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What did you say?
Elect as Doge the usurer Lorenzino?
Suggest someone else more worthy than him !
That brave man who chased the African pirates from our seas
and restored to the Ligurian flag its proud, ancient glory.
I follow you.
And my reward?
Riches, power, honour.
For such a price l will sell the people's favour.
Detested patricians, l, a despised plebeian, am determined to rise
to the heights where dwells your pride.
l embrace you...
What happened? Why have you summoned me from Savona?
Do you wish to be elected the new Doge at dawn?
l? No.
- Does the Doge's crown nottempt you? - Are you joking?
And Maria?
Oh, innocent victim of my fatal love!
What news have you of her? Have you spoken to her?
In that palace she languishes as a prisoner.
Maria !
Who could deny herto the Doge?
Poor girl!
Do you agree?
Paolo...
I have arranged everything.
I ask only to share in your dangers and your power.
So be it.
In life and death?
So be it !
Someone is coming, conceal yourself.
Forthe time being, keep this secret.
At dawn will you all be here?
All of us.
- Not one forthe patricians? - Not one.
We shall give ourvote to Lorenzino.
He sold himselfto the Fieschi.
Then who should be elected?
-A man ofvalour. A man ofthe people. - Yes. Well said.
- Is he among us? - Yes.
Then who? Let us hear his name.
Simon Boccanegra.
Simon?
The corsair?
Yes, the corsairto the throne ofoffice.
- ls he here? - He's coming.
- And the Fieschi? - They will say nothing.
You see that gloomy building? lt is the wicked abode ofthe Fieschi.
An unhappy beauty lies imprisoned there.
Her laments are the only human sounds
that are heard to echo in that vast, mysterious tomb.
Three moons have passed since her sweetface
brightened the balcony ofthat lonely room.
Every pitying passer-by vainly seeks to see
the lovely prisoner, the unfortunate Maria.
Those doors open only to the proud patrician,
who deliberately wraps himself in mystery.
It's true.
But at dead of night, through the deserted halls
l have seen a strange flame wandering like a soul in torment.
It's like a cave ofghosts! Oh, how horrible !
Look ! The ghostly light appears.
- Oh, heaven ! - Go back home.
Drive away the demons with the sign ofthe Cross.
- Until daybreak. - Here.
- Simon. - With one accord, Simon.
A last farewell to you, proud palace,
cold sepulchre of my angel!
l was not able to protect you !
Oh, vile seducer ! Oh, cursed man !
O ***, didstthou suffer her crown ofvirginity to be stolen from her?
Ah! What am l saying? I am raving!
Ah, forgive me !
The tormented spirit ofa heartbroken father
has been overcome by the anguish ofshame and grief.
She is dead!
Miserere!
Merci ful heaven has given her a martyr's crown.
O Maria, restored to the radiance ofthe angels,
pray for me.
For herthe heavens open! Miserere!
O Maria, restored to the radiance ofthe angels,
pray for me.
Never more shall we see her! Miserere!
Pray for me.
My name is on every tongue.
O Maria, soon perhaps you will be able to call me your husband!
I see someone !
Who is it?
Simon?
You!
What blind fate led you here to affront me?
I was calling down on your head the avenging wrath of heaven.
My lord, suppliant at yourfeet,
I beg for mercy.
Grant me forgiveness.
- lt is too late. - Do not be cruel.
lt is too late.
I hoped to raise myselfto her level on the wings ofglory.
l have snatched the wreath ofvictory
forthe altar of love!
I applaud your valour but cannot pardon your misdeeds.
- If l should see you on the throne... - No more.
The target for my hate and forthe curse ofGod
shall be he who outraged Fiesco.
Peace.
No, there can be no peace until one of us dies.
Would you be appeased with my blood?
Strike here !
*** you?
Yes, kill me, and at least let yourwrath be buried with me.
Listen.
lfyou will give up to me that luckless innocent
born ofyourforbidden love,
I, who have not yet seen her,
swearto make her happy.
And you will then have my pardon.
- l cannot ! - Why?
Cruel fate stole her away.
Explain yourself.
The child grew up in concealment
on the shore ofa hostile land.
She grew up farfrom my sight,
watched over by an aged woman.
Sailing nearby one night,
l disembarked alone from my ship.
l hurried to the house.
- The doorwas locked and all was silent ! - The woman?
Dead!
And your daughter?
Wretched, alone,
forthree days she wept, three days she wandered.
Then she disappeared and was seen no more.
Since then l have sought her in vain.
lfyou cannot grant my wish
there can be no peace between us!
Farewell, Simon.
I can appease you with my love. Hear me, ah, hear me!
No !
Hear me!
Farewell.
Oh, stony-hearted, implacable race ofthe Fieschi!
Was itfrom such reptiles that pure beauty was born?
I must see her. Courage!
The house ofthe Fieschi silent?
The doors are open!
This is very strange !
Let me enter.
Go in and embrace a cold corpse.
No one!
Everything here is silent and dark!
Maria !
The hour of retribution has struck.
I am dreaming!
Yes, this is a hideous, terrible dream!
- Boccanegra! Boccanegra! - What are those voices?
This is an echo from hell !
The people acclaim you as Doge !
Away, you phantoms! Away!
What are you saying?
Paolo ! Atomb...
A throne !
Simon the Doge? Hell burns in my breast !
Long live Simon ! Hurrah! Hurrah ! Long live Simon!
Long live Simon, the people's choice !
Howthe stars and the sea
are smiling at this dark hour !
O moon, how your radiance
merges with the waves !
It is like the loving embrace oftwo virginal hearts !
Butwhat do the stars and sea
bring to the mind ofthe wretched orphan?
That dark, cruel night
when the good old woman, dying, cried out:
“May heaven watch overyou! ”
O proud abode, home ofa still prouder race,
you have not let me forget my humble roof !
Only in your stony splendour does love smile on me.
Dawn breaks in the sky
but my lover's song is not yet heard !
Each day he wipes
the tears from my eyes
as dawn dries the dew on the flowers.
As the sky swept ofstars,
as the meadow bereft offlowers
is a heartwithout love.
Heaven ! His voice! lt is he! He is coming ! Oh, joy!
Without a heart to love you,
not riches, poweror honours can satisfy your longing.
He is coming ! Love blazes up in my *** and my heart breaks its bounds!
Beloved!
Why so late in coming?
Forgive me, dear.
My long delay will serve to bring you greatness.
- I am afraid. - Why?
l know your secret.
You are preparing a grave for me,
the scaffold for yourself !
What do you mean?
I love Andrea as a father, you knowthat.
But I am afraid.
At dead of night have l not often seen you
- moving furtively in the shadows? - Who?
You, Andrea, Lorenzino and others.
Hush!
The wind could carry yourwords to the tyrants!
Walls speak,
an informer lurks at every step.
- You are trembling! - Dispel these gloomy phantoms !
You call them phantoms?
Come and look atthe azure, shimmering sea.
There Genoa towers above the foaming ocean bed.
There your enemies rule; vainly you hope to conquerthem.
Shelter yourthoughts in the harbour of love.
Angel, who from heaven came winging down to earth
and shine like a beacon on our mortal course,
do not seek to fathom the dark mysteries of hate.
Shelter yourthoughts in the harbour of love.
-Ah ! - What is it? - Do you see that man?
- Every day he appears, like a shadow. - Perhaps I have a rival.
- A messengerfrom the Doge asks foryou. - Let him approach.
- I wantto see who it is. - Stay.
The Doge, returning from hunting in Savona,
asks if he may visit you.
He is welcome.
The Doge here?
He comes to seek my hand.
- Forwhom? - For his favourite.
Hurry and find Andrea.
Go, prepare for our marriage. Lead me to the altar.
Yes, yes, letthejoy of marriage be set against unkind fate
and with you l shall defy the whole world.
The force of love is strongerthan destiny.
We shall always be together, lovers beyond death.
He comes at the right moment!
You, here so early?
- To tell you... - That you love Amelia.
You who treat herwith a father's care,
will you consent to our marriage?
A deep mystery hangs overthe girl.
What is it?
lf I tell you, perhaps you will no longer love her.
My love does notfear shadowy mysteries!
l am listening.
YourAmelia is of humble birth.
The daughter ofthe Grimaldi family?
No, the Grimaldis' daughter died in a convent in Pisa.
An orphan found in the cloister
the day Amelia died
inherited her cell.
But how did she also take the name ofGrimaldi?
The new Doge hankered afterthe riches ofthe exiles.
The falseAmelia could save them from his rapacious hands.
I love this orphan!
You are worthy of her.
Then can she be mine?
On earth and in heaven!
You give me life !
Come to me,
l give you my blessing
in the peace ofthis hour.
Holy echo ofancient times,
yourwords cast a pure spell.
Live in happiness and faith fully love...
My faithful heartwill hold sacred the memory ofthis hour.
...your angel, your country, your God !
The Doge is coming. Let us go. He must not see you.
Ah! Let the day ofvengeance dawn soon!
- Paolo. - My lord.
Events are pressing. We must leave here.
- When? - On the stroke ofthe hour.
Oh, how beautiful!
ls the Doge addressing Amelia Grimaldi?
That is what I am called.
Desire fortheir country does not haunt her exiled brothers?
lndeed... but...
I understand.
The Grimaldi disdain to bowto me.
This is how the Doge answers such pride.
What do l see? Their pardon?
This gift ofclemency is due to you.
Tell me, why do you hide such beauty in this seclusion?
Do you never pine forthe glittering attractions ofthe world?
Your blushes answer me.
You are wrong. I am happy.
At your age, love...
Ah, you have read my heart!
l love a pure soul who ardently returns my love.
But a miscreantwho desires me hankers afterthe Grimaldis' wealth.
Paolo!
You have named the villain !
And since you show such concern for my future
l shall tell you the secret that cloaks me.
l am not a Grimaldi !
Good heavens! Who are you?
The lowly roofofa poorwoman sheltered me as an orphan
where Pisa rises nearthe sea.
In Pisa, you?
The good woman, heavy with years, was my only support.
l tempted heaven's wrath
and she was taken from me.
With a trembling hand
she gave me a painted miniature.
She said itwas the likeness
ofthe mother l had never known.
She kissed me and blessed me, raised her eyes to heaven in prayer.
To all my cries to her, echo alone gave answer.
Ah ! Merciful heaven, ifthe hope that now smiles upon my soul be a dream,
let me die ifthat delusion should vanish !
How unhappy a future loomed up before me in my grief !
Tell me, did no one see you there?
A *** used to visit us.
Was Giovanna the name ofthe woman fate snatched from you?
Yes.
Was the portrait like this?
- They are the same ! - Maria!
My name !
You are my daughter.
I?
Embrace me, my daughter.
Father! Clasp Maria to your heart, who loves you !
Daughter, daughter, my heart calls to you !
Clasp Maria to your heart, who loves you !
Daughter! Atthat name l tremble as if heaven had opened to me.
You reveal to me a world of unspeakablejoy.
Your loving father will create a paradise for you.
The lustre of my crown will be your glory.
Father, you will see yourwatchful daughter always nearyou.
In the hour of melancholy l shall wipe away yourtears.
We shall taste undiscovered joys known only to heaven.
l will be the dove of peace ofyour royal palace.
We shall taste undiscovered joys known only to heaven.
Oh, daughter !
Father !
Daughter !
Whatwas her answer?
Give up all hope.
My lord, I cannot!
It is my will.
Yourwill !
Yourwill! Have you forgotten that you owe yourthrone to me?
- What did he say? - He will not let me have her.
- What do you intend to do? -Abduct her.
- How? - On the shore she will be unattended.
Carry herto my ship. Take herto the house of Lorenzino.
lf he ob jects?
Say that l know about his plotting and he will lend me his aid.
You will be well rewarded.
She shall be taken.
Gentlemen, the king ofTartary sends you pledges of peace and rich gifts,
and announces that the Black Sea is open to our Ligurian ships.
- Do you acceptthem? - Yes.
But now I ask ofyou another, more generous vote.
Speak.
The voice that thundered on Rienzi a prophecy ofglory and then ofdeath
now thunders on Genoa.
Here is a message from Francesco Petrarca:
he pleads for peace with Venice.
Letthe singer ofthe blonde Avignonese look after his rhymes!
- War on Venice! - And with this hideous cry
between two ltalian shores, Cain raises his bloodstained club !
Adria and Liguria have a common homeland.
Our homeland is Genoa.
What is that uproar?
Whence come those cries?
From the Fieschi square.
A rebellion!
See, a crowd fleeing.
Listen.
- I cannot catch the words. - Death! Death!
- Is it he? - Who? - Look.
Heavens ! GabrieleAdorno pursued by a mob.
A Guelph is fighting beside him.
Summon a herald.
Paolo, flee, or you will be caught.
Maritime consuls, guard the doors!
Anyone who flees is a traitor.
- Death to the patricians! - To arms !
- Long live the people! - Hurrah!
What? You, too? You challenge me, here?
Death to the Doge!
Death to the Doge?
Very well !
You, herald, open the palace doors
and tell the crowd, noble and plebeian alike,
that l do notfearthem, that I have heard theirthreats
and that I awaitthem.
Sheathe your swords.
To arms! Plunder! Burn down the houses!
Down with them! To the pillory!
The herald's trumpet sounds.
He is speaking.
Everything is quiet.
Hurrah! Long live the Doge!
Here comes the mob !
Vengeance ! Vengeance! Vengeance !
Let us spill the blood ofthe arrogant murderer !
Vengeance ! Vengeance! Vengeance !
Is this then the voice ofthe people?
From afarthe thunder ofthe tempest,
from nearby the cries ofwomen and children.
Adorno, why the sword?
l have killed Lorenzino.
Assassin!
- He had abducted Amelia Grimaldi. - Horror !
Dying, the villain said a man of power had urged him to the crime.
You are discovered !
And his name?
Rest easy!
The criminal died before revealing it.
What do you mean?
By heaven ! You are a man of power !
- How dare you! - Shameless abductor ofyoung girls !
Disarm him !
Vile, upstart pirate ! Die!
Stab me !
Amelia!
O my lord, ah, spare him, spare Adorno.
Let no one harm him.
My pride falls from me
and atthe sound of her distress my whole soul speaks of love.
Amelia, tell us how you were abducted
and how you were able to escape.
Atthe sweet hourthat invites ecstasy
I was walking alone by the seashore.
Three ruffians seized me.
A ship carried me off. My stifled cries were of no avail.
I fainted. When I opened my eyes again
I found myself with Lorenzino in his room.
- Lorenzo! - I saw myselfthat villain's prisoner!
I well knew the baseness of his spirit.
l said: "The Doge shall know ofyour plot"
“ifyou do not release me this instant.”
Shaken by fear, he unlocked the doors.
My desperate threat had saved me.
The scoundrel well deserved death.
There is one still more guilty...
There is one still more guilty here
who goes unpunished.
- Who is he? - He can hear me. l can see his ashen lips.
- Who is he? -A patrician.
-A plebeian? - Put up your swords !
- What dreadful cries ! - Put down your axes!
- For pity's sake! - Fratricides !
Plebeians! Patricians ! Heirs to a fierce history !
lnheritors only ofthe hatred ofthe Spinola and Doria families !
While the broad kingdom ofthe seas invites you to glory,
here brotherturns against brother and you tear at each other's hearts.
I weep foryou, forthe peace ful sun on your hillsides,
where the olive branches bloom in vain.
l weep forthe deceptive gaiety ofyourflowers.
And l cry: Peace!
And l cry: Love !
His heartfeltwords have the power to calm our anger.
Peace !
Amelia is safe and she loves me!
Heaven be thanked!
Peace ! I beg you to restrain yourterrible wrath !
Heaven be thanked!
Peace ! Let a feeling of love for your country inspire you.
Oh, my country!
She is safe, she is safe!
She is safe and she loves me!
This proud city lies in the hands ofa pirate!
And l cry: Peace!
And l cry: Love !
Peace ! Let a feeling of love for your country inspire you.
His heartfeltwords have the powerto calm our anger.
Here is my sword.
Fortonight you will be a prisoner
until the whole plot is unmasked.
No, keep your proud sword;
I ask only for yourword.
So be it !
Paolo!
My lord!
ln you is vested the people's strict law.
The honour ofthe city depends on your loyalty.
I need your aid.
Within these walls there is a villain who hears me and grows pale.
My hand is already reaching for his head.
I know his name.
He will be afraid.
You, in the sight of heaven
and in my sight, are witness.
On the wicked scoundrel shall fall the thunder of my words:
May he be accursed !
Repeatthat oath.
May he be accursed !
Horror! Horror!
May he be accursed !
Horror!
- Did you see the two ofthem? - Yes.
Bring them at once from the dungeon by the secret passage,
which this key will unlock.
I understand.
l have cursed myself!
That curse still pursues me.
The air still trembles with it !
Despised, rejected by the Senate and by Genoa,
here I string my last arrow before fleeing.
Here I weigh yourfate, Doge,
in this last fearful moment.
You who spurn me but to whom you owe yourthrone,
l here abandon you to your destiny
in this fateful hour.
Here l prepare for you a slow, hideous agony.
There I arm an assassin.
Let death take its choice between the poison and the dagger.
Where have l been led as a prisoner?
To the Doge's quarters, and Paolo speaks to you.
Your looks are grim.
l knowthe hatred you hide within you.
Listen to me.
What do you want?
- You have prepared a body ofGuelphs for rebellion? - Yes.
But your daring may be in vain !
This Doge, whom we both hate, is preparing for a new slaughter.
- You are setting a snare for me. - A snare?
Has the tyrant not already demanded Fiesco's head?
I shall show you the way to victory.
On what terms?
Kill him while he is asleep.
You dare solicit a crime from Fiesco?
You refuse?
- Yes. - Then back to your cell.
- You heard? - A cowardly plan !
Then you never loved Amelia?
- What are you saying? - She is here. - Amelia here?
She is intended forthe old man's infamous pleasures.
lnsidious demon, silence !
- What are you doing? - Every exitfrom here is closed to you.
Dare to strike the blow
oryou will be buried within these walls.
Oh, hell!
Amelia here ! The old man loves her !
And I cannot ventthe fury that inflames me !
You killed my father, now you steal my treasure.
Tremble, miscreant.
One crime was already too many;
now you have called upon your head a double vengeance.
l feel a fire of jealousy blaze up in my breast;
all his blood could not quench the flames.
Had he a thousand lives
that my fury could extinguish with a single blow,
no, I still would not be satisfied.
What am I saying? Alas!
This is madness !
I am weeping!
Mercy !
O God, have mercy on me in my torture!
Merciful heaven, restore her,
restore herto my heart
as pure as the angel who guards her honour.
But ifa shameful cloud sully her innocence
and rob her of hervirtue, may I never see her again !
- You here? - Amelia ! - Who let you in?
-And how did you come here? - l... - Faithless one !
- Oh, how cruel! - That savage tyrant...
He loves you.
With a pure love.
-And you? - I love him, too.
l hearyou and do not kill you?
Unhappy one ! Believe me, I am innocent.
Explain yourself.
Let me keep my secret a little longer.
Speak, restore to your beloved faith in your innocence of heart.
Your silence is a shroud that you cast over me.
Give me life or a coffin.
l disdain your pity.
Banish doubtfrom your soul.
Your image is held as sacred in my heart
as God is in church.
No, the sky of love
contains no stormy clouds.
The Doge is coming. You have no escape. Hide !
No.
The scaffold awaits you.
I do not fear it.
lf pity for me does not move you l shall die with you.
Pity foryou?
Fate has willed it. Let destiny be fulfilled: he shall die.
- He is coming ! Hide ! Pity for me. - He shall die.
My daughter !
So careworn, father?
You are mistaken.
But you have been crying.
- l? - The reason foryourtears is known to me.
You have already told me.
You are in love.
Well then, ifthe one to whom you have given your heart is worthy...
O father, he is the bravest and noblest ofGenoese.
His name.
Adorno.
My enemy!
Father !
You see his name written here?
He is conspiring with the Guelphs.
- Heaven ! Forgive him! - l cannot.
- Forgive him ! - l cannot.
I shall die with him.
You love him so much?
I love him with a burning, boundless love.
Either lead me to the altarwith him
or let the executioner's axe fall on us both.
Oh, cruel destiny !
Oh, my vanished hopes !
l find my daughter again and a foe steals herfrom me.
Listen:
if he will repent...
He will.
Then perhaps pardon...
Dearestfather!
Now leave me.
I mustwait here till morning.
Let me stay at your side.
- No, leave me. - Father!
It is my wish.
Dear God !
How can l save him?
Doge ! Will the traitors once more put your clemency to the test?
Yet punishment could be a sign offear.
My throat is burning.
Even waterfrom the spring is bitter to the lips ofone who wears a crown.
Oh, sorrow!
My mind is heavy...
My limbs are fatigued...
Alas...
Sleep overcomes me.
O Amelia...
O Amelia, you love an enemy.
He is asleep!
What holds me back?
Is it reverence orfear?
My will is faltering !
You are asleep, old man,
my father's murderer,
my rival!
Son ofAdorno! Yourfather's shade cries to you forvengeance.
Madman !
Would you strike a defenceless old man?
Your defence rekindles my fury.
I swearthatthe love that unites us is holy and does not oppose our hopes.
- What do you mean? - Put away your dagger !
- Come, let him hearyou. - Kneel at his feet?
Here is my breast. Strike, traitor !
The blood ofAdorno cries for blood.
Is that so?
- Who opened these doors foryou? - Not I.
No one shall know that secret.
You will reveal it undertorture.
l do notfear death or yourtorture.
Ah, have mercy!
Ah, you have indeed avenged thatfather
who once suffered at my hands.
You have robbed me ofa heavenly treasure:
my daughter.
You are herfather!
Forgive me, Amelia.
Fierce and jealous was my love.
Doge, letthe veil be torn aside;
l am an assassin.
Let me die.
I do not dare to raise my eyes to you.
Should I spare him?
Mother, from heaven protect your daughter.
Should I spare him and extend my hand to my enemy?
With me recommend pity to my father's heart.
Yes, let peace shine on this city, let ancient hatred be appeased.
His crime was caused only by too much love.
Let me die. I do not dare to raise my eyes to you.
Let my tomb be the altar of Italian brotherhood.
To arms, men of Liguria. Sacred duty calls you.
- The lightning ofwrath has flared. - What are those shouts?
- Your enemies. - l know.
War!
Vengeance!
- The crowd is gathering. - To arms! War!
Go and join your comrades.
I fight against you? Never again.
Then take a message of peace to them
and may tomorrow's sun not rise to illuminate fraternal bloodshed.
l shall return to fightwith you ifyour clemency does not disarm them.
She will be your reward.
Oh, unexpected joy !
- Father! - To arms !
Long live the Doge! Victory! Victory!
You are free. Here is your sword.
-And the Guelphs? - Defeated.
Oh, bitterfreedom!
What? Paolo?
Where are they taking you?
To death on the scaffold.
My demon drove me to take up arms with the rebels
and I was captured.
Now Simon has condemned me.
But l had already condemned Boccanegra to death.
What do you mean?
A poison is eating away his life.
You monster!
Perhaps he is already preceding me to the grave !
From yourthrone in heaven protect them, O Lord.
Oh, horror!
Do you hearthe wedding hymn that pursues me?
ln that chapel GabrieleAdorno is being married to the girl
- l carried off. - Amelia?
You were her abductor? Monster!
Kill me.
Do not hope forthat.
You are promised the headsman's axe.
Horror!
I am horrified!
No, Simon, this was not the vengeance I sought.
Your life deserved a different end.
Here he is, the Doge.
At last the hour has come for us to meet face to face!
Citizens !
By order ofthe Doge extinguish the torches.
Let no shouts oftriumph offend
the valiant dead.
My head is burning.
l feel a dreadful fire creeping through my veins.
Oh, let me breathe the sweet air ofthe open sky!
What relief!
The sea breeze !
The sea!
Seeing it again brings back to me memories
oftriumphs and glorious deeds !
The sea ! The sea! Ah!
Why did l not find a grave in its ***?
ltwould have been betterfor you !
Who dares to intrude?
One who does notfear you.
Guards !
You call them in vain; your hired assassins are not here.
You may kill me, butfirst hear me.
What do you want?
By the gleam ofthe festive torches
you will see strange, fatal portents.
The hand ofGod has written your sentence
on these walls.
The brilliance ofyour star is eclipsed.
Your purple is already falling into tatters.
You, the conqueror, shall die amid the ghosts ofthose
to whom your headsman denied burial.
Whose voice is that?
- You have heard it before. - Can it be?
Have the dead risen from theirtombs?
Do you not recognize me?
Fiesco!
Simon!
The dead greet you !
Merciful heaven !
My heart's desire is at last fulfilled !
Like a phantom Fiesco appears before you
to avenge an ancientwrong.
Fiesco shall be a herald of peace.
Like a phantom Fiesco appears before you
to avenge an ancientwrong.
-An angel will seal ourfriendship. - What are you saying?
- Once you offered me yourforgiveness - I did?
if I gave to you the orphan girl whom l mourned as lostfor ever.
As Amelia Grimaldi she was returned to me
and she bears the name of her dead mother.
Heavens! Why does the truth light upon me so late?
You weep!
Ah ! Why do you turn yourface away from me?
You weep!
I weep because through you
the voice of heaven speaks to me.
l feel a terrible rebuke, even in your pity.
Let me clasp you to my breast, O father of Maria.
Your pardon will be balm to my soul.
Alas!
Death hangs overyou.
Atraitor has given you poison.
I feel that everything speaks to me ofeternity.
Cruel fate!
- She is coming. - Maria!
Hush. Do not tell her...
Let me give her my last blessing.
Whom do l see!
- Come. - Fiesco! - You here!
You witness a marvel.
ln Fiesco you see the father of Maria, whom you never knew,
who gave you life.
He? Can this be true?
Maria !
Oh, joy ! Then the bitter hatred is ended!
Everything ends, my daughter.
What gloomy thought saddens you in this moment of rejoicing?
Maria, have courage.
Prepare yourselffor a grievous blow.
What are these words? l am afraid!
My last hour has struck!
What do you mean?
But the Almighty allows me, Maria,
to die in your arms.
Can this be possible?
Almighty God, in thy mercy bless them from heaven.
Fortheir sake
change the thorns of my martyrdom to flowers.
Ah, no, you shall not die.
My love will conquer the chill ofdeath.
O father, O father, a dreadful fury tears at my breast.
Heaven will answer my sorrowwith pity.
How swiftly the hour of happy love has passed!
Almighty God, in thy mercy, bless them from heaven.
All happiness on earth is a deluding spell.
You shall not die.
The human heart is a fount of never-ending woe.
You shall not die.
Draw near, my daughter. I am dying.
Hold me to your heart as I die !
You shall not die, no, you shall not die !
Senators, grant my lastwish.
Let the Doge's mantle rest on the shoulders ofGabrieleAdorno.
You, Fiesco, carry out my purpose.
Maria !
Father! Father!
People ofGenoa! Now salute GabrieleAdorno
as your Doge.
No, Boccanegra!
He is dead.
Pray forthe peace of his soul!
Grant him peace! �