Monna Vanna, 1902 r.

Monna Vanna, 1902 r. - Maurycy Maeterlinck

Monna Vanna, by Maurice Maeterlinck (1902). At the end of the fifteenth century, when the play opens, Pisa is besieged by the Florentine armies led by Prinzivalle, a hired mercenary. Guido, the governor, has sent his aged father to the enemy’s camp to ask the terms of capitulation. Marco, the father, returns with the message that Prinzivalle, already betrayed by the Florentines, is in turn, ready to betray his masters, and to send ammunition, wagons of provisions, and herds of cattle to the starving Pisans on one condition. The condition is that the beautiful Monna Vanna, wife of the governor, shall come for one night to his tent, alone, clad only in her mantle. Monna Vanna, to save the doomed city, accepts the condition, in spite of her husband’s prohibition of the sacrifice. Prinzivalle, unknown to Monna Vanna, had known and loved her years before, and when she comes to his tent, he reveals himself to her and proves the nobility of his love by his respect for her. Their conversation is interrupted by the news of the arrival of the Florentines who will proclaim Prinzivalle a traitor. She urges him to return with her and take refuge in Pisa.