DONATO
Run along! Better watch the cake in the oven!

AGATA
(mimicking the Mother)
"Agata's speciality",
as your mother says to guests.
It is the only thing I know how to bake.
 
(Having placed Maria' coat and hat in the hall, she waltzes
off into the kitchen. Donato left alone still holding the scarf,
slowly brings it to his cheek. On hearing his mother's voice,
he quickly puts the scarf over the back of the nearest chair
and walks away)
 
MOTHER
(coming down the stairs with Trottolo)
… and eight, and nine, and ten, and hop la la!
 
(Stops in front of Chinese statue)
 
This is Chung-Ku, the Chinese mandarin.
Ev'ry time you go by, you must bow twice to him.
 
(Trottolo bows twice)
 
(Spoken)
 
That's it! Bravo!
 
(Turning to Donato, while inspecting the tea tray)
 
Madame Golovin will soon be down. What a charming woman!
She seems to like the house very much.
I told you that we should have asked for a higher rent.
 
(To Trottolo, who is reaching for the Chinese statue)
 
No, no, no, no!
Chung-Ku becomes very angry if little boys touch him.

(Fearfully, Trottolo bows twice to Chung-Ku. Agata enters the
room with an expression of mock terror, holding a cake pan)

AGATA
I’m afraid that my speciality is not rising to the occasion.

MOTHER
You fool, you idiot, you fool,
of all times to fail me.
I'm sure the oven is cold.
 
(To Trottolo, who is stealing sugar from the tea tray)
 
No, no, no, no!
Don't touch that... Oh dear me!
Come, Trottolo, we shall find some biscuits for you in the kitchen.

(She leads Trottolo into the kitchen. Agata following hem)
 
(I predict that that will be a very short lived friendship. Having made
sure that he is alone, Donato passes his hand over the back of the
chair until he finds Maria's scarf. Slowly, almost guiltily, he brings
it to his nostrils, then to his lips; finally, his features contorted by
frustration and despair, he buries his face in it. Maria, on her way
down the small stairway, catches sight of him and stops, both
embarrassed and moved. Donato, sensing he is not alone, quickly
throws the scarf back onto the chair. Disturbed by the scene, Maria
silently retraces her steps up the stairway, then announces her
arrival with gentle coughing)
 
DONATO
Who is there? Is there someone?

MARIA
(she descends into the room, pretending to have just arrived)
Am I too early?

DONATO
No, no, come in.
 
MARIA
And Trottolo, where is he now?

DONATO
He's with my mother hunting biscuits, I believe.

MARIA
Has he been a bother?

DONATO
Oh, no, this house needs the voice of children.

MARIA
Poor Trottolo, he was so ill this winter.

DONATO
I hope you will like it here.
These abandoned gardens by the lake are full of sadness.
 
MARIA
I already love both house and garden.
I find most beauty in melancholy things.
 
DONATO
The last time I saw the garden, the camellias were in bloom.

(Men shouting in the distance and noise of drums and trumpet)

MARIA
What's that?

DONATO
Don't you know?
There is a prisoners' camp down the hill.
 
MARIA
Prisoners of war?

DONATO
Yes, I believe you can see it from the window.

(Maria goes to the French window and opens it)
 
CHORUS OF PRISONERS
Oh... Oh...
 
DONATO
Sometimes they sing at twilight songs of their native lands.
Poor devils!

(Off stage shouts are heard)

MARIA
(closing the window)
I would not have come here had I known.
 
DONATO
Why?
 
MARIA
For over four years my husband has been a prisoner of war abroad.
 
DONATO
He should soon be back now.

MARIA
All winter I haven't heard from him.
I fear he might be ill.

DONATO
I'm sorry.
 
MARIA
Oh, I don't want to think about it.
Let us talk about some­thing else.
 
DONATO
Tell me the truth.
You were looking at me before, weren't you?

MARIA
What do you mean? When?

DONATO
When I was kissing your veil.

MARIA
Oui.

DONATO
You must forgive me... I am a lonely man.
 
MARIA
I understand you. I too am lonely at times.
But, of course for you...
for you it must be terrible.
Was it in the war?
 
DONATO
Yes... three years ago...'m quite used to it now.
The worst of it that I cannot think anymore.
I see things all the time.
When I had my eyes, I could close them and find peace.
Now, I imagine things.
I see things, I always see things, things that are not always there.
 
MARIA
Let me, then, do the thinking for you.
If I may keep you company sometimes.
Do you like to be read aloud to?
 
DONATO
Will you, please?

MARIA
I also play the piano quite well.

DONATO
But ours is only a clank ghost.

MARIA
We shall have it tuned.

DONATO
What do you play?

MARIA
Oh! easy Chopin, some Debussy.
And if you like me silent, I also paint a little.
 
DONATO
What do you paint?
 
MARIA
What useless women like me usually paint: bouquets of flow'rs
on cheekered table cloth, and flying sails on sunny seas.
These are the things I used to paint, when I was still a girl, a silly girl
who learned all about life from the nuns of the Sacred Heart.
I must confess that, at times, I still enjoy reading horrible books where
people die of broken hearts
and love is always love at first sight...
What am, I talking about rambling on and on like a fool
I Wasn't I talking about my painting? Oh, yes...
What I really wanted to say was...
Oh, nothing at all... only, that I... that I would like
to paint those subtle things that are beyond what people see.
Oh, how I envy those hands that can arrest without blunders or doubts,
those visual longings of the heart,
which make us think there is an artist in us all... There I go again!
Don't be afraid, I will not ask you to pose for me that is, of course,
unless it is by chance a cold or rainy day.
 
DONATO
Don't stop, please
I You paint with your voice some wonderful pictures in my eyes.
 
MARIA
Are these your drawings hanging on the wall?
 
DONATO
Yes. I dreamed once of building houses for men.
Now I build cages for birds.

MARIA
Yes... I see them... but... they are all empty.

DONATO
I build them to make shapes, not to hold a prisoner.

MARIA
But then, what do you do with them?

DONATO
My mother pretends to sell them in the village to keep me busy.
I know she lies. The attic must be full of them.
 
MARIA
Oh, but how pretty they are
I Like Moorish palaces and Chinese pagodas.
What nightingale would not welcome such delicate dwellings!
 
DONATO
Will you then take one?
 
MARIA
(selecting a cage)
May I? Oh, I love this one.

DONATO
But, be careful; the cage you take already holds a prisoner;
there fore choose well...
 
(After a pause)

May I touch your face?

(Another pause)
 
Are you afraid?
 
MARIA
Perhaps a little.

DONATO
Why? My touch is as harmless as a glance.
Come, come near me.

(Hesitating a little and always holding the little bird cage, she slowly
walks towards him with outstretched hand. Delicately, as if fingers
were sensitive antennae, Donato very slowly passes, first one hand,
then both of them, over face and hair. She stands in front of him, at
firstintrigued and tense but soon weakened by his hypnotizing touch.
Suddenly, disturbed and almost frightened, Maria gently pulls away,
leaving him with his arms outstretched. The Mother comes back into
the room with Trottolo. They are fol­lowed by Agata with tea and
cake)
 
MOTHER
(to Trottolo)
You must be careful not to play near the lake.
Here is our tea at last.
You be a good boy and run upstairs to call Mister...
you know... your tutor, whatever his name is... ha, ha, ha...
don't forget to bow to Chung Ku!
 
(Spoken)
 
And one... and two... That's it.

(Trottolo starts upstairs but comes back
into the room, followed by Zuckertanz)
 
Here he comes.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(rushing into the room, very excited, with a broken record)
Broken! Split in two!
 
MOTHER
Good heavens, what?

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Johann Sebastian Bach!
The whole Well Tempered Clavichord is gone!
The most rare irreplaceable records by that great interpreter
Mademoiselle Felicia Fernanda La Fosse,
played on the original clavichord
that the cousin of Buxtehude gave to guess whom?
Frederick the Great.
Oh, my dear, chat a blow!

MOTHER
May I attempt to revive you with a strong cup of tea?

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Thank you. just what I need!

(They all sit at tea table except Donato, who is still
standing by the piano. He searches for a chair, then
approaches the tea table, dragging the chair behind him)
 
MOTHER
(to Maria)
Will you please cut the cake while I pour more tea?
Agata's speciality.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(looking at the cage that Maria is still carrying)
What in the world are you holding, madame?

MARIA
Oh, I forgot. It is the gentleman's gift to Trottolo! Come, Trottolo!
See what the gentleman has given you...
He has made it himself, you know...
 
MOTHER
(to Zuckertanz)
It is my son's hobby to make cages.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
A most charming pastime.

MARIA
What shall we catch... a finch or a lark?

MOTHER
He had studied to be an architect, but the war came...

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
What a shame.

(Still clutching the chair, Donato hears Maria's lie and stop in the
middle of the room with a pained expression on his face. Then
suddenly he throws the chair across the room. Everyone looks at
him in amazement)

MOTHER
Why, Donato! What has come over you?

DONATO
I'm sorry.
When you live in darkness,
the most innocent lie becomes impossible to bear.

MOTHER
But who ever lies to you?
No one ever lies to you!

DONATO
Somebody will, mother. Somebody will.
 
(The Mother looks towards Maria)
 
Scene Second
 
(The scene is the same. It is late afternoon one month later. Agata,
dressed to go out, is standing near the main entrance. Donato,
sitting by the French window, pretends to be working on one of
the bird cages)
 
DONATO
Aren't you ready yet?
 
AGATA
I'm waiting for your mother.

DONATO
I heard the church bells ring along time ago.

AGATA
You seem to be in a hurry to rid yourself of us.
 
DONATO
I was afraid you might be late for benediction that is all.
 
AGATA
Ha, ha, you cannot fool me!
It isn't surely the salvation of our souls that is on your mind.
I know what goes on here as soon as we go;
and so do all the servants upstairs.
 
DONATO
I don't know what you are talking about!
 
AGATA
Even your mother knows it.
But she the churchy one,
will close her eyes to anything as long as you are happy.
 
DONATO
Well then, don't you, too, want me to be happy?
 
AGATA
She's not the woman for you, signorino. What kind of a woman is she?
Not a month has gone by yet
and already she's down here ev'ry evening.

DONATO
Enough, Agata!
 
AGATA
You see I You see I You already care too much about her.
Don't you understand?
This, for her, is nothing more than another adventure I
 
DONATO
Leave her alone! You know nothing about her.
 
AGATA
I know the type.
It is enough to take one look at her to know her past.
 
DONATO
(after a long silence)
Her past? What do you mean by her past? What past?
 
AGATA
(with perfidious sanctimony)
I wouldn't try to find out if I were you.

DONATO
(with violence)
I forbid you to say another word about her.

(The Mother comes in, also dressed for church)

MOTHER
We must hurry on or we shall miss the rosary.

(Noticing that Donato is very disturbed)

Are you all right darling?

DONATO
Yes, Mother.

MOTHER
Good bye then.

DONATO
Good bye.

(The Mother and Agata exit. Having made sure that he is alone.
Donato runs to the back wall and knocks against it with his cane. The
signal is answered from upstairs. With intense expectation, Donato
makes ready to receive Maria. In a boyish way, he smoothes his hair
with the palm of his hand, quickly arranges the room the best way he
can, finally placing a Braille writing tablet on the table in front of the
sofa. He then stands in front of the door which leads upstairs, waiting
for Maria with almost spasmodic impatience. At last the door slowly
opens and Maria runs into his arms. After a long kiss, they slowly
move towards the sofa)

DONATO
Let us sit by the fire.

MARIA
You're late tonight.

DONATO
I thought they would never late.

MARIA
I thought so too.

DONATO
What is the colour you're wearing today?

MARIA
What ever colour you see.

DONATO
Blue, then.

MARIA
Blue it is!
Is my lesson ready?

DONATO
(handing a braille tablet)
Here it is.

MARIA
I'm becoming so clever at this that soon
I shall be able to write you compromising letters.

DONATO
We'll see.
 
MARIA
Ready.
 
DONATO
Keep your eyes closed!
 
MARIA
(with her eyes closed, she begins to read with her fingers)
“I” …the first letter is “I” …now less me see…
“L”, right? “O” …” V” …
Oh, that is too easy. "I love you!"
 
DONATO
That is not fair! You do not read, you guess.

MARIA
No wonder your mind is like a schoolboy's.
"I love you"... T"..."0"...0...M". "Too much."
Why "too much”?

DONATO
Go on.

MARIA
"I am"... No! This I can't make out.
"I am"... what?

DONATO
"Afraid."
 
MARIA
Oh yes, "afraid". But why afraid?
Can love make you afraid?
 
DONATO
(painfully)
Oh, yes, oh, yes! Lost in vastness you are crucified by noon,
there is no direction, there is no escape.

MARIA
I wonder who this woman can be, whom you love too much.
Surely not I, whom you have never seen.

DONATO
Ah, Maria, Maria,
if you only could see the shapes and colours of your voice...
Like a dark violet wave,
it breaks over and drowns a deserted town by the sea.
It is the tree that grows up on the buried heart, green and gold
as is the lemon tree.
It's the queen's crown delicate and piercing.
It is bitter-sweet like burnt sugar.
It is fleeting like the dew on the spider's web.
At times so near, so near it cuts and burns
the branch that grows with in the flesh.
At times, so far, so far, the whole word stops to listen.
 
MARIA
(moved)
Listen then, listen. I love you Donato.
From the very first time when you touched my face,
I felt that I belonged to you.

DONATO
But you're not really mine. You don't belong to me.

MARIA
I'm yours, Donato, only yours!

(They kiss and then fall into a tender silence.
Maria holding Donato in a protective embrace)
 
DONATO
May I ask you something?

MARIA
(without moving, with quiet but tormented voice)
Yes.

DONATO
Is this your first unfaith fullness?

MARIA
(jokingly)
Of course... Can't you tell?

DONATO
But you, so young, so beautiful!

MARIA
How do you know?

DONATO
I know, I know... many men must desire you.

MARIA
I'm less beautiful than you imagine, Donato.
Oh well, yes... last year, to tell the truth,
I misbehaved a little.

(He draws away from her)

Don't look so shocked. Is was all rather innocent.
I was spending the summer by the sea.
I had some charming neighbours next door. They had a son.
He was so young, barely nineteen.
I believe it was his first love.
We used to take long walks together by the sea.
Next to me, he would blush and tremble like a girl.
I took pity on him. And also, who knows,
out of a certain tenderness toward his mouth.
One day I let him kiss me.

DONATO
(quietly, but his voice full of dark menace)
What was his name?

MARIA
Does it matter?
 
DONATO
I want to know.
 
MARIA
Aldo...

DONATO
Was he handsome?

MARIA
Yes.

DONATO
And then?

MARIA
What do you mean?

DONATO
What happened then?

MARIA
Why are you so upset?

DONATO
Please answer my question
I What happened then?

MARIA
(bewildered)
Nothing, summer ended.

DONATO
Why has your voice changed so?

MARIA
I was not aware of it.

DONATO
I know now what Agata meant.
 
MARIA
Agata? What has Agata to do with it?
Why are you behaving so strangely all a sudden?

DONATO
Are you still very much in love with him?

MARIA
I never said I was in love with him.

DONATO
Does he still love you? Did you ever see him again?

MARIA
Never.
He wrote me some silly letters. I never answered.

DONATO
What did he say in his letters?
 
MARIA
(alarmed by the violence of his voice)
Enough of this!

DONATO
You're hiding something.

MARIA
(screamed)
Stop it! I won't stand for this.

DONATO
(suddenly ashamed of himself)
I'm sorry. Forgive me.

MARIA
What has come over you? Can't you see how offensive this is to me?
 
(Seeing the anguish on his face)
 
Oh, but you are suffering. Why? Why?

DONATO
Something you said.

MARIA
What could I have said?

DONATO
About Aldo...
You let him kiss you out of pity.

(Almost like a cry of pain)

Is that why you love me? Out of pity?
 
MARIA
(with great tenderness and compassion)
Oh, my darling, my darling! How can you said that!
Can't you feel how much
I love you, how wholly I belong to you?
 
DONATO
Yes, yes... Kiss me. Tell me you're mine, mine.

(They hold each other in a passionate embrace. From outside
one hears the singing of the prisoners. It has grown darker)

MALE CHORUS
Noina, noina, dalu dalu,
Noina noina dalu dalu, Noina noina dalu noina noina no...
 
MARIA
(in a whisper)
The prisoners...
 
DONATO
(whispered)
Don't listen, don't listen.
 
MALE CHORUS
La vila randu servi servi do. Noina noina dalu dalu...

TROTTOLÓ
(outside in the garden far away)
Mommy... Mommy...
 
(Suddenly Trottolo appears outside the French
window and peers through the panes into the room)
 
Mommy... Mommy...

(Panic-stricken, Maria breaks away from Donato and throws herself
against the back wall of the room in an effort to hide from Trottolo's
gaze. Donato gropes his way to the window and opens it)

MALE CHORUS
Tonga tonga la lira Zero, Tonga la lira la...

DONATO
(keeping Trottolo from entering the room)
Your mother isn't here, Trottolo!
 
TROTTOLO
(spoken)
Oh!

DONATO
She must be upstairs waiting you.

TROTTOLO
No.

DONATO
Do you want something?

TROTTOLO
No.

(Stubborn and distrustful, Trottolo stands
gazing at Donato without moving)
 
DONATO
Well then, go on. You will find her upstairs.

(With a last suspicious glance into the room, Trottolo finally runs off.
Donato closes the French window and comes back into the room)

TROTTOLO
Mammy... Mammy...
 
MALE CHORUS
Noina noina dalu dalu. Noina noina dalu noina n0na no...

MARIA
Oh, my God! Do you suppose he saw us?

DONATO
No, no I'm sure not.

MARIA
(freeing herself from his embrace)
How reckless, how reckless of me!

DONATO
You must not worry!
 
MARIA
Let me go!
 
DONATO
Wait a while!
 
MARIA
Let me go!

DONATO
Will you come back tomorrow?

MARIA
(hysterically)
Yes, yes, but let me go now.

DONATO
Do you promise?

MARIA
Yes, but let me go, let me go.

(She runs upstairs without another glance at Donato.
Donato stands helplessly in the middle of the room)
 
MALE CHORUS
Tonga tonga liro lere.
Noina noina dalu dalu, Noina noina dalu dalu...
 
DONATO
Why did I meet her!
It will mean suffering more than anything else?
What can save me now?
Oh, God, keep me from loving her.
Help me! Help me!
 
 
 
SECOND  ACT  
 
 
Scene First
 
(The terrace overlooking the garden. Stage right, a wall of the villa
with French window leading into the house. On the terrace, garden
furniture. At the back of the terrace, among the broken eighteenth-
century stone statue, a stairway descends into the garden. It is late
afternoon in mid summer three months later. The terrace is empty.
From far away one hears shooting of rifles ant the wailing of a siren.
Agata runs out of the house onto the terrace and peers toward the
distant hills. She is soon followed by Donato)
 
DONATO
What is it?
 
AGATA
Another prisoner must have escaped.
 
DONATO
Poor devil. I hope he'll reach the border.
Do you see him?
 
AGATA
No. He must have already escaped into the woods.
 
(The sound of shooting and of the siren slowly dies down.
Donato sits on a wicker chair near the house, Agata on a
small bench on the other side of the terrace where a small
half-sewn Pulcinella costume has been left lying. She picks
up the black half-mask and ties an elastic in back if it)
 
DONATO
How warm it is again today.
It is a malignant sun that is upon us this summer.

AGATA
Yes, even the lake is a dead as a frying pan.

DONATO
What are you doing, Agata?

AGATA
A mask for Trottolo.
There is a children's party tonight at the house next door.
 
(Donato gets up and walks nervously to the end of the terrace)
 
DONATO
They should have returned from the picnic ago.
I hope nothing happened.

AGATA
There you are, fretting about her all the time.

DONATO
(irritated)
Enough of that!

AGATA
(tying the Pulcinella mask on her face)
What will you do when the husband comes back?

DONATO
Stop tormenting me!
 
AGATA
(behind the mask, with perfidious overtones)
This morning a letter arrived for her, a very strange looking letter.
 
(She takes the letter of her pocket)

DONATO
Leave it alone. I couldn't care less.

AGATA
(walking nonchalantly towards the house)
Well, well, I'd better go in and start preparing dinner.

DONATO
(fighting with himself)
Where did this letter come from?
 
AGATA
(tearing the mask from her face, triumphantly)
Ah, ah! You do want me to spy on her!
I knew you would ask me to help you.
I could read it in your eyes.
 
DONATO
Stop lying! I never said to spy on her.
 
AGATA
(immediately taking advantage of Donato's first sign of weakness)
Why did you ask me about the letter then?
I can steam it open for you.
Let me be your eyes. I shall tell you ev'rything she does.

DONATO
(hopelessly ensnared)
Leave me alone.

AGATA
Only through my eyes...

DONATO
Go away!

AGATA
... can you learn the truth.

DONATO
You are a monster!

AGATA
Let me be your eyes!

DONATO
Go away before I kill you!

AGATA
Ah then you will know...

DONATO
Oh, God help me!

AGATA
... whether or not she loves you.
There is a man's name on the back of the envelope.
 
DONATO
(yielding)
Her husband's?

AGATA
No, another name...
Aldo something.

DONATO
(wildly)
Aldo!
 
(With a cry)
 
Aldo!
 
(Tearing the letter out of her hand)
 
Are you sure?

AGATA
Yes.
 
DONATO
Is this the first time you see that name?
 
(Agata screams; a prisoner runs onto the terrace, a gun in his hand)
 
What is it?
 
PRISONER
Move over there!
 
(Seeing that Donato does not move; he
points the gun at him menacingly)
 
Move!
 
AGATA
Can't you see, he is blind.
 
PRISONER
All right. Don't be afraid, I'm not here, to hurt you.

DONATO
Are you the prisoner who just escaped?

PRISONER
Yes. Are there other people in the house?

DONATO
Not now, but they will soon se back.

PRISONER
You must hide me until dark.

DONATO
I can't.
 
PRISONER
Why?
 
DONATO
There is a child in the house, and an old woman.
You might frighten them.
 
PRISONER
They needn't know I'm here.
I promise to leave late at night, after they have gone to sleep.
 
DONATO
Take him to my room, Agata.

PRISONER
I warn you, if you betray me...

DONATO
Why should I betray you?

PRISONER
Can you find me some clothes?

DONATO
I think so.

(Maria's call is heard from the garden. Agata quickly leads the
Prisoner into the house. Donato, after putting the letter on the
table, runs excitedly towards the stairway)
 
MARIA
I'm so tired, so tired.
 
MOTHER
The sun was merciless today.
 
DONATO
And Trottolo?
 
MARIA
Ah, poorTrottolo! It was too much for him.
We had to carry him most of the way back.
He's sound asleep.
 
DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(appears carrying Trottolo, fast asleep, in her arms)
And here we are... and this is as far as I go, or I shall faint!
 
(He drops Trottolo, who runs whimpering to his mother)
 
MARIA
We had better put him to bed,
or he will never stay awake for the fireworks tonight.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(to Trottolo)
Voyons I Vousn’allez pas pleurer.

MOTHER
Not a grown-up man like you!
 
MARIA
Be a good boy and go to bed,
so that tonight you'll be a bright Pulcinella.
 
MOTHER
And while you sleep,
we shall sew buttons onto the costume of our Pulcinella
 
DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Please, madame Golovin do not coax him.
He must learn to do just as he's told without a whimper.
 
MARIA
Yes, he is right,
you must obey or you will not see the fireworks tonight.
 
MOTHER
Be a good boy and go to sleep, go to the sleep without a whimper.
 
(Maria, Zuckertanz and Trottolo exit)

MOTHER
(to Donato)
She does spoil him too much.
Agata found another broken vase yesterday.
I hope madame Golovin is aware that
she'll have to pay for damages.
 
DONATO
(sharply)
Stop counting your pennies!
 
MOTHER
(surprised and wounded)
Don't you dare talk to your mother like that!
How you have changed, since that woman came into this house.
At first I hoped she might bring some happiness
in your dark and lonely life.
But now God is punishing me for kindling such a sinful love.
 
DONATO
It is too late to weep or change.
I am no longer free to want my freedom.
 
MOTHER
But I know she loves you.
 
DONATO
Her ways of love are different from mine.
She's not bound to me the way I am to her.
She loves too many things, too many people.
One cannot love two people without lying to both of them.
And I think she lies to all of us.
 
MOTHER
Ah, poor Donato, how much I pity you.
I know how burning are such doubts.
Oh, my son, fight this thing.
There is no night as deep and dark as love without belief
 
DONATO
If I only could be sure that her love is but a lie in my sorrow,
in my tears, I might find some kind of peace.
 
MOTHER
Oh, how I hate this woman!
The curse she has set upon you is far worse than blindness.
 
MARIA
(coming out on the terrace)
May I join you?
 
DONATO
Oh, please, do come out.
These summer evenings are so warm.
 
MOTHER
Come and sit with us in the shade.
 
MARIA
I must work on Trottolo's costume,
or it will never be ready for tonight.

MOTHER
But I am going to help you.

MARIA
Thank you.

MOTHER
I shall ask Agata to help us too.

(She goes into the house)

DONATO
Maria...
 
MARIA
Yes, Donato.
 
DONATO
You did not come to me last night.
 
MARIA
How could I come?
You know that Trottolo spies on me ev'ry where I go.
 
DONATO
Why didn't you come after he had gone to bed?
 
MARIA
I tried. But when I thought he was asleep and I tiptoed in the dark hall,
there he was at the top of the stairs like a little ghost.

DONATO
But you must punish him.
 
MARIA
I can't, Donato. I must be careful with him.
I think he saw us that time.
 
DONATO
You spoil him.

MARIA
Be patient, Donato, be patient.

DONATO
(desperately)
Do you know what it is to wait a whole night
when ev'ry second is like a piercing drop,
when ev'ry noise is a false signal for your heart to stop
Be patient! Be patient! Oh, I wish I'd never met you.
 
(The Mother appears in the doorway, thus interrupting the
conversation. She pretends to be unaware of the situation.
Donato, suddenly changing the tone of his voice, turns with
studied casualness to Maria)
 
But the way, there is a letter for you.
It must be right here on the table.

(Maria opens the letter and reads it to herself)
 
MOTHER
(For itself)
Ah, poor Donato, how much I pity you.
I know how burning are such doubts!
Oh my son, fight this thing.
There's no night as deep and dark as love without belief.
 
DONATO
(For itself)
If I only could be sure that her love is but a lie,
in my sorrow, in my tears, I might find some kind of peace.
 
(Straining not to betray any emotion in his voice)
 
Is it from your husband perhaps?

MARIA
Oh no! It is from an old school friend of mine.

(Donato stands motionless as if
Maria's lie had pierced hi heart)

DONATO
(For itself)
She lied to me!

MOTHER
Sit down.

MARIA
Thank you.
 
(Maria unaware, joins the Mother on the other side
of the terrace. They sit near a wicker table and busy
themselves with Trottolo's costume)

DONATO
(For itself)
I'm glad she lied.

MOTHER
(calling towards the house)
Agata! Come and help us.

DONATO
(For itself)
Now I know she is.
At last I am free. Liar. liar…

(Agata comes out and joins the two women at the table)

MARIA
(to the Mother)
You know, I feel like a girl again,
sitting like this in the late afternoon;
useless sewing in my hand, in my head useless thoughts.
 
DONATO
(For itself)
I hate her... Liar... Liar…
 
(As the setting sun reddens the horizon, the three
women reminisce in a mood of gentle melancholy)
 
MOTHER
It was a different world, the gentle word in which we grew.
 
MARIA
A woman's life was simple then as simple as her dreams.
We had to hemstitch at least one tablecloth and learn
at least one piano piece and break at least one-man's heart...
 
MOTHER
And break at least one-man's heart...
 
MARIA
We were told what was right, we were told what was good,
we were even told what was beautiful.
 
MOTHER
We were told what was good, we were even told what was beautiful.
 
AGATA, MOTHER
At that time the world wanted little from us.
 
MARIA, AGATA, MOTHER
Oh, how simple, how safe seemed the world of our youth I
 
AGATA
I remember the time when our tears did not burn...
 
MARIA
I remember the time when we slept without dying...
 
AGATA
And slept without dying.
 
MOTHER
I remember.
 
MARIA
How sky and earth changed since then, have changed since then.
 
AGATA
How different is our world today!
 
MOTHER
I never knew what sorrow was until my husband died.
I soon found out how briefly a woman's heart can blossom
I What have I been since then, with my husband dead
and my only son blind?
Oh yes, many things I've been: a' house, a lantern,
I have been the one who waits, the one who counts,
the one who weeps, I have been the provident ant,
I have been the determined goat, but a woman, no, no, no,
unless to be a woman is to renounce one's womanhood,
for those we love, for those we bear.
 
AGATA
I remember the time when a day could be wasted.
 
MARIA
I remember the time one could own one's horizon.
I remember the time when one hid to be found.
 
AGATA, MOTHER
I remember the time when one gave to be loved.

AGATA, MOTHER, MARIA
I remember.

DONATO
(from a dark corner of the terrace, with bitter irony)
There they sit, like the three Fates...

MARIA, AGATA, MOTHER
Now, who laughs will feel guilty.

DONATO
... unwinding the thread of my life.

MARIA, MOTHER, AGATA
Now, who owns will be fearful.

DONATO
One might think they love each other...

MARIA, MOTHER, AGATA
Now, who loves will be doubted.

DONATO
... so gentle are their voices...
 
MARIA, MOTHER, AGATA
Now, who hides to be alone...

DONATO
... but no two women love each other who hold the same thread.
 
MARIA, MOTHER, AGATA
... will soon be forgotten.
 
Scene Second

(The same place at night. Trottolo wearing the Pulcinella
costume, stands on a little stool in the middle of the moonlit
terrace. Maria, the Mother and the tutor, who have just
finished dressing him, stand around him in exaggerated
admiration. Donato is sitting alone in a far corner)
 
MOTHER
There you are I
 
MARIA
Step down and let us see.
 
MOTHER
No one will recognize you.
 
MARIA, MOTHER
Who are ever seen a prettier Pulcinella?
 
(Trottolo, very pleased with himself, runs towards
the Tutor, waving his arms as if to frighten him)

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Oh!, oh, oh, oh, vous me faites peur.

MARIA
You'd better hurry!
The fireworks will soon begin.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Yes, yes, we'd better hurry.
 
(The Mother, Zuckertanz and Trottolo descend
the stairway and disappear into the garden)

MARIA
(moving to them from the terrace)
Bye bye.

MOTHER, DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(from the garden)
Bye bye, bye bye.

MARIA
I hope that the fireworks will not frighten Trottolo.
 
(Walking towards the brooding Donato, who
during the preceding scene had barely moved)
 
You have been very distant and silent evening.
Is there anything wrong, darling?

DONATO
No. Nothing is wrong. On the contrary, at last I feel free.

MARIA
Free?

DONATO
(making an effort to appear casual)
Yes, it is all over Maria. I love you no longer.

MARIA
(bemused)
I do not understand.
What has happened?
 
DONATO
Nothing, nothing, nothing at all.
I am suddenly aware of having loved a woman who does not exist.
 
(Mounting into angry passion)
 
It was not you whom I loved; it was someone else,
someone I could trust.
It was a voice that lightened the world for me.
But now I know the world I saw was false,
the voice untrue, the mouth I kissed was full of lies.

MARIA
What are you saying?

DONATO
Oh, for God's sake, stop pretending. You are no innocent child.
Nor am I the crippled village fool to be sported with.
You are a liar, a liar. And I'm glad I found you out at last.
I am free! At last I'm free! I shall never count again
the empty anxious hours,
or tremble at the sound of a step for fear of too much joy.
Go away, go away from me. Liar!
You never loved me, liar, liar!
 
MARIA
(wounded and a little frightened)
Yes, I must leave you, Donato.
It is better for both of us.
Perhaps I love you too much to understand you.
I still don't know what I am accused of

DONATO
Oh God, listen to her... she doesn't know! The innocent one!
What about the letter, the letter I gave you this afternoon?
Aldo's letter.
 
MARIA
(bewildered)
How do you know?
 
DONATO
What does that matter?
 
MARIA
(quickly realizing what has happened)
Yes, I admit my guilt,
if sparing useless pain can be called a sin.

DONATO
What can be worse than to be lied to!

MARIA
And why torture you with an innocent letter?
 
DONATO
How do I know it is innocent?
If you lied once, may it not be that you are lying again?

MARIA
(calling as she goes towards the door of
the house, in a voice choked with anger)
Agata! Agata! Come here, please.
 
DONATO
(stunned)
What are you doing?

MARIA
Evidently you believe her rather than me.

DONATO
(feeling wretched and guilty)
No, Maria, please don't do it!
Why cause me more pain?
Please, please!

MARIA
You force me to treat you like this.

DONATO
Please leave me alone.

MARIA
That we must part, I quite agree,
but not before you learn from her
how foolish and cruel you have been.
 
(Agata appears on the terrace and stands
looking at them embarrassedly)
 
DONATO
Please, please, send her away, send her away!
 
MARIA
(to Agata)
Please read this letter aloud.

(She hands Agata the open letter)

AGATA
(very disconcerted)
"Dear madame Golovin:"...

MARIA
Louder!
 
AGATA
"Dear madame Golovin:
All winter I waited in vain for a sign from you.
Soon summer, too, will be gone,
and still my letters remain unanswered."
 
MARIA
Go on.
 
AGATA
"I must now resign myself that I shall never hear from you and...
that perhaps I shall never see you again.
May I thank you for those few hours you spent with me.
Good-bye. Aldo."
 
DONATO
(to Agata)
You may go now.
 
(Agata returns the letter and goes into the house. As she disappears,
Maria sinks into a chair and breaks out with loud sobbing. Donato,
shaken, runs to her pleadingly. He kneels at her and embraces
her tenderly)
 
DONATO
Maria. Forgive me. I must have lost my mind.
I hate myself. Maria stop crying.
I didn't mean to hurt you, my dearest heart.
Listen! Can't you understand?
I cannot bear the thought of losing you.
Forgive me.
It is because I love you too much...
Maria, Maria, don't forget, my love is blind.
 
(He rises and draws her to him. During the following, there can be
heard the sound of fireworks and the stage is intermittently
illuminated by their distant flare)
 
You must never lie to me.
I would rather know the truth, what ever it may be.
Come... come, into my arms. Yes... Kiss me!
 
MARIA
(breaking away with fierce rebellion)
No, no. Let me go! I am afraid, afraid for both of us.
 
(She runs into the house)

DONATO
(desperately calling after her)
Maria, don't go. Maria, don't leave me!

(Donato, lost and dejected, stands alone on the terrace.
He then kneels on the floor and gropes for his cane which
he has lost in the preceding action. While Donato is still
crouching, the Prisoner appears suddenly on the terrace
and watches him. He then moves stealthily to the end of
the terrace as if to descend into the garden. At the sound
of his steps, Donato starts)

DONATO
(in a whisper)
Maria!

PRISONER
It is I. I must go now.
 
(By this time the fireworks have ceased)
 
DONATO
(hardly concealing his disappointment)
Yes... I had forgotten about you.
You must have heard.
 
PRISONER
I couldn't help it.
 
(Challengingly)
 
But let me tell you: I do not feel sorry for you...
 
DONATO
(bitterly)
Of course...
How could you understand?
 
PRISONER
No, I cannot understand a man like you.
I lost my wife, my child, my home.
The land where I was born has changed its name under new masters.
I do not ask to be like other men
for this would be too much to hope for, but only free to choose,
like other beasts, my own lair in which to die.
This is the world around you, o blind man,
and here you are, choked with despair over a woman's lie.
No, I do not understand you, nor do I pity you.
What meaning can your sorrow have
in such a world as ours your blind man, you blind man!

DONATO
You are unfair, o prisoner.
Who has ever been known to reason with the human heart?
One suffers less for the death of thousands
than for the death, of one.
I, to, in my way, am a prisoner like you,
and, like you, I did not choose my prison.
 
(Suddenly the ray of a searchlight sweeps across the terrace. The
Prisoner starts and hides himself until it disappears. The searchlight,
during the following scene, is seen at intervals. The Prisoner hides
himself each time)

DONATO
What is it?
 
PRISONER
The searchlight from the camp. They must be looking for me.
I must leave before it is too late.

(The searchlight reappears searchlight off.
Looking at Donato with sudden understanding)
 
You say you are a prisoner, but if you truly hate your prison,
find an escape the way I did.
 
(Searchlight on... and off. Throwing his pistol on the table)
 
Here, take this. It is my turn now to help you.
 
(He quickly jumps the balustrade and disappears into the garden.
Donato gropes his way to the table, picks up the gun and holds it
thoughtfully in his hand. As the searchlight once more sweeps the
terrace, it suddenly illuminates the Prisoner as he stands motionless
in the middle of the terrace watching Donato)
 
 

TIRD  ACT


Scene I

(It is the night. Maria and Donato are sitting on a sofa sipping their
after-dinner coffee. The Mother and Doctor Zuckertanz, standing by
the piano, are examining some folios of music)

MOTHER
I'm afraid this is all we have.
They are easy duets my husband and I used to sing.
They are as old as this house.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Let me see. "Nocturne", "Barcarolle", «valse des fleurs"

(Contemptuously)

Oh dear me! Oh dear me! What romantic drivel.

MOTHER
(timidly handing him another folio)
But I still remember that this is rather sweet...

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(with violent scorn)                                  
That's it, that's it, sweet! Must music be sweet?
In art, I only like what is archaic and pure, or very modern,
very sparse and very dry. I like the sixteenth century,
the seventeenth and eighteenth too... but oh, the nineteenth century,
jamais, jamais!

(Ecstatically)

Have you heard of Don Gesualdo de Venosa?
Wunderbar! Wunderbar!
Or those little know cantatas by Caldara?
Merveilleux Merveilleux!
But my favorite, favorite authors are... oh very, very few.
Do you want to know they are?
Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Stravinski, Bartok.
In painting : Piero... Piero... Piero, of course, della Francesca
and the great, great Mondrian, so divinely geometrical.
And Picasso, Picasso ca va sans dire. At times I find,
I am a little perverse,
I find Raphael rather amusing,
only the portraits, of course,
And or reading : only Hölderlin, Eliot and Kafka, and,
oh yes, the divine Mal armé.
At times, I find, I am a little perverse,
I find Kirkegaard rather sing,
only the "Journals", of course, only the journals!

MOTHER
(hopefully handing him the music of the duet)
But still, you will not refuse to sing this song for me.

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(disarmed by her insistence, he takes the
music and walks resignedly to the piano)
The punishment is yours.
Madame Golovin, will you join me in the fun

MARIA
I'll try.

(As Maria joins them, Doctor Zuckertanz limbers
his fingers with a small flourish on the keyboard)

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(examining the music)
Italian Barcaroll,.. three sharps. Oh dear!

(Frightened, he hands the music to the Mother and beckons her to sit
at the piano in his stead. She begins immediately to play the simple
accompaniment and Maria and Dr Zuckertanz sing the text)

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ, MARIA
Quando di fuoco si fa lagunae l’ora ardente dei baci fugaci,
Ah! non tardare, o gondola nera,
ah, non tardar... Breve la notte nel cuor degli amanti.
Ore d'amore diventano istanti.
Ecco che l'alba giä imbianca i canali,
èl'ora or mai di dover dirci addio!
Ah! dove andrai, o gondola near, o dove andrai...

(Agata, holding a telegram, appears in the doorway. Finally
noticing Agata, Maria and Doctor Zuckertanz stop singing.
Surprised by their sudden halt, the Mother interrupts her
accompaniment and turns around)

MOTHER
what is it?

AGATA
(she hands Maria the telegram and exits)
For madame Golovin.

MARIA
Thank you.

(she opens it and is obviously shaken by what she
reads. She quickly vers and makes a great effort to
hide her emotions)

MOTHER
Madame Golovin are you all right?
Not bad news, / hope

MARIA
No, no, on the contrary.
My husband has finally been released.
He will be home in a few days, now.

(Struck by the shattering news, Donato rises with a start)

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(unaware of the tenseness of the situation)
Ho, ho! What wonderful news!
I must run upstairs and tell Trottoló
Oh, how happy I am for you, madame!

(Running upstairs)

Trottoló Trottoló!

(Deeply conscious of Donato's great anguish, his mother
looks at him compassionately and, realizing he wishes to
be alone with Maria, leaves the room)

DONATO
(searchingly)
Are you going to tell him?

MARIA
(lost and afraid)
I don't know... I don't know...

Scene 2

CHORUS OF PRISONERS
(behind the curtain)
Oh... Oh... Oh...

(The same, a week later. It is late afternoon. Donato is seen
on the terrace standing alone. The Mother and Maria are
unfolding a large tablecloth. A man servant is standing
behind them, placing napkins and champagne glasses
into a basket)

MOTHER
This is the largest one I have. Will it do?

MARIA
(who has been looking distractedly towards the terrace)
Yes indeed. Thank you.
Il will be a small party.
The family and a few of my husband's friends.
That is all.

(To the servant)

Could you please take these upstairs? I'll be right up.

(The servant takes the basket upstairs)

MOTHER
(significantly)
Now that your husband is back,
I imagine that you'll want to leave very soon.

MARIA
(taken aback)
Well... I really hadn't planned to.
My husband will need a long rest.

MOTHER
(harshly)
Then when are you planning to leave us?

MARIA
(disconcerted)
We were hoping to stay until the late fall
unless, of course, you need the apartment.

MOTHER
(hardly bothering to disguise her hatred)
Let us face the truth, madame Golovin...
Haven't you tortured my son long enough?
Life in this house has become unbearable!

MARIA
You are then ordering me out of this house?

MOTHER
(pitilessly)
Yes, yes. I want you to leave us alone.

MARIA
You are unfair, madame, and you know it.
It was a terrible mistake, I admit, to fall so much in love with your son.
But you yourself at first smiled at our love;
and now that we are all trapped in it,
we must all bear the pain together.

(Meaningfully)

Don't forget, madame, that I too have a son... and must protect him.
Much as love Donato, I know that I should leave him,
for the sake of all of us.
But who will tell him? Who can find the heart?
I know that I can bear my own sorrow, but not his, madame, not his

MOTHER
(with sudden understanding and sympathy)
Forgive me, I didn't mean to be so harsh with you.

(Desperately)

But I'm so worried about him.
He no longer eats nor sleeps. He thinks only of you all day.
I am afraid, I am afraid. At times he seems insane.

MARIA
(startled)
What do you mean?

MOTHER
(with a sense of doom)
Yes, we must face it.
His love is no longer with the bounds of reason.

DONATO
(calling from the terrace)
Mother, mother

MOTHER
(to Maria)
Hare noticed?
He can no longer find bis way as be used to

DONATO
Mother!

MOTHER
Every day his darkness becomes deeper.

(She goes to the terrace to lead Donato into the room. Let by his
mother, Donato enters the rooms. He is pale and tense his face a
mask of obsession. After a few steps, he stops abruptly)

DONATO
Maria  is here?

MOTHER
Yes, I shall leave you two alone.

(She leaves the room)

DONATO
Have you told him?

MARIA
Not yet

DONATO
What are you waiting for?

MARIA
Please give me time. I can't I can't

DONATO
I bear that you are going to have a party tonight

MARIA
Hardly that! A few of my husband's relatives.

DONATO
(with subdued voice)
But you have invited a jazz band.

MARIA
And band!
To be druggist at the piano, the schoolmaster at the Violin,
and the midwife at the clarinet.
You can imagine!

DONATO
(increasingly tense)
So you will be dancing with these relatives.

MARIA
Of course, I'll have to.

DONATO
(bursting with anger)
Why do you have to?

(With a gesture of hopelessness, Maria
walks away without answering)

DONATO
(straining again to control his voice)
Will you come and see me tonight?

MARIA
I'll try to.

DONATO
I must be sure.

(Breaking down)

I can bear this waiting no longer.

MARIA
(taking pity on him)
All right then, I'll come for a few minutes.

DONATO
when?

MARIA
You tell me.

DONATO
At midnight.

MARIA
(nervously)
I can't at midnight.

DONATO
why?

MARIA
It will be my birthday.

DONATO
Your birthday?
And you never told me!

MARIA
I had forgotten it myself. I'm sorry.

DONATO
They will all have gifts for you, and I... nothing.
Why didn't you tell me?

MARIA
(with sudden exasperation)
Don't make a tragedy out of it!

DONATO
(trying to control himself, but still with relentlessness)
Well, then, I do you want you to come at midnight.
At least I'll be the first one to kiss you.
Is that too much to ask?

MARIA
As you like. I will come down at midnight,

DONATO
And you won't be late?

MARIA
No, I won't be late.

DONATO
Promise?

MARIA
Yes. Now that that is all settled,
come here. I have something for you.

(She leads him to the couch and puts in his hand a rose which
she had left on the table. Donato's features are suddenly suffused
with tenderness. As Maria sits on the sofa, he places himself at her
feet, burying his head in her lap)

DONATO
(as if lost in oblivion)
Oh, how different is the world once I lie in your arms.
No more doubts no more ears...

(With a sudden pang)

You will be mine? You will speak to your husband?

(With great tenderness)

Oh, I wish that you would die right now,
so that no one else could ever have you.
No... of course, you couldn't understand that.
You do not know what it is to love the way that I do.

MARIA
I do not know what kind of love destroys the life it cannot own.
For me there is no love unless one dares to lose
the very thing one loves.

DONATO
Yes, how easy it is for you, for you who knows so well
that my only thought is no to be near you, near like this.

MARIA
We are born already slaves...

DONATO
I have lost my sheltering night...

MARIA
…slaves of many binding loves.

DONATO
... once you have possessed the flaming sun...

MARIA
... and those born from us will also claim
their share of our divided heart.

DONATO
... how can you bear to lose the sight of it?

MARIA
Only when you'll trust my love, you heart will find its peace

DONATO
Only when I touch your hand, my heart regains its peace.
Maria, Maria, don't leave me.

MARIA
Always near you, my love.

DONATO
Don't ask me to reason,

MARIA
But try to understand that others claim my heart.

DONATO
How can I let you go?

MARIA
I cannot betray them. Don't ask me for that.

DONATO
I can no longer find my way apart from you.

MARIA
Here, my love, I hold your hand...

DONATO
Ho, my love, don't leave my hand...

MARIA
There is no night to fear.

DONATO
You are my only light.
Maria, Maria, don't leave me.

MARIA
Always near you., always near...

DONATO
Yes, yes, always near me.
Don't move... Don't go yet!

MARIA
Forget the world outside...

DONATO
My heart has found its home...

MARIA
I'm here to hide and nurse your dark,
tormented heart.

DONATO
Now let it rest a while.

(Eagerly)

You will come tonight. Remember, at midnight...
You promised! Don't be late!

Scene 3

(It is past midnight of that same day. Donato is standing by the
stairwell that leads to the apartment upstairs, holding the door open.
The Mother is sitting on the sofa by the sofa are a small birthday
cake, a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Maria and Doctor
Zuckertanz are heard singing upstairs)

MARIA, DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
Quando difuoco sifalalaguna
el'ora ardente dei baci fugaci.
Ah! non tardare, o gondola nera,
ah, non tardar, ah non tardar, non tardar.

(Applause and laughter from upstairs. Donato
shuts the door and goes to sit on the rocking chair)

DONATO
(in a tense voice)
What time is it?

MOTHER
(lying to him)
Not quite one o’clock yet

(Donato picks up from the table the rose that Maria
had given him and raises it to his lips. Agata comes
in with a tray as if to clear the table)

AGATA
May I go to bed now?
It's already two o'clock!

MOTHER
(dismissing her with impatience)
Yes, yes, you may go.

(Angered his Mother's deception, Donato throws the rose on the
floor, gets up from the rocking chair and begins to pace the room.
His mother watches with growing concern)

MOTHER
I wish you would stop walking up and down.
You're be having like a child.
Can't you be more understanding?
You can't expect her to leave her party if her husbands is...

DONATO
(angrily)
Please, Mother! You know nothing about it!
Why don 't you go to bed... I wish to be alone.

(Reluctantly the Mother leaves the room. Donato continues to pace
up and down. Suddenly, unable to bear his uncertainly any longer,
he stumbles to the little door in the back wall and throws It open.
One hears, from above, the music of a small jazz band and the noise
of people dancing and laughing. Donato stands listening. Donato
closes the door, stumbles to the sofa and throws himself on it, trying
to control himself. Thinking that he has heard a sound of steps, he
starts hopefully. He listens, then gets up. Once again he runs to the
little door and opens it. The music and laughter are heard once more.
Again he shuts the door and leans against it, overcome by frustration
and despair)

DONATO
O my God, help me to bear this!
Please, please, have pity of me.

(With sudden decision, he runs to the piano, lifts the lid and searches
inside. Out of it he takes the gun that the prisoner has left him and
fingers it thoughtfully. Hearing the sound of steps, he quickly hides
the gun in one of his pockets. In evening dress, Maria bursts into the
room)

MARIA
At last, my darling.

DONATO
(stonily)
Do you know what time is it?

MARIA
I'm sorry. I couldn't get away before.

DONATO
(growing more and more excited)
Of course it means nothing to you to know
that I was suff'ring like a wounded beast.
A promise, to you, means nothing,
but to me it means ev'rything... less... you forgot all about it.
Is that is?

MARIA
(closing the door)
Please don 't shout.

DONATO
That's it. You only think of them now.
You are ashamed of our love.
You want to hide it.
You are afraid they might find out

MARIA
(nervously trying to quiet him)
Donato, please for Trottoló's sake.

DONATO
Trottoló, Trottolo!
Your eternal excuse!
Trottolb! I, too, love Trottolö.

(Desperately)

What harm have I ever done him?

MARIA
You refuse to understand.

DONATO
We cannot avoid the truth any longer.

MARIA
(seeing her chance for escape)
Yes, I am glad you said it.
Tonight we must be brave.
I love you with all my soul,
but now the time has come
when we must face the truth.
You know we cannot go on like this.
We must say good-bye.
I promise to leave her tomorrow
and that you'll never see me again.

(Brandishing the gun, Donato runs
to the back wall barring her way)

Donato. what are you doing?

(Terrified, Maria tries at first to avoid the aim of the gun. Quickly
realizing that Donato points the gun to the sound of her steps, she
stops frozen, her back to the audience)

DONATO
No. No... You are not going to leave me for another man.
Never, never.
If I cannot have you, I will not lose you to anyone else.
Mother! Mother! Help me. Help me to find her.

(The Mother rushes in, horrified. After a few seconds of hesitation,
she quickly motions Maria to step out of the gun's range. She then
takes hold of Donato's hand and guides his aim in front of him)

MOTHER
(with a wild cry)
Yes, my son, kill her!

(He shoots twice into the empty space. Then, as if
completely emptied, he sinks to his knees, leaning
his head against his mother. He drops the gun)

She is yours forever, now.
Now you'll have peace, my son.

(Handing him the rose which is lying on the floor next to them)

Here, cast this flow'r on her.

(Painfully rising to his feet, Donato extends his arm and lets the
rose fall on the bare floor. The Mother then encircles him in her
arms and slowly leads him out)

We must hide until morning.
Then we must cross the frontier.
No one will ever find us again.

(Very gently)

Come, my son. You're free now. Come, come.

(They exit)

(Not daring to move, Maria watches them disappear. Then she shortly
walks to the place where Donato has dropped the rose. She picks it up
and, as she brings it to her lips, bursts into uncontrolled weeping)

DOCTOR ZUCKERTANZ
(from upstairs)
Madame Golovin! Madame Golovin!

(Maria, still weeping, moves slowly
towards the stairway as the light fades)