SUMMARY
ACT I: Venice
A chorus of conadine (peasant women) await Marco and Giuseppe,
two jolly gondolier brothers who will select two of them to be
their wives. Playing blindman's buff, they choose Tessa
and Gianetta. All depart to prepare for the double
wedding. Enter the Spanish Duke and Duchess and their sole
drummer, Luiz, who have crossed the sea to unite their daughter,
Casilda, with the man to whom she was betrothed when an infant
-- the prince of Barataria. This upsets Casilda and Luiz
because they, unbeknownst to her parents, are in love.
Because the prince was abducted at birth, the Duke and Duchess
do not know who he is; they only know that his father's recent
death requires that he assume the throne with their
daughter. To find the new king, they track down Don
Alhambra who tells them without a doubt that the king is either
Marco or Guiseppe. Don Alhambra then stumbles upon the
brothers' marriage festivities and informs them that one is the
king, so he has arranged for them to reign jointly until the
true king is identified. Act ends with the gondoliers off
to Barataria without their wives; women are banned from the
island according to Don Alhambra.
ACT II: Barataria (three months
later)
Although mostly happy with their kingly lot, Marco and Giuseppe
are having difficulties running their republican monarchy -- and
they miss their wives. Fortunately, the contadine disobey
Don Alhambra's orders and they arrive in Barataria.
Everyone celebrates the reunion by dancing the cachucha.
Once again Don Alhambra stumbles upon the revelries, much
displeased that the women ignored his injunction to stay in
Venice. He informs the brothers that one of them is a
bigamist, as whichever one of them is the king was married to
Casilda when a baby. Now everyone is upset and they
anxiously await the appearance of Inez, the baby prince's nurse
who enters to identify the true king. In eight lines she
solves the dilemma to everyone's satisfaction.
MUSICAL NUMBERS
ACT I
| 1.
List and Learn |
Contadine
|
| 2.
From the sunny Spanish shore |
Duke
Duchess, Casilda, Luiz |
| 3.
In enterprise of martial kind |
Duke
of Plaza Toro |
|
4.
O rapture, when alone together |
Recitative
and Duet: Casilda, Luiz |
|
5.
There was a time |
Duet:
Casilda, Luiz |
|
6.
I stole the prince |
Don,
Duke, Duchess, Casilda, Luiz |
|
7.
But, bless my heart |
Recitative:
Casilda and Don Alhambra |
| 8.
Try we life long |
Quintet:
Duke, Duchess, Casilda, Luiz, Don Alhambra |
| 9. Bridegroom and bride | Chorus: Contadine, Gondoliers | | 10. When a merry maiden marries | Tessa, Chorus | | 11. Kind sir, you cannot have the heart | Gianetta | | 12. The one of us will be | Quartet: Marco, Giuseppe, Gianetta, Tessa | | 13. Now, pray, what is the cause | Finale: Ensemble | MUSICAL NUMBERS
ACT II | 1. Of happiness the very pith | Gondoliers, Marco, Giuseppe | | 2. Rising early in the morning | Giuseppe, Gondoliers | | 3. Take a pair of sparkling eyes | Marco | | 4. Here we are at the risk | Contadine, Quartet, Duet | | 5. Dance a Cachucha | Chorus and Dance | | 6. There lived a king, as I've been told | Don, Marco, Giuseppe | | 7. In a contemplative fashion | Quartet: Marco, Giuseppe, Gianetta, Tessa | | 8. With a ducal pomp and ducal pride | Gondoliers, Duke, Duchess | | 9. On the day when I was wedded | Duchess | | 10. To help unhappy commoners | Recitative, Duet, Duke, Duchess | | 11. I am a courtier grave and serious | Gavotte: Duke, Duchess, Casilda, Marco, Giuseppe | | 12. Here is a case unprecedented | Quintet: Marco, Giuseppe, Casilda, Gianetta, Tessa | | 13. Now let the loyal lieges gather round | Finale: Ensemble | To download the whole libretto of The Gondoliers (83 kB), please click here. |
