William Tell by Gioachino Rossini

From a Banned Writer to a Banned Singer



William Tell by Gioachino Rossini

Ulysses frequently mentions Rossini's Stabat Mater [youtube-6min]
eg u079 "Stabat Mater of Rossini"

bw01: "He strides, booted with anger, along the spurs of Monte Rossini"

bw08: "And how confederate of gay old Gioacchino to have composed this finale so that Kamerad Wagner might be saved the annoyance of finding flauts for his Feuerzauber!"


Characters


Guillaume Tell - baritone

bw08: "11.59 p.m. Durch diese hohle Gasse muss er kommen Guillaume's shot telled, sure enough. But will that labour member for Melckthal be able to bring off his coo for the odd and twentieth supererogatory time?"

fw154 "But I will never be abler to tell Your Honoriousness"

fw459 "O the wicked untruth! whot a tell!"


Hedwige, his wife - mezzo-soprano


Jemmy, his son - soprano

bw08: "Aim well, Arnold, and mind puur blind Jemmy in the stalls!"

?fw92 "Gentia Gemma of the Makegiddyculling Reeks"


fw498 "Catchering, his fain awan, and his gemmynosed sanctsons"


Mathilde, a Habsburg princess - soprano


Arnold Melchtal - tenor

this was John O'Sullivan's showpiece role, demanding his 'chest C'
cf fw048 "Chest Cee!"

bw08: "Aim well, Arnold, and mind puur blind Jemmy in the stalls!"

bw08: "11.59 p.m. Durch diese hohle Gasse muss er kommen Guillaume's shot telled, sure enough. But will that labour member for Melckthal be able to bring off his coo for the odd and twentieth supererogatory time?"

?fw443 "Rollo the Gunger, son of a wants a flurewaltzer to Arnolff's, picking up ideas"




act four:







Melchtal, his father - bass


Gesler, the Austrian Governor of the cantons of Uri and Schwyz - bass

?fw233 "He is guessing at hers for all he is worse"


Walter Furst - bass


Ruodi, a fisherman - tenor


Leuthold, a shepherd - bass


Rodolphe, Captain of Gesler's guard - tenor


A hunter - baritone


Peasants, shepherds, knights, pages, ladies, soldiers


Place: Austrian-occupied Switzerland


Time: 13th century


OVERTURE

12min, toy-soldier shtick (lone ranger theme at end)




at
is the recognisable ranz des vaches [wiki] motif


playful abstract animation

William Tell, Act 1

from a play by Schiller [wiki] [legend]





ACT ONE


(only one scene)


A landscape at Bürglen, in the canton of Uri. On the right the chalet of William Tell; on the left the lower cascade of the Schächental torrent, over which there is a slender bridge. Peasants are decorating with leafy boughs three small chalets destined for three newly-wedded couples; others are busy at different kinds of field labour. Jemmy is practising with his bow and arrows; William Tell, deep in thought and leaning on his spade, stands apart. Hedwige, seated by her house, is weaving a basket and glancing alternately at her son and her husband.





CHORUS
What a serene day the sky foretells!
Let us celebrate it in our concerts;
let the echoes from this shore
lift our songs into the air!
Let the echoes, etc.
Through our labours, let us do homage
to the creator of the universe.
What a serene day, etc.





FISHERMAN
Come quickly into my little boat,
shy young lass;
here is the abode
of the pleasure that calls you.
I am leaving the shore;
Lisbeth, sail with me;
ah, come! The cloudless sky
promises us a fine day, etc.





TELL (aside)
In his elation he extols
his pleasures, his mistress;
he is not tormented by
the weariness of spirit that afflicts me.
How burdensome is life!
We no longer have a fatherland!
He sings, and Helvetia
mourns her lost freedom.


cf? bw08: "That stagesquall has passed over like water off a Helvetian’s back."


FISHERMAN
Flowers wreathe her head;
their secret power,
warding off the storm,
assures us a safe return, etc.
And you, lonely lake,
witness of a sweet mystery,
do not tell the land
the secret of love! etc.





JEMMY, HEDWIGE
His foolhardy courage
invites shipwreck
and, defying the storm,
thinks only of his return, etc.
If he directed his course
towards the dreaded reef,
a death-song to be sure would
follow the songs of love! etc.





TELL (aside)
How burdensome is life!
We no longer have a fatherland!
He sings, and Helvetia
laments its last day!
He sings, and Helvetia, etc.
(The ranz des vaches is heard in the distance.)


ranz des vaches [wiki]


CHORUS
From the mountains we hear
the signal for rest;
the country festivity
cuts short our labours, etc.
This rustic festival,
unbeknown to the master's eye,
will let us acknowledge
the sweet land of our birth.
(Old Melchthal, leaning on his son Arnold, comes down the hill followed by his countrymen. All the village gather happily and enthusiastically around him.)





JEMMY HEDWIGE, FISHERMAN. TELL, CHORUS
Greetings, honour, homage to the virtuous
Melchthal! etc.





HEDWIGE
The shepherds' festival, according to ancient custom,
out of three young lovers makes three happy husbands.





ARNOLD (aside)
Lovers, husbands! - Ah, what thoughts beset me!
(Hedwige approaches Melchthal and asks him to bless the union of the young couples.)





HEDWIGE
Blessed by you.





MELCHTHAL
By me?





HEDWIGE
You will pronounce a blessing on us all.





TELL
It is the sacred privilege of age and the virtues,
and a very sweet portent of the favours of Heaven.





MELCHTHAL
Shepherds, let your voices unite,
let the horns resound far and wide!
All of you celebrate on this glorious day
work, marriage and love...





CHORUS (Women)
With the joyous songs that resound
let our gentler tones unite!
Let us too celebrate, by turns,
work, marriage and love!





ARNOLD, FISHERMEN, TELL, MELCHTHAL, JEMMY HEDWIGE, CHORUS
Let us all celebrate on this glorious day
work, marriage and love! etc.





CHORUS
By the roaring torrents
let the horns answer each other!
And the echo from these hills.
holding back our songs
will repeat their sweet sounds
to the forests and valleys!
Yes, the echo from these hills, etc.
... to the woods and the valleys!
Let us celebrate through our games
marriage and its bonds, etc.
By the roaring torrents
let the horns answer each other, etc.
Let us celebrate through our games
marriage and its bonds, etc.
By the roaring torrents
let the horns answer each other,
through our songs and our games
let us celebrate the sweet bonds
of the loving shepherds, etc.
and fly to them!
Through our songs, etc.
... and fly to them!
(The crowd departs.)





TELL (to Melchthal)
Let my lonely roof offer you a protective shelter
against the heat of the day!
It is there that my ancestors lived in peace,
that I escape from the tyrants,
that I conceal from their eyes
the happiness of being a husband,
the happiness of being a father.
(He embraces his son.)





MELCHTHAL (to Arnold)
The happiness of being a father!
You hear him, o my son, it is the supreme blessing.
Will you always disappoint the wish of my old age?
The shepherds' festival on this glad day
through a triple bond is going to consecrate
the marriage vow, and it is not yours?
(All leave except Arnold.)





ARNOLD
Mine, he says, never, never mine!
Oh that I may keep to myself
the secret of my disastrous obsession!
You, whose brow aspires to the diadem,
O Mathilde, I love you!
I love you, and I betray
duty and honour, my father and my country!
Against the deadly avalanche
my strength served to shield you:
I saved you, you, the daughter of Kings,
you whom a perfidious power
destines to give us laws!
Drunk with a mad hope, my insane youth
has wasted its blood for ungrateful masters:
to have known under them the glory of battle,
that is my shame! But then, my tears have wiped it out:
Let us not restore it through a fatal love.
(Hunting horns are heard.)
But what's this noise?
The horn of the tyrants spewed out by Germany
sounds on the mountain.
Gessler is there; Mathilde accompanies him;
I must see her again, hear her voice again;
Let us at the same time be happy and guilty!
(He is about to leave when he comes face to face with William Tell, who is coming out of his house.)




TELL
Where are you going?
What's troubling you so?
The approach of a friend doesn't stop you?





ARNOLD
No, no, no!





TELL
Why are you trembling?





ARNOLD (aside)
Shall I have the courage to dissemble?
(aloud)
Under the burden of slavery
what great heart is not cast down?





TELL (aside)
I should understand woes that I share:
Arnold has not answered me,
Arnold has not answered me!





ARNOLD (aside)
Could I be more out of luck?





TELL (aside)
Out of luck?
He's hiding a secret from me.
(aloud)
Why do you remain silent?





ARNOLD
What are you hoping for?





TELL
To restore to your heart strength and virtue...
Arnold!





ARNOLD (aside)
Ah, Mathilde, my soul's idol,
must I then subdue my passion?





TELL (aside)
I can read into his heart...





ARNOLD (aside)
O my fatherland! To you my heart
sacrifices both my love and my happiness! etc,





TELL (aside)
He reddens at his error...
If by serving tyranny
he was a traitor to his country,
at least his remorse expiates
a moment of dishonour.
I have been able to read into his heart...
He reddens at his error,
if by serving tyranny, etc.
(to Arnold)
For us no more servile fear;
let us be men, and we shall conquer!





ARNOLD
And how to avenge our indignities?





TELL
All unjust power is weak.





ARNOLD
Against foreign masters
what are our supports?





TELL
The dangers;
for us there is only one,
for them there are a thousand.





ARNOLD
Think of the blessings you lose!





TELL
What of it!





ARNOLD
Where's the glory in hoping for reverses?





TELL
I'm none too sure what glory is...
but I do know the weight of fetters,
but I do know the weight of fetters.





ARNOLD
Your hope -





TELL
Is in victory:
yours too, I need to believe it.





ARNOLD
We should be free?





TELL
It is my vow.





ARNOLD
But where do we fight?





TELL
Here.





ARNOLD
Defeated, what will be our refuge?





TELL
The grave.



ARNOLD
And our avenger, and our avenger?





TELL
God!





ARNOLD (aside)
O Mathilde, my soul's idol!
So I must subdue my passion!
O my fatherland, to you my heart sacrifices
both my love and my happiness! etc.





TELL (aside)
I can read into his heart.
He reddens at his error;
if, by serving tyranny,
he was a traitor to his country.
at least his remorse expiates
a moment of dishonour! etc.





ARNOLD
When the hour of danger sounds,
friend, I shall be ready.
(Arnold is about to go.)





TELL
Stay!





ARNOLD (aside)
O fatal mischance!





TELL
Melchthal! Melchthal!
(sound of horns, off)
What do I hear? It's Gessler!
What! While he still defies us
would you, a willing slave,
crave the favour of a scornful glance?





ARNOLD
What harsh words!
For me they're an insult.
I am going to face the insolent
oppressor on his way by.





TELL
No rash enterprise,
think of your father, he must be protected;
think of your country, it must be avenged, it must
be avenged, it must be avenged.
ARNOLD (aside)
My father!





TELL (aside)
He wavers...





ARNOLD (aside)
My country!





TELL (aside)
He turns pale!





ARNOLD (aside)
My love!





TELL (aside)
What then is...





ARNOLD (aside)
What must I do?





TELL (aside)
... all this secrecy?





ARNOLD (aside)
O heaven, you know how dear Mathilde is to me!
O heaven, you know how dear Mathilde is to me!
But to virtue I yield,
but to virtue I yield.
Hatred, woe, woe to our tyrants!
(The sounds of festivities are heard approaching.)





TELL
Listen to those wedding-songs
in the distance!
Let's not cast a gloom over the shepherds' festival:
let's not mingle tears with their pleasures,
and for one day at least
let a people escape from its woes.
And for one day at least, etc.





ARNOLD
Let me hide my tears from his eyes,
I owe no more save to our woes.
O Heaven, you know how dear Mathilde is to me, etc.





TELL
He will fight in our ranks,
he will fight in our ranks, in our ranks.
Hatred and woe to our tyrants!





ARNOLD
But to virtue I yield, etc.
Hatred and woe to our tyrants! etc.
(The procession for the three bridegrooms arrives. Three men go into the chalets which stand on-stage, to fetch the three brides. Hedwige, Jemmy and Melchthal come out from Tell's house.)





HEDWIGE
Over our heads the sun shines
and seems to halt in mid-course
to witness the family festival.
Venerable Melchthal, honour of bygone days,
it is for you to bless their chaste love.
(The three couples come forward and kneel before Melchthal who is sitting in a bower of greenery which has been prepared for him.)





MELCHTHAL (to the bridal couples)
When Heaven hears your promise
is it for me to consecrate it?





TELL
Yes, to do homage to old age
is still, my God, to honour you.





ALL (except Arnold)
O sky the world's adornment,
cause a sweet augury to shine for them!
For their love is as pure
as your light on a fine day! etc.





ARNOLD (aside)
They are going to be united. How I suffer!
They are going to be united. For me no more hope!
What pains I endure! fatal love!
For their love is as pure
as your light on a fine day! etc.





MELCHTHAL (to the bridal couples)
You will give back to us the example of the old virtues.
Bear in mind, young shepherds,
that Switzerland, which is watching you,
demands from your marriage supporters, avengers;
and you out of your children, O faithful helpmates,
teach your sons what kind of men their ancestors were
that they may be great in their turn,
that they may be free like them,
that they may be the pride of our mountains.
(The sound of the hunt draws nearer.)





TELL
Gessler again! again!





ARNOLD (aside and leaving without being seen)
I must run for it!





TELL
Gessler proscribes these vows. Listen to the tyrant,
listen, he calls out to you that there is no longer
a fatherland,
that the source of the courageous blood
that seethed in our ancestors' hearts
is forever dried up.
A people without virtues no longer brings forth brave men!
What would you bequeath to your sons?
The fetters by which your arms are bruised.
Wives, exile your husbands from your beds,
there are always enough slaves.





HEDWIGE
What violent emotions seem to excite you!
Has the day come to let them break out freely?





TELL
Perhaps!
I no longer see Arnold.





JEMMY
He's leaving us.





TELL
He's running away from me.
In vain does he conceal from me the uneasiness that attends him.
(to Hedwige)
I'm off to question him. You, start the games going again.





HEDWIGE
You chill me with fear and you talk of merrymaking!





TELL
Let it hide from the tyrants the noise of the
tempest!
Drown it beneath your joyful strains:
it must only roar for them
as it falls upon their heads!
(Exit Tell.)





CHORUS (dancing)
Hymen,
your happy
day
dawns for us.
Your glorious day
dawns for us, etc.
Of the crowns
that you give
these happy couples
are envious.
With joy
and tenderness
their youth
grows in beauty, etc.
Over our heads
the tempests
are dumb, etc.
Everything tells us -
Hymen,
your happy day, etc.
Through your flames
in our souls
you proclaim
our hope;
your rapture
unceasingly joins
tenderness
to duty, etc.
Hymen,
your happy day, etc.
... these happy couples
are envious.


(The three bridegrooms and their partners make up a dance-set for six. These dances are followed by an archery competition; several bowmen try without succeeding; Jemmy, luckier. hits the bull with his first shot.)




Glory, honour to Tell's son,
he gains the prize for skill! etc.





JEMMY (running to his mother)
Ah, mother, mother!





HEDWIGE
O moment filled with rapture!





CHORUS
He gains the prize for skill:
he inherits it from his father.
Glory! Glory!
For us, children of nature,
the simple fustian garb
takes the place of the armour
that protects the warriors.
But to the mark that summons it
our arrow is true,
and with it hope
revives in our homes. etc. etc.





JEMMY
Pale and trembling, hardly able to support himself,
mother, a herdsman comes hurrying towards us.





FISHERMAN
It's the worthy Leuthold; what misfortune brings
him to us?
(Leuthold appears; breathless, he carries a bloodstained axe on which he supports himself.)





LEUTHOLD
Save me! Save me!





HEDWIGE
What do you fear?





LEUTHOLD
Their anger.





HEDWIGE
Leuthold, what power threatens you?





LEUTHOLD
The only one that has never shown mercy,
the cruellest, the most dreadful of all...
O my friends, save me from its blows!





MELCHTHAL
What have you done?





LEUTHOLD
My duty. Out of all my family
Heaven left me only one child, only one daughter;
an impious supporter of the Governor,
a soldier, carried her off - she my last remaining
blessing!
Hedwige, I am a father, and I knew how to defend
her.
My axe was not slow to find his forehead;
Do you see this blood? It is his.





MELCHTHAL
He had a father's courage,
but we must fear the tyrant's wrath for him.





LEUTHOLD
A sure refuge waits for me on the other bank,
(to the Fisherman)
- take me there.





FISHERMAN
This torrent, that rock
allow no approach to the opposite bank.
To brave this danger is to expose oneself to
death.





LEUTHOLD
Ah, barbarian, may you in your last hour
find God deaf to your remorse,
as you are to my entreaty!





TELL (aside)
Arnold has vanished. I have not been able to
catch up with him.





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS (in the distance)
Leuthold, woe to you!





LEUTHOLD
Great God!





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
Woe!





LEUTHOLD
I implore your protection!





TELL
I hear threats and complaining.





LEUTHOLD
William, fate overwhelms me,
I am pursued, I am not at all guilty;
yet I die if I do not escape at once:
there is only one way for my safety.





TELL
Your boat is there, fisherman, you hear him.





LEUTHOLD
It's useless;
he is as pitiless as the Governor.





TELL
He disregards Heaven's law,
he refuses you! Well then, follow me!





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS (coming nearer)
It is blood that the murder requires.
Woe to you, Leuthold!





TELL (to Leuthold)
Let's make haste, there they are.
Farewell.





HEDWIGE
You will perish.





TELL
Ah, never fear, Hedwige:
The perils are indeed great;
(pointing to the sky)
but God will lead him!
(Hedwige attempts to hold her husband back; Jemmy, for his part, seeks to follow his father. Tell entrusts them both to old Melchthal and, guiding Leuthold's unsteady steps, succeeds in getting him into the boat just as the soldiers are about to seize them both. The boat moves off at once.)





CHORUS OF VILLAGERS
God of goodness, God all-powerful,
confound the oppressor's rage!
Deign to protect from shipwreck
the defender of the innocent,
deign to protect the courage
of the defender of the innocent!





RODOLPHE
This is the hour of justice!





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
This is the hour of justice!





RODOLPHE
Woe to the murderer -





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
Woe to the murderer -





RODOLPHE
Let him die!





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
Let him die!





RODOLPHE
Let him die!





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
Let him die!





CHORUS OF SWISS PEOPLE
God of goodness, God all-powerful, etc.
(The boat is seen approaching the opposite shore.)





JEMMY, HEDWIGE
He is saved!





RODOLPHE
What do I see? O fury!





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
He has made the fatal crossing.





HEDWIGE
I recognize God's handiwork.





JEMMY, MELCHTHAL
I recognize God's handiwork.





RODOLPHE
Their joy is a new outrage;
slaves, woe to you all!





JEMMY, MELCHTHAL (aside)
What insolence!
Why does not my age
serve my anger better?





CHORUS OF VILLAGERS
Over our heads the storm rumbles,
let's away, let's away!





RODOLPHE
Stay! There is more than one guilty person.
Who lent his help to the murderer?
Name the traitor - your lives are at stake.





JEMMY
They're going to talk...





HEDWIGE
They're going to talk...





JEMMY
... terror overwhelms them.





HEDWIGE
... terror overwhelms them.




RODOLPHE
(having the crowd rounded up by the soldiers)
Obey,
your lives are at stake.





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
Your lives are at stake.





JEMMY, HEDWIGE. CHORUS OF VILLAGE WOMEN
(falling upon their knees)
Virgin, whom Christians adore,
hear our voices, they implore thee;
protect from the evil-doer's sword
Our/their husbands and our/their children!
Virgin, whom Christians, etc.





FISHERMAN
Our lives are at stake.
Ah, let us fear our tyrants, etc.





MELCHTHAL
Our lives are at stake!
I see them all trembling! etc.





CHORUS OF VILLAGE MEN
Our lives are at stake!
Ah, let us fear our tyrants! etc.





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
Do you see them all trembling?
Your lives are at stake!
Do you see them all trembling? etc.





RODOLPHE
I see them all trembling.
Obey, obey,
Your lives are at stake! etc.





MELCHTHAL
We should have done as he did.
Friends, calm your terror,
he dared to act, do you dare to keep silent!





CHORUS OF VILLAGERS
He dares to act, let us dare to keep silent!





RODOLPHE
Tremble, tremble, name the traitor!





MELCHTHAL
Tell the tyrant that this soil
supports no informers.





RODOLPHE
Seize this daring fellow!
Seize this daring fellow
who defies my just fury.
Let the horror of devastation
and pillage
lie heavy
upon this shore!
Shame and misery
are the reward
that my wrath
bequeaths to misfortune!





JEMMY
If the horror of devastation
and pillage
lies heavy
upon this shore,
vile mercenary,
my father's bow
can shield us
from your fury!





JEMMY, HEDWIGE, FISHERMAN, MELCHTHAL, CHORUS OF VILLAGERS
If the horror of devastation
and pillage
lies heavy
upon this shore,
vile mercenary,
my/his father's bow
can shield us
from your fury.
We defy your fury! etc.





RODOLPHE
Let the horror of devastation
and pillage
lie heavy
upon this shore!
Ah, fear my rage! Yes! etc.





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
Let the horror of devastation
and pillage
lie heavy
upon this shore!
Shame and misery
are the reward
that my wrath
bequeaths to misfortune!





RODOLPHE
Let the horror, etc.





JEMMY
If the horror, etc.





JEMMY, HEDWIGE, FISHERMAN, MELCHTHAL, CHORUS OF SWISS PEOPLE
If the horror of devastation
and pillage, etc.
...we defy your fury!





RODOLPHE, CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
Let the horror of devastation
and pillage, etc.
... ah! fear my/his rage!
(The soldiers seize old Melchthal; the Swiss try to free him, but they are without arms and the old man is dragged off violently before their eyes. They try to follow him but a wall of halberds stops them. The curtain falls upon this scene.)

William Tell, Act 2

ACT TWO





The heights of Rütli, overlooking the Lake of the Four Cantons (Lake Lucerne). On the far horizon we see across the water the summits of the mountains of Schwyz: down below is the village of Brunnen. - Thick fir-trees standing on each side of the stage complete the solitude.





(Hunt-servants, carrying torches, open the march. Others control the hounds; still others arrive with slaughtered stags, foxes and wolves. Ladies and gentlemen on horseback, with falcons on their wrists and followed by pages, cross the stage. Lastly, huntsmen on foot come to a halt and drain the wineskins they carry.)





CHORUS OF HUNTSMEN
What a wild harmony
goes with the sound of the horns!
The cry of the dying chamois
blends with the noise of the torrent;
to hear him breathe out his life -
is there a greater pleasure?
The fury of the tempest
holds nothing more intoxicating; etc.
(The sound of a bell is heard.)





A HUNTSMAN
What is that noise?





CHORUS OF SHEPHERDS
(at work in the mountains)
Into the midst of the shining water
the sun glides down;
from the snow-crowned mountains
the brightness vanishes.
The village bell sounds,
it is our return it orders.
Night is here, night is here.





A HUNTSMAN
The monotonous voices of the herdsmen
still follow us;
the Governor's horn sounds,
(with CHORUS OF HUNTSMEN)
it is our return it orders.
Night is here, night is here!
The horn sounds, the horn sounds,
night is here, night is here!
(They go off. Enter Mathilde, who seems to have deliberately become separated from the rest of the hunting-party.)




MATHILDE
They're going away at last; I thought I recognised him;
my heart did not deceive my eyes.
He has followed me here, he is somewhere nearby.
I tremble - if he were to appear!
What is this deep, mysterious feeling
whose warmth I nurture, that maybe I cherish?
Arnold, Arnold, is it really you,
a simple inhabitant of these fields,
the hope, the pride of these mountains,
who captivate my thoughts and cause my terror?
Ah, that I might at least admit it to myself?
Melchthal, it is you whom I love;
you saved my life
and my gratitude excuses my love.
Gloomy forest, sad and wild wilderness,
I prefer you to the splendours of palaces;
It is on the hills, in the dwelling-place of the storm,
that my heart can be restored to peace;
but the echo alone shall learn my secrets, etc.
You, soft and shy shepherd star,
who come shedding your reflections in my footsteps,
ah, be also my star and my guide!
Like him your rays are discreet,
and the echo alone will repeat my secrets, etc.
(Arnold has appeared during the last few bars of the Romance.)





ARNOLD
My presence here perhaps offends you?
Mathilde, my indiscreet footsteps
have dared to force a way through to you.





MATHILDE
One easily pardons the wrongs in which one shares,
Arnold, I was waiting for you.





ARNOLD
That answer in which your soul breathes,
I feel all too strongly that pity inspires it in you;
you pity my error;
I offend you by loving you.
How hideous is my destiny!





MATHILDE
Is mine any the happier?





ARNOLD
I must speak, I must, in this moment
so cruel and so sweet - so dangerous, perhaps -
that the daughter of kings may learn to know me;
I dare to say it with a noble pride,
for you Heaven called me into being.
I have weighed the danger of a fatal prejudice;
it rises up between us in all its power;
I can respect it, but only in your absence.
Mathilde, order me to flee far away out of your sight
to give up my country and my father,
to go and die on foreign soil,
to choose for a tomb uninhabited shores,
pronounce on my fate, say a word.





MATHILDE
Stay.
Yes, you wring from my heart
this secret my eyes have betrayed,
yes, you wring, etc.
I cannot stifle my passion,
even though it should destroy us both! etc.





ARNOLD
So it has come from her heart,
this secret her eyes have betrayed!
So it has come, etc.
Her passion responds to mine,
even though it should destroy us both! etc.
(to Mathilde)
But what a distance between us,
what obstacles on all sides!





MATHILDE
Ah, do not lose hope;
everything raises you in my eyes.





ARNOLD
Sweet admission! This tender way you speak
makes my heart drunk with delight!





MATHILDE
I can love him, everything foretells
for me days of happiness near him.
I love him dearly, everything foretells for me
days of happiness near him.
Yes, I love him, and everything foretells
for me days of happiness near him! etc.





ARNOLD
Sweet admission! This tender way you speak
makes my heart drunk with delight! etc.
Everything here foretells my happiness.
What ecstasies for my heart! etc.





MATHILDE
Return to the fields of glory,
fly on to new exploits.
Return to the fields, etc.
One is ennobled by victory;
the world will approve my choice.





ARNOLD
Let me deserve on the fields of glory
the prize which awaits me on my return:
let me deserve, etc.
Can I doubt victory
when I obey love?





MATHILDE
One is ennobled by victory.





ARNOLD
Can I doubt victory
when I obey love? Yes -





MATHILDE
He is worthy of my love, yes.
In the one who loves you,
yes, it is honour itself
that rules.
Mathilde, ever faithful,
will go into your tent
to receive your faith. etc.





ARNOLD
In the one I love
yes, it is honour itself
that rules.
Mathilde, ever faithful,
will come into my tent
to receive my faith. etc.
I return to the fields of glory...





MATHILDE
Return to the fields of glory...





ARNOLD
I fly on to new exploits.





MATHILDE
Fly on to new exploits;
one is ennobled by victory.





ARNOLD
Can I doubt victory
when I obey your rule? Yes -





MATHILDE
The world will approve my choice! Yes -
in the one who loves you,
yes, it is honour itself, etc.





ARNOLD
in the one I love,
yes, it is honour itself, etc.





MATHILDE
Someone's coming, we must part.


ARNOLD
Shall I see you again?





MATHILDE
Yes, tomorrow.





ARNOLD
O joy!





MATHILDE
When dawn comes up again,
in the old chapel, in God's presence,
I shall hear your last farewell.





ARNOLD
O sweet favour!





MATHILDE
I leave you, someone's coming.





ARNOLD
Heaven! Walter and William, yes, flee from their
presence!
(Mathilde leaves. Tell and Walter enter.)





TELL
You weren't alone here?





ARNOLD
Well?





TELL
We fear to disturb such a sweet conversation.





ARNOLD
I do not inquire into your intentions.





WALTER
Perhaps
more than another you should seek to know them.





TELL
No... What do they matter to Melchthal if he is
deserting our ranks,
if he secretly aspires to serve our tyrants?





ARNOLD
Who told you so?



TELL
Your agitation, and Mathilde and her flight.





ARNOLD
I'm being spied on, and it's by you?





TELL
Myself; your conduct
yesterday cast suspicion into my startled heart.





ARNOLD
But if I love...





WALTER
Great God!





ARNOLD
... but if I am loved?
Your suspicions?...





TELL
would be correct.





ARNOLD
My love?





WALTER
Is impious.





ARNOLD
Mathilde?





TELL
She is our enemy.





WALTER
She was born among our oppressors.





TELL
And basely Melchthal embraces her knees!





ARNOLD
But what right have you for your blind fury?...





TELL
Our rights? A word will tell you them all:
do you really know what it is to love one's
fatherland?





ARNOLD
You speak of "fatherland", we no longer have one.
I am leaving this shore
inhabited by discord and hatred and fear,
worthy daughters of slavery;
I hasten into battles to regain my honour.





TELL
When Helvetia is a field of tortures
where they harvest its children,
let your arms be Gessler's accomplices,
fight and die for our tyrants,
fight and die for our tyrants, etc.





ARNOLD
The camps restore my courage;
in the camps loyalty reigns,
already glory has marked my passage in them,
besides, it replaces freedom.
Already glory, etc.





WALTER
On account of us Gessler, as a prelude to battles,
has cut short an old man's life;
this victim awaits his funeral rites,
he has claims on your help.
Go! run! he has claims on your help! etc.
He has cut short an old man's life,
he has claims on your help.





ARNOLD
Ah, what a dreadful mystery!
An old man, you say?





WALTER
Whom Switzerland reveres.





ARNOLD
His name?





WALTER
I must conceal it.





TELL
To speak is to strike him to the heart.




ARNOLD
My father!...





WALTER
Yes, your father! Melchthal, the honour of our hamlets,
your father, assassinated by the hand of executioners!





ARNOLD
What do I hear! O crime! Alas! Alas! I die.
His life that they dared to outlaw -
I did not protect it!
His life. etc.
My father, you must have cursed me!
My heart is torn by remorse!
O heaven, O heaven! I shall see no more!





TELL
He shudders...





WALTER
He reels,
he scarcely breathes.





TELL
He scarcely breathes.





ARNOLD
I die!





TELL, WALTER
He turns pale, remorse rends him,
all the ties of love are broken.





ARNOLD
I die!





TELL, WALTER
His terror replaces his frenzy,
his unhappiness will restore his virtues to him!
Remorse rends him,
he is moved at his father's name,
his heart is cast down for ever.
His unhappiness I hope will restore his virtues
to him, etc.





ARNOLD
My father, you must have cursed me!
My heart is torn by remorse!
O heaven, o heaven! I shall see you no more!. etc.
So it is true!





WALTER
I witnessed the crime.





ARNOLD
You?





WALTER
I saw the victim struggle and fall.





ARNOLD
Great God! What to do?





TELL
Your duty.





ARNOLD
I must die?





TELL
You must live!





ARNOLD
Well then, against Gessler assist my despair.
Will you follow me into Altdorf?





TELL
Restrain the wild passions to which your soul gives way.





WALTER
Stay, and avenge at the same time your father
and your country.





ARNOLD
Go on!





TELL
The night, favourable to our plans,
already surrounds us with a protective darkness.
You will see, in these parts that Gessler believes submissive,
courageous friends rise up on all sides:
they will understand your tears.
Out of ploughshares they beat weapons
to win a worthy destiny:
either independence or death!





ALL THREE
Either independence or death!
Let us fire ourselves with a holy frenzy!
Liberty conspires for us;
from the heavens my/your father inspires us,
let us avenge him, let's weep for him no more, etc.
When he dies for his country
his glorious destiny seems to tell us
that it was for the palms of martyrdom
to crown so many virtues!
It was for the palms... etc.
From the heavens my/your father, etc.
Let us fire ourselves with a holy frenzy, etc.
...to crown so many virtues.





TELL
A confused noise seems to be coming
out of the depths of the vast wood.
Listen!





ARNOLD
Listen!





TELL
Silence!





WALTER
I hear the forest ringing with many footsteps.





ARNOLD
The noise draws nearer...





TELL
Who comes forward?





MEN OF UNTERWALDEN (in the distance)
Friends of the fatherland! Friends of the fatherland!





TELL
O joy!





ARNOLD
O vengeance!





TELL, ARNOLD. WALTER
Honour, all honour to their presence!



MEN OF UNTERWALDEN
We have known how to face, we have known how to overcome
the perils, as we have the distance; etc.
The torrents, the forests have not been able to
hold us back. Under the escort of prudence
our daring has brought us through to Rütli, etc.





TELL
O you courageous sons of the canton of Unterwalden,
this noble alacrity contains nothing to surprise us.





WALTER
They'll know how to imitate it:
(a distant horn call)
I hear the horn
of our brothers of Schwyz sounding;
be proud of your children, o my country!
(The men of Schwyz enter.)





MEN OF SCHWYZ
In these times of distress
a foreign race,
spying upon our griefs,
condemns us to secrecy.
May this lonely wood
alone be aware of our tears! etc.





TELL (to Arnold and Walter)
The fear of such great misfortunes is pardonable;
but believe in my hope,
their hearts will respond to ours.
Honour to their presence!





TELL, ARNOLD, WALTER, MEN OF UNTERWALDEN
Honour to their presence!





WALTER
Of the canton of Uri alone do we regret the absence.





TELL
To conceal the trace of their footsteps,
the better to hide our sacred conspiracies,
our brothers are opening over the waters with their oars
a way that does not betray.





WALTER
The promise is followed by swift results,
do you not hear?





TELL
Who comes?





MEN OF URI (approaching)
Friends of the fatherland! Friends of the fatherland!





ARNOLD, TELL, WALTER, MEN OF UNTERWALDEN AND SCHWYZ
Honour, all honour to the upholders of our rights!





MEN OF URI, SCHWYZ AND UNTERWALDEN
William, as you see,
three peoples at your call,
proud of their rights, will know how
to defy an infamous yoke.
Speak! Speak! and your proud tones
springing from your soul
will suddenly in shafts of flame
fire our senses! etc.
Speak! Speak!





TELL
(placing himself in the midst of the deputies from the three cantons)
The avalanche rolling down from our mountain tops,
hurling death upon our fields,
encloses within its flanks
evils less ravenous
than each pace of the tyrants sows after it.





WALTER
From now on it's up to us, to our courage,
to purge this shore
of detested masters.





MEN OF SCHWYZ
This is the threat of war;
in spite of ourselves terror paralyses us.





WALTER
Where then is your ancient daring?
For a thousand years our unconquerable forefathers
defended their ancient liberties;
does their race die out in you?





MEN OF SCHWYZ
In spite of ourselves terror paralyses us.





TELL
Bowed under the wrongs you have suffered,
if you no longer feel the burden of your chains,
think at least of your families;
your fathers, your wives, your daughters
no longer have sanctuary in your homes.





WALTER
No longer are there hospitable roofs among us.





TELL
Friends, against this infamous yoke
humanity protests in vain;
our oppressors are triumphant.
A slave has no wife,
a slave has no children!





DEPUTIES FROM ALL THREE CANTONS
A slave has no wife,
a slave has no children!
This is to suffer too much, what must we do?





ARNOLD
(rousing himself suddenly from his despondency)
Avenge the death of my father!





DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS
Melchthal! What was his crime?





ARNOLD
His crime? He loved his fatherland!





DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS
Abominable, impious murder!





TELL
Let us at least be worthy of the blood
from which we spring.
In the darkness and in silence
with sword and lance
arm the three cantons.





DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS
In the darkness and in silence
with sword and lance
arm the three cantons.





TELL
Tomorrow for us will dawn the day of vengeance,
will you help us?





DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS
Have no doubt of it, yes, all of us.





TELL
Ready to overcome?





DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS
Yes, all of us!





TELL
Ready to die?





DEPUTIES FROM THE THREE CANTONS
Yes, all of us!





TELL
Let the loyal clasping of our hands
confirm these sacred promises.
Let us swear, let us swear by our dangers...





ALL THE OTHERS
Let us swear, let us swear by our dangers...





TELL
... by our adversities, by our ancestors,





ALL THE OTHERS
... by our adversities, by our ancestors...





TELL
... to the God of kings and shepherds...





ALL THE OTHERS
... to the God of kings and shepherds...





TELL
... to resist unjust masters.





ALL THE OTHERS
... to resist unjust masters.
(with TELL)
If among us there are traitors,
if among us there are traitors,
may the sun refuse to their eyes
the light of his torch,
Heaven refuse access to their prayer
and the earth a tomb!
Let us swear by our dangers, etc.
We all of us swear it, we all of us swear it!





ARNOLD
Day is here!





WALTER
For us it is a signal of alarms.





TELL
Of victory!





WALTER
What cry must answer it?





ALL
To arms! to arms! to arms!

William Tell, Act 3 scene 1

ACT THREE





Scene One





The interior of a ruined chapel, in the grounds of
the Governor's palace at Altdorf





MATHILDE
Arnold, what's the cause of this despair?
Is that the tender farewell
I was hoping to hear?
You are leaving, but soon we shall be able to see
each other again?





ARNOLD
No, I stay where a terrible duty chains me;
I stay to avenge my father.





MATHILDE
What are you hoping for?





ARNOLD
It is blood I hope for.
I renounce the favours of fate,
I renounce all that I love,
glory, you yourself!...





MATHILDE
Me, Melchthal!





ARNOLD
My father is dead;
he has fallen beneath the murderous sword.





MATHILDE
God!





ARNOLD
Do you know who directed the steel?





MATHILDE
Ah, I shudder! Go on!





ARNOLD
Your consternation has named him: Gessler!





MATHILDE
Gessler!
All hope for our love is over
when my life has scarcely begun,
all hope for our love, etc.
I lose my happiness for ever, for ever!
Yes, Melchthal, a barbarian's
crime separates us,
my wandering reason
has understood your grief.
My wandering reason, etc.
Braving the servitude of fate,
in vain have I given you my faith;
what loneliness in my court!
You will no longer be near me.
Finally, to complete my misery,
a crime deprives you of a father
and I cannot mourn him with you,
and I cannot mourn him with you!
A crime deprives you, etc.
Destiny, despite your rage,
this sad heart
will always preserve the image
of my liberator.
Destiny, despite your rage, etc.





ARNOLD
What noise reaches my ear?
Singing! Shouts!





MATHILDE
Gessler rouses himself.





ARNOLD
Daylight returns him to his crimes.





MATHILDE
Alas, these songs announce
the preparations for a warlike festival.
Flee from the Governor's palace,
flee from the Governor's palace,
his joy is always deadly;
flee, if ever I was dear to you!





ARNOLD
I, flee! I, flee!





MATHILDE
If upon the foreign shore
I cannot offer to your misery
my consoling attentions,
my soul follows you completely,
it is faithful to your misfortunes.
My soul follows you, etc.





ARNOLD
These songs drown your prayer!
Their joy insults my griefs!
Do you hear them? Do you hear them?





MATHILDE
Ah, take pity on my tears!
Flee, if ever I was dear to you!





ARNOLD
I, flee! I, flee!





MATHILDE
If upon the foreign shore, etc.
And think -





ARNOLD
I think of my father!





MATHILDE
By renouncing our love
we give him more than our lives.
Farewell, Melchthal! Farewell, Melchthal!
Farewell, it is for ever!
Ah, think -





ARNOLD
I think of my father!





MATHILDE
By renouncing our love, etc.
...it is for ever!





ARNOLD
By renouncing my love, etc.
...it is for ever!
By renouncing my love
I give him more than my life.
Farewell, Mathilde! Farewell, it is for ever!

William Tell, Act 3 scene 2

Scene Two





The main square in Altdorf, where preparations are
in hand for a festival. Here and there stand apple
and lime trees. Gessler's castle is in the
background. Workmen are busy putting up a
platform where the Court are to take their seats;
others are setting up, towards the back of the stage,
a "trophy" composed of the Governor's arms and
surmounted by his hat.





CHORUS OF MEN
Glory to the supreme power!
Glory to the supreme power!
Glory!
Awe to Gessler, who dispenses its laws!
Awe!
Yes, yes, it is the Emperor himself
who hurls anathema
through his terrible voice!
Yes, yes, it is the Emperor himself, etc.
Glory to the supreme power, etc.





CHORUS OF WOMEN
Peace to the power we love!
Let us hope for Mathilde's laws!
What need is there for a diadem?
Love is a supreme power,
equal to that of kings.





CHORUS
Glory to the supreme power, etc.





GESSLER
Vainly in their insolence
do the people defy my vengeance,
they must submit to my rule,
they must submit to my rule.
(pointing to the trophy)
Before this sign of power
let everyone bow down in silence,
as he bows before me,
as he bows before me!
Let everyone, etc.
(During the following the people are made to pass by in groups, and forced to bow before the trophy.)





CHORUS OF MEN
Glory to the supreme power, etc.





CHORUS OF WOMEN
Peace to the power we love, etc.





CHORUS
Glory to the supreme power, etc.





GESSLER
(standing on the raised platform)
Let the German Empire today receive the pledge
of your obedience!
For a century now its power
has deigned to grant a support to your weakness.
On that day, our rights, sealed by victory,
were extended over your ancestors.
Through your songs and your games
celebrate the memory
of such a glorious day,
I will it!




(Here the festivities begin. One of Gessler's lieutenants has had brought in forcibly some Tyrolean men and girls who dance to the sound of voices only.)





GIRLS
You whom the bird would not follow,
fit your steps to our tunes!
In our fields
the sons of the mountains
to their partners
will teach your steps.
You whom the bird would not follow,
fit your steps to our tunes!
You who are not
of these climes,
to our frosts
you will return.
In our fields
the sons of the mountains
to their partners
will teach your steps.





MEN
Come blend your steps with our songs!
Stranger
so fleet,
do you wish to please?
Ah, do not run away!
The fresh flower
is less beautiful
when your steps
go near it.
In our fields
the sons of the mountains
to their partners
will teach your steps.
The fresh flower
compared with her
is pale and without attractions.
Come blend your steps with our songs!
Stranger
so fleet, etc.
(They dance.)





GIRLS
You whom the bird, etc.





MEN
Come blend your songs, etc.





(Gessler's soldiers force the Swiss women to dance with them: the people show by their gestures their indignation at this violence. At the conclusion of the dance they all prostrate themselves before the trophy. Some soldiers drag forward Tell and his son, whom they have noticed still standing in the middle of the scene.)





RODOLPHE
Insolent fellow, bow!





TELL
Taking your strength from their weakness
you can degrade this people, but I,
I do not recognise the law
that prescribes for me a base action.





RODOLPHE
Villain!





CHORUS OF SWISS MEN
O moment of terror!
For him we have everything to fear!





RODOLPHE
Governor, your law is being defied.





GESSLER
What rash fellow dares to infringe it?





RODOLPHE
He is standing before you.





TELL
Standing, I honour power
when it frees us from a shameful slavery,
but the independence of my brow
bends before God alone.





GESSLER
Traitor, obey or tremble!
My voice and the perils threaten you together;
see these arms, see these soldiers.





TELL
I listen, I look, and I do not understand you.





GESSLER
The slave in revolt against his master
does not tremble as he foresees his fate?





TELL
Should I be before you, if I feared death?





RODOLPHE
Such audacity, my lord, makes me recognise him;
this is William Tell, this is that traitor
who rescued the murderer Leuthold from our
blows.





GESSLER
Seize him, seize him!





SOLDIERS (hesitating)
That's that redoubtable archer,
that's that intrepid boatman.





GESSLER
No criminal pity;
that is my prisoner.





TELL
May he be the last!
May he be the last!





GESSLER
Such arrogance wearies me,
The thunder gathers,
let it pass over you
and you will submit!





RODOLPHE
What excess of audacity!
He defies, he threatens,
come, no mercy,
let's disarm him.





GESSLER
What excess of audacity!
Such arrogance wearies me.
No, no mercy,
let's disarm him.





TELL
Mortal disgrace!
(quietly to his son)
Hope of my line,
To you whom I embrace,
away with you, far away from here!
Hope of my line, etc.





GESSLER
See, fear strikes him,
see, fear strikes him,
he's afraid of death,
he's afraid of death, etc.
Yes! Yes!





JEMMY
Let your fear vanish,
my place is here,
for mercy's sake let me
die in your arms!
Ah, let me, etc.





RODOLPHE
No mercy for him,
he goes quickly to his death,
yes, yes!





GESSLER
Such arrogance wearies me,
the thunder gathers, etc.





TELL
O you whom I embrace,
away with you from here!





RODOLPHE
What excess of audacity!
He defies, he threatens,
let's disarm him,
come, let's disarm him, etc.





JEMMY
Let your fear vanish,
my place is here, etc.





SOLDIERS
What excess of audacity!
Let's disarm him, etc.
(Tell's crossbow and quiver are taken from him.)





TELL (in a low voice, to Jemmy)
Rejoin your mother, I order it,
let the fire blaze out on our hill-tops and give
the three cantons the signal for battle!





GESSLER (holding the boy back)
Stop! -
(aside)
their tenderness gives a lead to my vengeance -
(to Tell)
answer, you who dare to defy me,
is this your child?





TELL
The only one.





GESSLER
You want to save him?





TELL
To save him? Him? What is his crime?





GESSLER
His parentage,
your speeches, your schemings, your culpable
insolence.





TELL
I alone have defied you, it is I who must be punished.





GESSLER
His pardon is in your hands, and you can obtain it.
You are celebrated everywhere as a skilful archer.
(to Rodolphe, as he picks an apple off a nearby tree)
Have this apple placed upon the son's head.
(to Tell)
With one sure arrow you will lift it off before my eyes;
or you will both of you perish.





TELL
What are you saying?





GESSLER
I will have it.





TELL
What a dreadful decree - I'm all confusion -
you could order upon my son, you barbarian!
No, the crime is too great.





GESSLER
Obey.





TELL
Ah! You have no child!
There is a God, Gessler!





GESSLER
A master.





TELL (pointing to the sky)
He hears us!





GESSLER
This is to dally too long, yield instantly.





TELL
I cannot.





GESSLER
Let his son die!





TELL
Stop! Abominable decree!
You triumph over weakness;
Jemmy's peril imposes a base action upon me,
Gessler; and I bend the knee before you.
(He kneels.)





GESSLER
So there's that redoubtable archer,
there's that intrepid boatman!
Fear overtakes him, a word crushes him.





TELL (rising to his feet again)
This punishment at least is just;
you punish me for having been able to forget myself.





JEMMY
Father, think of your skill.





TELL
Ah, I fear all from my tenderness.





JEMMY
Put out your hand, examine my heart:
under your arrow it will beat fearlessly.





TELL
Shedding tears, I bless you
and I recover my strength on your breast.
The calm in your heart has steadied my hand.
No more weakness, no more alarms;
give me back my weapons:
I am William Tell at last!
(Tell's bow and quiver are given back to him; bending low, he selects two bolts, one of which he conceals in his garments.)





GESSLER
Tie up the child!
(At this moment one of Mathilde's pages is seen leaving the stage and running off towards the castle.)





JEMMY
Tie me up? What an insult!
No, no, free at least will I die.
I expose my head to the fatal shot without
murmur,
and I shall await it without blanching.





CHORUS OF SWISS PEOPLE
What! The accents of innocence
do not disarm his vengeance?





JEMMY
(as he sees his father getting ready his weapons)
Courage, father!




TELL
At the sound of his voice
my hand lets slip my weapons,
my eyes are clouded by dangerous tears...
(to Gessler)
My son! My son! let me embrace him one last time.
(Gessler nods assent and Jemmy runs towards his father.)
(to Jemmy)
Stay quite still, and bend
an imploring knee to the ground.
Call upon God, call upon God, it is He alone,
my child,
who through the son can save the father.
Stay like that, but look up at the sky,
stay like that, but look up at the sky.
In threatening this beloved head
this steel tip may startle your eyes.
Move as little as you can, as little as you can...
Jemmy, Jemmy, think of your mother!
She waits for us both!
Jemmy, Jemmy, think of your mother, etc.
(Jemmy quickly returns to his position at the stake. Tell gazes dully round the assembly. When his eye falls on Gessler his hand unconsciously moves to the place where he has concealed the second bolt; finally, he takes aim, shoots, and the apple flies off the child's head.)





CHORUS OF SWISS PEOPLE
Victory! Victory!





JEMMY
Father!





SWISS PEOPLE
His life has been saved!





TELL
Heaven!





GESSLER
What! the apple shot away!





SWISS PEOPLE
The apple has been shot away,
William is triumphant!





GESSLER
O fury!





SWISS PEOPLE
O joy!





GESSLER
O fury!





SWISS PEOPLE
O joy!
Victory! victory! victory!





JEMMY
My life has been saved:
could my father sacrifice his child?





TELL
I can no longer see, I can hardly stand up;
is it really you, my son? I am overcome by happiness.





JEMMY
(loosening Tell's clothing)
Ah! Let us help my father!





GESSLER
He escapes from my hatred.
(noticing the second bolt)
What do I see?





TELL
Ah! I have saved my dearest treasure!





GESSLER
For whom did you intend this arrow?





TELL
For you, Gessler!





GESSLER
Tremble!





TELL (embracing his son)
I'm no longer afraid.





GESSLER
Rodolphe, have him shackled!
(Enter Mathilde with her ladies and pages.)





MATHILDE
What did I hear? What did I hear? Atrocious
sacrifice!





SWISS PEOPLE
Must we still fear for them?





CHORUS OF SOLDIERS
They must both of them perish.





GESSLER
I shall not cut short such miserable lives,
I have promised it; but both are guilty
and both shall await death in fetters.





MATHILDE
What! His son? A child! My lord, my lord, you
must hear me.





GESSLER
The order has been given. Nothing can suspend it. -
The son too!





MATHILDE
You shall not have him, no, no, no, no.
In the Sovereign's name I take him under my protection.
In the Sovereign's name I take him under my protection.
With a whole indignant people looking on at you,
dare, dare to snatch him from my arms!
With a whole indignant people, etc.





RODOLPHE
Give way: at least we still have William.





MATHILDE'S LADIES
Blessed assistance, celestial benevolence!





SOLDIERS
Let's give way, at least we still have the father.





SWISS PEOPLE
O dear William, dismal fate!
Shackles will punish your virtue,
shackles will punish your virtue.





RODOLPHE
They are muttering, do you hear them?





GESSLER
The prisoner's audacity has passed into their hatred.
Over the waters, tonight,
I am hurrying him away to Küssnacht.





RODOLPHE
Over the waters! But the winds, the storm?...





GESSLER (pointing to Tell)
Idle fear!
Is not the expert boatman with me?
Is not the expert boatman with me?
At the castle that the lake surrounds
a new torment awaits him.





SWISS PEOPLE
Have mercy! Have mercy!





GESSLER
Learn how Gessler pardons:
I abandon him to the reptiles,
and their dreadful hunger will answer him with a
tomb.





JEMMY
O my father!





TELL
O Jemmy!





SWISS PEOPLE
Have mercy! Have mercy!





GESSLER
Never! No, no, no, never!





MATHILDE
Barbarian!





GESSLER
When arrogance misleads them,
to be sparing with their blood
is to betray my anger! etc.





RODOLPHE, SOLDIERS
When arrogance misleads them
to be sparing with their blood
is to dishonour yourself with us! etc.




MATHILDE
It is his death he prepares,
I take possession of his son,
let him leave with us! etc.





JEMMY (to Mathilde)
When a barbarian's decree
separates me from his arms,
I trust only in you!





TELL
When my death is being prepared
may my son, o barbarian,
escape from your blows! etc.





SWISS PEOPLE
It is his death he prepares.
The rarest of virtue
will fall beneath his blows! etc.





GESSLER
People, draw back
or the guilty man dies, or the guilty man dies.
(touching his dagger)
I call this sword to witness!
(These words are succeeded by a moment of stupefaction among the people.)





RODOLPHE (in a low voice)
They stay silent.





SOLDIERS
They stay silent.





SWISS PEOPLE
Let us in silence ensure...





GESSLER, SOLDIERS
They fear my/his vengeance.





SWISS PEOPLE
...the blows of vengeance.





TELL
(in a very loud voice, and clanking his chains)
Anathema on Gessler!





RODOLPHE
To suffer such insolence,
o torments of hell,
o torments of hell!





JEMMY AND SWISS PEOPLE
(struggling and surging nearer)
Hear the sentence: anathema on Gessler!





GESSLER (pointing to the Swiss)
If one of them steps forward,
(indicating Tell)
let him fall beneath the sword.





MATHILDE
Ah! let us escape from Gessler!





SOLDIERS
Long live Gessler!





TELL, SWISS PEOPLE
Anathema on Gessler!





RODOLPHE
To suffer such insolence, etc.





JEMMY AND SWISS PEOPLE
Listen to the sentence, etc.





GESSLER
If one of them steps forward, etc.





MATHILDE
Ah! let us escape from Gessler!





SOLDIERS
Long live Gessler! Long live Gessler!





MATHILDE, JEMMY, TELL, SWISS
Such violence...





RODOLPHE, GESSLER, SOLDIERS
To suffer such insolence -





MATHILDE, JEMMY, TELL, SWISS
...is answered by the sword.





RODOLPHE, GESSLER, SOLDIERS
O torments of hell!





MATHILDE, JEMMY, TELL
Anathema on Gessler! Anathema on Gessler! etc.





RODOLPHE
O torments of hell! O torments of hell! etc.





GESSLER
They'll have Gessler to deal with! etc.





SOLDIERS
Long live Gessler! etc.





SWISS PEOPLE
(on the square, on the roofs, up the trees)
Anathema on Gessler! Anathema on Gessler! etc.
(Gessler, Rodolphe and the soldiers force a way through the crowd dragging Tell with them. Mathilde leaves with Jemmy. The soldiers charge the crowd which disperses in a state of the greatest anxiety.)





Appendix





JEMMY (to his father)
Ah, let your soul be reassured,
Heaven, the rights of nature
will speak to him for us.
Ah, let your soul be reassured, etc.
(to Gessler)
See his grief, think of my age.
You require him to direct his shots against his son,
you cause your anger to fall upon a child?
But into my breast he has put his courage.
Even if at the pleasure of your wrath
death becomes my lot,
go on, from his hand it will seem sweet, etc.
(to his father)
Ah, let your soul be reassured,
Heaven, men and nature, do they not side with
us? etc.
I await the trial with courage,
and I await it at your knees.
I implore it, I implore it with courage,
yes, I await it at your knees.
The death that I face
smiles upon my young soul,
I await the trial with courage,
I implore it, I implore it at your knees.
The death that I face, etc.
Ah, let your soul be reassured, etc.
...I implore it at your knees!