SCENE II
 
 
Cecilio and Cinna.
 
 
Recitative
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Dost thou perchance believe, my friend,
 
 
that Celia knows how to calm a heart
 
 
hardened by gory conflicts? And from time to time
 
 
madly possessed by unjust wrath,
 
 
doth cause the Tiber to flow red with Roman blood?
 
 
Cinna
 
 
I know the power that Celia doth wield
 
 
over that turbulent spirit. And Giunia, too,
 
 
perchance may calm him
 
 
with her tears…
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
To what bitter abuse
 
 
doth my bride
 
 
so futilely expose herself! An evil-doer
 
 
is not so swift to change. To forsake
 
 
the path of crime
 
 
that it hath long been his custom to tread
 
 
would require the whole might of a god.
 
 
Ah, nay. No pity nor hope
 
 
are left to me. Into thy care, friend,
 
 
do I place my afflicted bride.
 
 
Let friendship guard and protect her.
 
 
May she never be the victim of my foe!
 
 
Avenge my death with his blood,
 
 
then shall my wrathful soul
 
 
find rest in the realm of the dead.
 
 
Cinna
 
 
Let all thought of death
 
 
depart from thee. If Silla's heart
 
 
against all duty and reason insists
 
 
on its own destruction,
 
 
the godless one in his dark peril
 
 
must indeed blench and quake.
 
 
No. 20 Aria
 
 
Cinna
 
     
 
    When angry Jove shoots forth fits lightnings,
 
 
cold fear grips
 
 
the hearts of the rash,
 
 
but in the laurel's shade
 
 
no fear plagues the shepherd.
 
     
 
    Tyrants do well to fear
 
 
devastation and chains,
 
 
in face of death only he can smile
 
 
who is innocent of heart.
 
 
(Exit.)
 
 
SCENE III
 
 
Cecilio, then Giunia.
 
 
Recitative
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Ah no, of irrevocable fate
 
 
I am unafraid. In these unjust chains
 
 
I weep and sigh
 
 
not for my death, but for my dearest.
 
 
Giunia
 
 
Sweetest husband!…
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Oh stars,
 
 
art thou here?
 
 
Giunia
 
 
The way to this scene of terror
 
 
my faith, my tears, our love
 
 
hath shown me.
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
And Silla… Ah, speak! And Silla…
 
 
Giunia
 
 
The vile one doth grant… Oh God!
 
 
He doth grant that I may bid thee… a last… farewell.
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
For us then
 
 
no pity, no hope?
 
 
Giunia
 
 
I have only come to die at your side.
 
 
What have I not thus far attempted? Tears, laments,
 
 
sighs, torments, pleading
 
 
avail naught
 
 
in this inhuman heart
 
 
that doth demand thy death or my hand.
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Thy hand shall be
 
 
the price for my life? And how, Giunia,
 
 
wilt thou decide thee?
 
 
Giunia
 
 
At thy side will I die.
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Thine own lovely life
 
 
wouldst thou end for me?…
 
 
Giunia
 
 
I must and will
 
 
die with thee.
 
 
To this step, o dear one,
 
 
do wifely love and daughterly duty oblige me.
 
 
SCENE IV
 
 
Aufidio with guards; the aforementioned.
 
 
Recitative
 
 
Aufidio
 
 
Soon must thou, Cecilio,
 
 
follow my steps.
 
 
Giunia
 
 
Perhaps… to death?…
 
 
Speak… Tell me…
 
 
Aufidio
 
 
I know not.
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Let us take a last embrace,
 
 
come, my precious one…
 
 
Giunia
 
 
(To Aufidio.)
 
 
Answer… Oh heaven!
 
 
Aufidio
 
 
I do ever obey and keep silent.
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Let us not lose
 
 
the fleeting moment, my life,
 
 
that fate hath bestowed upon us. I go, I leave thee.
 
 
Receive in thy tender embrace,
 
 
my soul, all of me.
 
 
Giunia
 
 
Oh beloved bridegroom… Oh gods!
 
 
If torment can kill,
 
 
why do I not die, now, close to thee?
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
O my dearest, that weeping,
 
 
thou knowest not how within my breast… Alas! Let it suffice thee…
 
 
yes, let it suffice thee to know that in this hour
 
 
thy tears grieve me more
 
 
than the tyrannous death that awaits me.
 
 
No. 21 Aria
 
 
Cecilio
 
     
 
    Beloved eyes,
 
 
weep not,
 
 
ye cause me to die
 
 
before I am dead.
 
     
 
    This faithful soul
 
 
will return,
 
 
hovering around you,
 
 
distilled into sighs.
 
 
(Exit with Aufidio and guards.)
 
 
SCENE V
 
 
Giunia alone.
 
 
Accompanied Recitative
 
 
Giunia
 
 
My betrothed… my life… Whither, ah…
 
 
whither away?
 
 
May I not follow thee? And who restrains
 
 
my steps?… Who can bid me?… But all around
 
 
in my misery I perceive naught
 
 
but silence and dread! Heaven itself
 
 
heeds me no more and forsakes me. Alas, maybe,
 
 
maybe my dearest
 
 
from his severed veins
 
 
already pours his soul and blood…
 
 
Alas, before he expires,
 
 
bowed over his bleeding body
 
 
I wish to die… Why do I tarry?
 
 
Bereft of hope, wherefore do I delay?
 
 
Do I hear, or seem I but to catch
 
 
the dull sound of a feeble voice,
 
 
summoning me to itself? Ah, my betrothed,
 
 
if these are the last broken sounds
 
 
of thy voice,
 
 
I hasten, I fly to fall where thou hast fallen.
 
 
No. 22 Aria
 
 
Giunia
 
     
 
    Hedged about by gloomy thoughts of death
 
 
I see in fancy my lifeless spouse;
 
 
with ice-cold hand he shows me
 
 
the fresh, gory wound.
 
 
He speaks: "Why dost thou hesitate to die"?
 
     
 
    Already I falter, faint and die,
 
 
and speed toward my adored dead bridegroom,
 
 
like some faithful shade I desire to follow him.
 
 
(Exit.)
 
 

Hall.
 
 
SCENE VI
 
 
Silla, Cinna, Celia, senators, people and guards.
 
 
Recitative
 
 
Silla
 
 
No longer, Celia, Cinna. Rome and Senate
 
 
shall ye be judges
 
 
of my righteousness and the crimes of others.
 
 
Cinna
 
 
Cecilio's life can,
 
 
more than thou wouldst have it,
 
 
be of use to thee.
 
 
Celia
 
 
Thy life…
 
 
distraught Giunia…
 
 
her consort mourned for dead and to her arms restored…
 
 
Silla
 
 
I know that ever more do I become the object of common hatred.
 
 
But a betrayed dictator
 
 
will have revenge, and he shall have it. Weary am I
 
 
of constant dread and trembling. A life
 
 
of agitation and uncertainty is,
 
 
in barbaric fear,
 
 
a life at any moment to be ended.
 
 
Celia
 
 
In vain dost thou hope, if thou hopest
 
 
in sinister and bloody devastation
 
 
thou wouldst find rest and certainty.
 
 
Cinna
 
 
The raving Giunia
 
 
wilt thou see
 
 
fill the streets
 
 
with her laments and tears.
 
 
These eyes in tears
 
 
can in the bosom of thy foe arouse…
 
 
Silla
 
 
Better than thou dost think do I perceive the danger.
 
 
Love, glory, vengeance,
 
 
wrath and fear do I feel
 
 
assail my heart. Each would
 
 
prevail. Love doth caress.
 
 
It scorneth my glory. Wrath enflames me
 
 
and cold fear hath me in icy grasp.
 
 
Vengeance impels me and threatens me.
 
 
The prey of wild sensations
 
 
and ready for defence,
 
 
is Silla's heart the victor or the vanquished?
 
 
But at the last 'its the noble deed
 
 
that doth decide whether I do merit
 
 
the laurels of glory
 
 
that o'ershadow my brow.
 
 
Rome and the world shall be my judge.
 
 
SCENE VII
 
 
Giunia with guards; the aforementioned.
 
 
Recitative
 
 
Giunia
 
 
Cowardly spirit. What dost thou require of Giunia?
 
 
What wilt thou? A wretched traitor
 
 
do Rome and the Senate suffer
 
 
with such dullness and apathy?
 
 
Patricians and senators,
 
 
of you do I request vengeance and pity. Pity doth
 
 
the unhappy bride entreat, and revenge will she have
 
 
for the departed shade of a Roman and for her husband
 
 
who still lies in his own blood.
 
 
Silla
 
 
Calm thy rage. Dry thy lovely lashes.
 
 
Useless are the tears
 
 
and futile the rage. Before the face of Rome
 
 
will I have thee as witness of my crimes and cruelty.
 
 
In this place wilt thou soon acquaint
 
 
thyself with Silla's heart.
 
 
FINAL SCENE
 
 
Cecilio, Aufidio, guards and the aforementioned.
 
 
Recitative
 
 
Giunia
 
 
(My betrothed?)
 
 
Cinna
 
 
(What do I see?)
 
 
Celia
 
 
(What is the secret?)
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
(What is that?)
 
 
Silla
 
 
Let all Rome, the Senate
 
 
and the people hear me. I bring before you
 
 
an banished citizen
 
 
who dared secretly to break the Law.
 
 
He it is, who, armed with a sword,
 
 
before my guards did try at the Capitol
 
 
to murder his ruler.
 
 
He seeks no pardon, indeed fears me not,
 
 
he maligns and hates me. This now is the moment
 
 
that decides his fate. Silla here asserts
 
 
the power that Rome
 
 
invests in him. Giunia shall hear me
 
 
and insult me if she can. This vile Silla,
 
 
proud tyrant, hated by all,
 
 
decrees that Cecilio shall live and be thy husband.
 
 
(He presents him to Giunia.)
 
 
Giunia
 
 
It were true?… My life…
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Faithful bride… what joy…
 
 
what a transformation is this?
 
 
Aufidio
 
 
(What did occur?)
 
 
Celia
 
 
(The gods be praised!)
 
 
Cinna
 
 
(I stand here full of wonder.)
 
 
Silla
 
 
Patricians and senators. I desire of you now
 
 
that all whose names here stand written –
 
 
(He presents the scheet to a senator.)
 
 
here are contained the names
 
 
of banished citizens –
 
 
may now return to native hearth.
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
Oh, how worthy, now, thou art
 
 
of this high splendour that doth surround thee.
 
 
Giunia
 
 
At last dost thou see me compelled thee to admire.
 
 
Aufidio
 
 
(Alas, certain ruin
 
 
do I see before me.)
 
 
Silla
 
 
Amid
 
 
the general jubilation and so much praise
 
 
sincerely given to Silla from every lip,
 
 
why is Cinna only from me parted,
 
 
sighs and is silent,
 
 
lost in gloomy thought?
 
 
(He wants to embrace him.)
 
 
Faithful friend…
 
 
Cinna
 
 
Oh, cease
 
 
to call me so. You shall know that all the time
 
 
I have concealed the fiercest hatred toward you
 
 
in my breast. Through my labours
 
 
did Cecilio return to Rome. I ran to the Capitol
 
 
to pierce thee through, and armed, not far away,
 
 
a hundred valiant men,
 
 
I alone incited discord,
 
 
was the danger for thee…
 
 
Silla
 
 
Thou hast spoken enough, and all have I comprehended.
 
 
Celia
 
 
(Sweet hope farewell.)
 
 
Silla
 
 
Now dost thou perceive the punishment
 
 
of secret conspiracy:
 
 
Celia, my sister, shall be thy wife.
 
 
Giunia
 
 
(What virtue!)
 
 
Cecilio
 
 
(What a magnanimous heart!)
 
 
Cinna
 
 
Oh righteous heaven, how shameful
 
 
blushes burn my face.
 
 
How can I…
 
 
Silla
 
 
Thy tortures of conscience do suffice me. I forget all.
 
 
Celia
 
 
(How happy am I!)
 
 
(To Cinna.)
 
 
Reward at last
 
 
my constant love! Prove yourself
 
 
worthy of the grace and of the virtue
 
 
and compassion of his manly heart…
 
 
Cinna
 
 
Here is my hand.
 
 
Silla
 
 
Which of my victories
 
 
can compare to this, o eternal gods?
 
 
Aufidio
 
 
Let me at thy feet
 
 
entreat pardon of thee. My counsel,
 
 
the flattering praise
 
 
now do I rue…
 
 
Silla
 
 
Rise, Aufidio! I forgive thee.
 
 
Thus do I crown
 
 
my laudable work. Romans, friends!
 
 
From my head I now remove
 
 
the victorious and honourable laurel wreath:
 
 
No longer am I your ruler, I am become as you.
 
 
(He removes the laurel wreath.)
 
 
Herewith be freedom given
 
 
to our native land. May the people's tears
 
 
be dried. No. Greatness
 
 
is not the highest treasure. It is the mother
 
 
of care, fear,
 
 
deception, betrayal. It often leads
 
 
the blind mortal away from the path
 
 
of mercy and justice.
 
 
I know now
 
 
that innocence and a virtuous heart
 
 
are to the soul more welcome
 
 
than false glory.
 
 
No. 23 Finale with Chorus [Ciaccona]
 
 
Chorus
 
     
 
    Great Silla, before the face of Rome,
 
 
which owes him life and breath,
 
 
stands today as victor
 
 
beyond all praise and fame.
 
 
Giunia and Cecilio
 
     
 
    The fate, bitter for him,
 
 
is bliss for me.
 
 
Cinna and Silla
 
     
 
    And Latium's liberty
 
 
snaps its chains.
 
 
Chorus
 
     
 
    Great Silla stands today
 
 
high above all praise.
 
 
Giunia, Cecilio, [Celia], Cinna, Silla, [Aufidio]
 
     
 
    Virtue and mercy
 
 
have triumphed over a base love.
 
 
Silla [and Aufidio]
 
     
 
    There is no triumph to equal
 
 
the victory over one's own heart.
 
 
Chorus
 
     
 
    Upon the Capitol
 
 
all Rome merrily exults and is jubilant for Silla,
 
 
high above all fame and praise
 
 
he stands today as conqueror.
 
 
End of the opera.