Amina, ward of the miller's wife.
Elvino, a landholder.
Rodolfo, lord of the village.
Lisa, innkeeper.
Alessio, a peasant, lover of Lisa.
Teresa, mistress of the mill.
The scene is laid in Switzerland; time, last century.
The first act of the opera opens with the preparations for the marriage
of Amina and Elvino. Lisa, the mistress of the inn, is also in love with
Elvino and jealous of Amina. On the day before the wedding, Rodolfo, the
young lord of the village, arrives to look after his estates, and puts up
at the inn, where he meets Amina. He pays her many pretty compliments,
much to the dissatisfaction of Elvino, who is inclined to quarrel with
him. After Rodolfo retires to his chamber, Amina, who is addicted to
sleep-walking, enters the room and throws herself upon the bed as if it
were her own. She is seen not only by Rodolfo, but also by Lisa, who has
been vainly seeking to captivate him. To escape the embarrassment of the
situation, Rodolfo quietly goes out; but the malicious Lisa hastens to
inform Elvino of what Amina has done, at the same time thoughtlessly
leaving her handkerchief in Rodolfo's room. Elvino rushes to the spot
with other villagers, finds Amina as Lisa had described, denounces her,
and offers himself to the latter.
In the last act Amina is seen stepping from the window of the mill in her
sleep. She crosses a frail bridge above the mill wheel, descends in
safety, and walks into Elvino's arms amid the jubilant songs of the
villagers. Elvino at last is convinced of her innocence, while the
discovery of Lisa's handkerchief in Rodolfo's room proclaims her the
faithless one.
The little pastoral story is of the simplest kind, but it is set to music
as melodious as ever has come from an Italian composer, and the rôle of
the heroine has engaged the services of nearly all the great artists of
the nineteenth century from Malibran to Patti. Its most striking melodies
are the aria "Sovra il sen" ("On my Heart your Hand do place"), in the
third scene of the first act, where Amina declares her happiness; the
aria for baritone in the sixth scene, "Vi ravviso" ("I recognize you,
Pleasant Spot"), sung by Rodolfo; the playful duet, "Mai piu dubbi"
("Away with Doubts"), in which Amina chides her lover for his jealousy;
the humorous and characteristic chorus of the villagers in the tenth
scene, "Osservate, l'uscio è aperto" ("Observe, the Door is open"), as
they tiptoe into the chamber; the duet in the next scene, "O mio dolor"
("Oh, my Sorrow"), in which Amina asserts her innocence; the aria for
tenor in the third scene of the second act, "Tutto e sciolto" ("Every Tie
is broken"), in which Elvino bemoans his hard lot; and that joyous
outburst of birdlike melody, "Ah! non giunge" ("Human Thought cannot
conceive"), which closes the opera.