L ' I N F E R N O

MUSIC & ACTION
MALE: *CHARACTER voice only
FEMALE
→ L→ DOWN LEFT STEPS AND ONTO STAGE → R → DOWN RIGHT STEPS AND OUT OF SIGHT
♫ MUSIC
ALL MUSIC TO BE COMPOSED
EXCEPT FOR VEXILLA REGIS C34 1
ACTION
THE DARK WOOD & THE HILL
Darkness, then Sun spotlight on Dante (D)
He tells of his journey as something done.
Nel mezzo del cammin…the other things I saw there.
C1 1-9
NIGHT SOUNDS Sun spotlight → Moon, through clouds C1 9
D: I cannot rightly say..leopard..lion..she-wolf.. C1 10-60
D meets Virgil (V) Have pity on me…to be so
saddened.
C1 61-135
INVOCATION RESPONSE: OVERTURE?
ANCIENT/ARCHAIC GREEK, TO CHRISTIAN
BE-A-TRI-CE MOTIF
MOTIF BASED ON THE 4 SYLLABLES
OF HER NAME, PERHAPS
CORRESPONDING TO THE PITCH OF
THEIR VOWELS:
-- --
IN LATER SEGMENTS THE MOTIF MAY BE
DEVELOPED.
INFERNAL: DIRE, WITHOUT HUMAN
SOUNDS: SOFT, BECOMING LOUDER
I and one alone…MUSES – ALL invoked. C2 1-9
Sun spotlight on MUSES. off C2 7
Poet, who guides me…I am not Aeneas…not Paul…
V: …cowardly fear…A lady… blessed…beautiful…
C2 10-53
◙ Heavenly spotlight on BEATRICE (BEA) C2 53
D: Bice! Beatrice! La donna mia! SONNET C2 114
BEA: O anima cortese…Lucy…who hear it.
D & V: →R→ DOWN RIGHT STEPS
MUSES – ALL follow down
C2 137
→R→ C2 140
C3 1
THE GATE OF HELL C3 1-12
D: & V: Through me to the eternal city…abandon
all hope you who enter here.
INFERNAL: loud note C3 9
MISERABLE MODE:
SIGHS, WHIRLWIND, GROANS, FAINT HOWLS
INFERNAL:
(NOT MISERABLE MODE BECAUSE VOICES
ARE DESCRIBED)
V: Here all uncertainty…cowardice dead. C3 15
D & V approach lower steps C3 22-
→ R→ Master, what is this…undone so many. C3 32-78
V: ...on the sad strand of Acheron. C3 78
→ L→
12
CHARON & *SOULS/SOULS C3 78
V: …what is willed is done: ask no more. C3 78-96
V: But those spirits who has no fear of God. C3 100-108
INFERNAL: briefly between D & V C3 108
D: Ma quell’ anime…come augel per suo richiamo C3 100-117
INFERNAL: brief rise and fall C3 106
INFERNAL: dies away
D: So they vanish on the dark water…of his words. C3 118-129