Music & Libretto by Michael Pratt
Act 2: a street in Torre del Lago. The street runs from stage left to stage right. Upstage are three stores side by side facing downstage. Stage left is a butcher shop, stage right is a general store and in the middle is a bakery. Each has a door which exits offstage. A raised sidewalk runs from stage left to stage right between the stores and the street. On the sidewalk between the bakery and the general store is a bench.
(Father Michelucci enters from the bakery and sits on the bench eating a roll.)
Father: The sky is overcast today. It looks like a storm approaching. We don’t need a storm from Mother Nature. Madame Puccini's storm is all we can stand for now.
(Doria enters from stage right.)
Doria: Father Michelucci, it is good to see you.
(Father rises.)
Father: Doria, how are you today. Come and sit with me a bit. I wanted to talk with you, Doria. Madame Puccini has been saying some very unkind things about you.
Doria: Father, she has been telling nothing but lies. Lies about me and lies about the Maestro. She has talked to everyone in the village. I cannot go anywhere without someone looking at me. But it is worse for the Maestro. Puccini is a great man. This village has never seen a greater man. He has not worked in months. She has dried up his inspiration. For me it does not matter but for him she must be stopped.
Father: Madame Puccini makes some very serious charges. She says with her own eyes she saw you and the Maestro in an adulterous affair. She says it has been going on for some time now. She says she is not the only witness but Ida and Beppe have also witnessed these things.
Doria: Father, you have heard me say over and over that there is no truth to any of it. Madame lies so often people are starting to believe her.
Father: Doria, I am not here to judge you or Madame Puccini. I will pray for you.
Doria: Thank you Father. Perhaps that is the only solution after all.
(Doria exits into the bakery. Father starts to exit stage left. Elvira enters stage left.)
Elvira: Father, a moment please.
Father: Madame Puccini, may I help you find a way to end this campaign of yours. The village is in such a terrible uproar.
Elvira: Indeed you can, Father. Perhaps it’s you who can end it altogether.
Father: What can I do?
Elvira: You know what an evil person Doria Manfredi is. She must be driven out of the village. She is not fit to associate with decent people. You must not fail to help me with this.
Father: Madame Puccini, you must calm yourself. You must consider what you are saying. What you are accusing. Who you are accusing.
Elvira: I know what I know. I know what I saw. In my own villa. In front of my own eyes.
Father: What have you seen? Your husband says they are innocent. You have accused them of adultery but you have no proof.
Elvira: I saw them embrace each other. Father, I am not a fool. I am not blind. They dishonor the name Puccini.
Father: Madame Puccini, you have no basis for your accusations. You must control yourself and stop this hate.
Elvira: Father, I am right. I will not rest a minute until Doria Manfredi is gone permanently.
(Elvira exits into the butcher shop. Father exits stage left. Puccini enters stage right heading for the general store. He meets Doria entering from the bakery carrying a package.)
Puccini: Doria.
(Doria begins crying, sits down on the bench and places her package on the bench beside her.)
Doria: It is more than I can bear Maestro. To hear her telling everyone that you have done this evil. Your name will be revered like Verdi. To bring dishonor to you like this...
Puccini: Doria, we have nothing at all to be ashamed of. Like you this is more than I can bear. I cannot make her stop this madness. For you this has been a living hell.
(Doria rises from the bench and leaves her package behind.)
Doria: I do not care what she says about me. But your great name must not be stained. I must prove to everyone your innocence.
Puccini: There is nothing we can do except weather out the storm.
Doria: I promise you I will do more than that. Puccini: Anything you or I do will just make matters worse. You know the truth. Soon everyone will know the truth as well.
(Doria exits stage right. Puccini heads for the general store. Tello enters stage left and stops him.)
Tello: There he is, the great man. The great man who dishonored my sister. The great man who has ruined my name.
Puccini: Tello, I swear to you again there is nothing between your sister and me. My wife is insane. Her rantings and ravings are completely without foundation.
Tello: Who do you expect to believe that. The whole village knows about you. We all know you have chased everything in skirts all your life. Where there is smoke there is fire.
Puccini: There is no fire.
Tello: You have ruined my family.
(Tello lunges towards Puccini. Puccini pushes him away.)
If I had a gun in my hand I would kill you on this very spot. You do not deserve to live. I despise you. May you rot. My sister cannot hold up her head in the village. My parents dishonored as well. We have all become outcast. You must pay for all of this.
(Tello lunges again for Puccini. Mama Manfredi enters stage left and stops him.)
Mama: Tello. Stop. Leave the Maestro alone.
(Tello stops and glares at Puccini with fists clenched.)
Tello: Do what your mother says. You will not do this. Leave the Maestro alone.
(Tello backs off and goes over by Mama Manfredi.)
Tello: Mama, he must pay for what he’s done.
Mama: That is not for you to say. I want you to go and leave the Maestro alone.
Tello: Mama...
Mama: Do what I say.
(Tello glares at Puccini and then exits stage left.)
Puccini: Thank you, Mama Manfredi.
Mama: I did not do it for you. My family has had enough suffering and misery. We do not need any more. This would only make matters worse, not better.
Puccini: Mama Manfredi, my name is an old one. I am the fourth generation of a family of musicians. We have always been a well respected family. I swear to you there is no truth to any of this.
Mama: That may be, but even so it does not matter. Madame Puccini is proving that if you repeat the lie often the lie becomes the truth. The truth does not matter.
Puccini: I am ashamed of all of this. I am sorry for you and your family. I wish I could stop it.
Mama: Maestro, can you not control your wife? Puccini: No, I am afraid it is she who is controlling all of us.
(Puccini exits into the general store. Elvira enters from the butcher shop.)
Elvira: You dare to show yourself in public. Your family should not be seen in the light of day. You should crawl along the streets at night with the other vermin.
Mama: You may be 'la donna Puccini' and I may be a simple peasant woman, but nothing on God's Earth gives you the right to speak to me like that.
Elvira: You dare to speak of rights. What right did your whore of a daughter have to take away my husband?
Mama: If you no longer have your husband, it is because you have driven him away.
Elvira: You should be begging my forgiveness. You should be crawling on your knees to me.
(Mama Manfredi spits on the ground in front of Elvira.)
I will see your whole family banished from this village. People dispose of their trash.
(Elvira exits into the bakery. Mama Manfredi sits down heavily on the bench as if stunned. Doris enters stage right.)
Doria: Mama, what is wrong? Mama: I just spoke with Madame Puccini. She is worse than ever. You should not be here. If she should see you...
(Doria picks up the package she left on the bench).
Doria: I returned for the package I left here. What lies is she telling now?
Mama: Doria... I believe everything you say, Doria. Your brother believes the lies. People are talking, people are looking. They say he has done it before, it must be true. I will tell you what I told the Maestro, Doria. The truth does not matter. People believe it, that is what matters. The lie becomes the truth. You must wait. She will stop. People will forget. Stay out of sight I believe everything you say, Doria. Everything will be all right. I must see to Tello. He may do something foolish..
(Mama Manfredi exits stage left. Doria starts to exit stage right. Elvira enters from the bakery.)
Elvira: How dare you show yourself on the street? Your mother is ashamed to be seen.
Doria: Madame Puccini, please, I am innocent.
Elvira: You must leave my husband alone.
Doria: The Maestro is innocent.
Elvira: You tart, you slut, you whore.
(Doria covers her face with her hands.)
Doria: I am none of those things.
Elvira: You have ruined my life. You dare stay here.
Doria: Why won't anyone believe me.
Elvira: You dare walk the street in broad daylight.
Doria: None of it is true.
Elvira: You should flee to the farthest end of the Earth.
Doria: Please, listen to me.
Elvira: You have ruined my husbands name. He was a respected man. People looked up to him. Now his life is ruined and it is because of you. He cannot even bring himself to work. And it is all your fault. He will never write again.
(Doria begins to run away stage right.)
Elvira: Yes, yes, you had better run away. You little whore. Sooner or later, as sure as the Madonna, I will drown you in the lake with my own hands.
(Puccini enters from the general store.)
Puccini: Elvira, leave her alone.
Elvira: Don't tell me to leave her alone. You are in no position to be telling me anything.
Doria: Maestro, please...
Elvira: You tart, you slut, you whore. You must leave and never return. You are an evil person. Why do you stay here?
Puccini: I can't stand any more of this. I haven't written a note in months. She won't listen to me at all. Somebody must do something.
Doria: She is destroying you. You must defend yourself. Something must be done to save you. The truth must be known. This is going to end today. Everyone will know the truth. There is only one thing left. Maestro, I must say good-bye.
(Doria begins crying and runs off stage right. Puccini starts after her, then stops )
Elvira: Perhaps now that she is leaving we will have some peace.
(Puccini whirls around.)
Puccini: You have gone too far. Your insanity is too much. What you have done to that poor girl is beyond belief. I will not live with you any longer.
Elvira: Do not make threats to me. You are just as much to blame for this as she is. You are more responsible than I.
Puccini: I am not the one spreading poison like a black widow spider. I am not the one spewing forth day after day until the entire village is upset.
Elvira: You are the one who is not man enough to be content with his wife. You are the one who everyone in this village has been gossiping about for years.
Puccini: Elvira, I am done with you. I am leaving for Paris tonight and I shall not return.
Elvira: I have heard this before as well. I know your threats and they mean nothing.
Puccini: You will soon realize that this time is different. I will not be back. You will never see me again. Perhaps then you will realize your cruelty.
Elvira: You make a big speech but it is all to cover up. You know I am right. You know you are wrong. You cannot change that.
Puccini: Good-bye, Elvira.
(Puccini starts to exit stage left. Father Michelucci enters stage right.)
Father: My God in heaven...
Puccini: Father Michelucci, what is it? What is wrong?
(Father looks first at Puccini and then at Elvira and then back to Puccini.)
Father: She is dead. She is dead. Puccini: Who? Who is dead?
Father: Doria Manfredi is dead. She swallowed some poison and has killed herself.
Puccini: God in heaven... Father: She left a note. It said she was innocent of everything. It also said she was pure. The doctor examined her and verified that it was true. She was telling the truth. You were telling the truth.
(They both turn and look at Elvira. She does not change her appearance and glares right back.)
Have you any concept of the harm you have caused here today?
Elvira: It is not I who have caused the harm. You must turn your gaze to see the guilty party.
Puccini: Still you insist on your way. Even now, in the face of proof positive.
(Tello and Mama Manfredi come running in from stage right.)
Mama: My Doria is dead and it’s your fault. She would not be dead except for your evil accusations.
Elvira: I spoke nothing but the truth. You cannot blame me for this. Her guilt made her do it. This is not my fault.
Mama: You are an evil woman. And you will rot in hell. My daughter has killed herself. And it is your fault.
Puccini: This tragedy is beyond belief. How could it have gone this far? Doria did not have to do it. She was not to blame.
Tello: You will pay for this. This crime must be punished. You are an evil old hag. You will not get away with it.
Father: What an innocent young girl. Her life was all before her. And now it’s over. Tragedy beyond belief.
Tello: (to Elvira) I should kill you right now for what you did to my sister. I'll make you pay for this.
(Tello lunges for Elvira. Puccini stands in between. Father restrains him.)
Father: Tello, stop. You cannot do this. Do not make a tragic day more tragic. Doria would not want you to do this.
Tello: Are you sure of that Father? Why do you think she killed herself? It was the only way to stop Madame Puccini. It was the only way to make us believe her. She is counting on us to make her pay for what she has done.
(Puccini starts to lead Elvira off stage left.)
You cannot run away. You must pay for this. This will most certainly not be the end of it. I will see to that.
(Curtain.)
