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