Nelson | synopsis
ACT I: The Founding of a fiery star
Scene 1: Admiral Jervis leads the English into battle with the Spanish. Disadvantaged, he sees Nelson's ship desert the line and save the day.
Scene 2: The admiralty: Jervis is promoted, Nelson also (reluctantly) promoted.
Scene 3: Sailors row ashore below Santa Cruz in darkness. They are ambushed and Nelson is shot in the arm.
Scene 4: Nelson is writing at sea, and his wife, Fanny, from home. She expresses concern for his welfare, which Nelson dismisses. Fanny laments the trials of women in war.
Scene 5: Nelson and Hardy aboard the Vanguard in the Mediterranean. A sighting of the French fleet is reported, and they decide, on a hunch, to pursue it.
Scene 6: Nelson finds the French under Admiral De Brueys, in the bay of Abu Qir, Egypt. The French fleet seems impregnable, but Nelson risks a narrow passage and routs it.
ACT 2: In a charring world, the small and innocent are first to burn
Scene 1: Sir William and Lady Emma Hamilton discuss Nelson's arrival in Naples. Emma flatters Nelson on being introduced. Hamilton insists they leave at once as a French invasion force nears.
Scene 2: Shipboard, they are escaping from Naples. Emma sings to a dying child in a storm and Nelson, who watches at a distance runs on and passionately kisses her.
Scene 3: Nelson, Emma and Hamilton play cards aboard ship. Hamilton leaves and Emma and Nelson flirt before declaring their love.
Scene 4: London: Fanny accuses Nelson of impropriety, and they argue. They are interrupted by a visit from the Hamiltons. Nelson treats Fanny with disdain. Emma is ill and Fanny realises that Emma is pregnant by Nelson.
Scene 5: Nelson wanders at night and sits on the steps of St.Paul's. He considers his actions and refuses to accept guilt.
Scene 6: The admiralty: Nelson's private life is causing scandal. Naples has been liberated from the French, and Nelson is dispatched to secure it.
Scene 7: Aboard ship, Nelson has revoked an amnesty for French sympathisers. Hamilton is appalled as executions begin. The chorus declares that Nelson's name now signifies vanity and death.
ACT 3: Then, at the end, I'd have begun again
Scene 1: Nelson at sea waiting for the French. Emma at home in London. They write of their time together and the pain of separation.
Scene 2: The main French fleet has broken the British blockade. A feverish Nelson insists on a chase, despite Hardy's advice.
Scene 3: The admiralty : Nelson has disobeyed orders in chasing the French fleet but can't be hanged given his public popularity.
Scene 4: Battle of Trafalgar: In a moment removed from battle, Nelson and Emma foresee his death and its consequences. A French sniper shoots Nelson.
Scene 5: Nelson below deck in the surgery. He is told of the famous victory, declines repentance and asks to be buried on land.
END OPERA