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No. 27: Finale — Act II

Midi Symbol MIDI File [64KB, 6' 30"]

Enter TERESA.

TERESA.1
  Hope lived, and free from fear
    Love sang her roundelay.
      La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
  Hope died, and at his bier
    Love pined away.
      La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
  For Love and Hope are one
      In joy and pain,
  And naught beneath the sun
      Shall make them twain.
      La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!

Enter ULTRICE.

ULTRICE. Ha! false one!
    Thou knowest now
      The torture of a love that's gone astray!
TERESA.       Ah! spare me!
ULTRICE.   Thou knowest now
      The fate of those who will not when they may!
TERESA.       Ah! spare me!2 Alfredo!

TERESA. (turning to ULTRICE.)3
  My pride is bowed,
    And humbled is my head.
  Who could be proud
    Whom thou has banished?
  A fugitive,
    O love, from thy decree,
  Why should I live
    If I am dead to thee!
      Thou will forget
        Thy love of old —
      My sun has set,
        My tale is told!

  Ere deathly cold
    I lie in yonder strand,
  Ah, let me hold
    The hand that is his hand;
[Taking her hand.
  Ere lost I be
    In yonder cold eclipse,
  Vouchsafe to me
    The lips that are his lips!
[Kissing ULTRICE, who remains motionless.
      May he forget
        His love of old –
      Her sun has set,
        Her tale is told!

Goes upstage and mounts parapet overhanging the river. She is about to throw herself off when ULTRICE, who has been struggling with her better feelings, relents.

ULTRICE. Hold! Stay thy hand! Teresa, come to me;
    My soul is softened and my heart is stirred!
  Come to me quickly – I have wrongèd thee.
    Pardon, Teresa, I have greatly erred!
TERESA.     Ultrice! [She rushes to her arms.
ULTRICE. Take heart, take heart, for thou shall righted be;
Live – for thy love shall be restored to thee!
      Come hither, all!

Enter all the characters from different directions, PIETRO in great agony.

CHORUS.
  Now, what is this, and what is that?
    We wish to go to yonder valley.
  What do you want? what are you at?
    Explain your conduct generally!

ULTRICE.
  Proud of my new-born rank
    Which raised me from my clan,
  From yonder mountebank
    I stole the talisman!
[She produces it. PIETRO clutches at it.

ALL.
    Ah, false one!
  From yonder mountebank
    She stole the talisman!

Exit ULTRICE.

PIETRO.
  Another minute and my fate were sealed!
    A light – quick – quick! – my fortune for a light!
[A light is given to him – he burns the parchment.
  The parchment burns – my tortures slowly yield –
    'Tis gone! and with it our distorted plight!

Gong – all change to their original characters: the Monks becoming brigands, MINESTRA becoming a young woman, ALFREDO and ULTRICE becoming peasants, BARTOLO and NITA are restored to humanity, and PIETRO recovers his health.
ALFREDO embraces TERESA.

GIRLS. MEN.
    Hurrah!     Hurrah!
  The spell's removed,   The spell's removed,
    Hurrah!     Hurrah!
  The men we loved,   The girls they loved,
  Are ours again,   Are theirs again,
    Hurrah!     Hurrah!
  With might and main,   With might and main,
    Hurrah!     Hurrah!
ARROSTINO.
  The Duke and the Duchess, when they travel through the land,
    How the pair they will stare, with their high jerry ho!
  They will yet fall a prey to the valour of our band,
    For we shall not be happy to get them;
      With our high jerry ho!
        And our canticle pedantical,
Our mystic, though artistic,
          Jerry high, jerry ho!
ALL.
      With their high jerry ho!
        Their canticle pedantical,
And their mystic, though artistic,
          Jerry high, jerry ho!
          Their high, their high jerry ho!

PIETRO, BARTOLO, and NITA.
  The Duke and the Duchess, had they travelled through our land,
    With their cries of surprise and their high jerry ho!
  They'd have seen many things they wouldn't understand;
    Not the least is our show, you may bet them –
      With our high jerry ho!
        And our clickings and our tickings –
Our emphatic automatic
          Jerry high, jerry ho!
ALL.
      With their high jerry ho!
        And their clickings and our tickings –
Their emphatic automatic
          Jerry high, jerry ho!
          Their high, their high jerry ho!

ALFREDO and TERESA.
  The Duke and the Duchess, if they travel through our land,
    As they may, any day, with their high jerry ho!
  They will find that we're linked, heart in heart, hand in hand,
    And a loving example we'll set them,
      With our high jerry ho!
        And our notion of devotion,
And our gentle sentimental
          Jerry high, jerry ho!
ALL.
      With their high jerry ho!
        And their notion of devotion,
And their gentle sentimental
          Jerry high, jerry ho!
          Their high, their high jerry ho!

CURTAIN.

END OF OPERA.



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