SYNOPSIS
by MILAN PETKOVIC
The action takes place in the
vicinity of Jerusalem at the time of the First Crusade (end of 11th century). Armida, the
niece of Idraote, King of Damascus, is a pagan princess with magical powers who wishes to
prevent the Crusaders from further invading her country. She is, however, deeply in love
with the Christian knight Rinaldo, whom she rescued once when he went astray. Goffredo,
the commander-in-chef of the Christian army, declares that a tribute must be paid to the
deceased leader of the Franks, Dudon, before the Crusaders can continue their battle and
sacred mission. Eustazio, Goffredo’s brother, announces the arrival of Armida, who
has come together with a disguised Idraote to play a ruse. In order to weaken the
Christian army, she pretends that her throne, and indeed life, have been threatened by
Idraote, and asks Goffredo for ten of his best soldiers to help her protect the usurped
throne. After an initial reluctance and Eustazio’s sympathetic pleas in favor of
Armida’s request, Goffredo finally accepts. Helped by her seductiveness, feminine
charms and successful pretense, Armida wins; she and Idraote rejoice.
The successor to the deceased Dudon is to be elected shortly, and the choice falls on Rinaldo. This provokes fury of Gernando, a knight who secretly hoped that he would be chosen instead. He swears vengeance. Rinaldo meet Armida, who reproaches the knight of rejecting her love as well as of an insensitive abandonment after she had rescued him. Rinaldo provides his strong sense of duty as a Crusader as an explanation, but immediately softens at Armida’s mention of love. He is indeed in love with the beautiful princess, and finally admits it. Both express their feelings for each other and decide to leave together.
In the meantime, blind with envy and rage, Gernando openly accuses Rinaldo of cowardice and of being the conqueror of ladies’ hearts rather than of infidels. Provoked by these words, Rinaldo challenges Gernando to a duel, and ultimately kills him. Upon hearing this disturbing news from the witnessing knights, the outraged Goffredo orders Rinaldo’s arrest. Rinaldo, however, firmly refuses to submit. Armida sees the sudden turn of the events as an opportunity to be finally united with the beloved knight in her own realm, and they happily elope together.
ACT II
Demons, lead by Astarotte, come out of a black abyss and sing of
their loyalty to Armida. They praise her magic power and efforts to fight the Christians.
Astarotte announces the arrival of Armida and Rinaldo, who has completely fallen prey to
Armida’s charms. All disperse. A cloud descends to earth and melts away, revealing
Armida and Rinaldo seated a chariot drawn by two dragons. Armida transforms the chariot
into a bank of flowers and Rinaldo is almost speechless with surprise. They sing of their
happiness. Armida admits her trying to trick Goffredo, adding that it was only because she
wanted to see Rinaldo again. She subsequently transforms the dark, terrifying place into
the interior of a splendid palace full of graceful nymphs and cupids, who present garlands
of flowers to Rinaldo. Armida praise the almighty power and spell of Love. The Act
terminates with an allegoric ballet: Armida, eager to destroy the desire for glory in
Rinaldo’s heart and replace it with an even greater love for herself, conjures up a
vision of a young warrior surrounded by lovely nymphs who persistently try to seduce him.
After an initial resistance, the hero gradually succumbs to lust and pleasure, letting his
military symbols to be replaced with a crown and garlands of flowers.
ACT III
The Crusaders have sent Carlo and Ubaldo to search for Rinaldo
who, in the meantime, has been forgiven by his former leader Goffredo. Armed with a magic
baton and a script, Carlo and Ubaldo manage to penetrate the defenses of the enchanted
garden and overcome the attempts of apparitions disguised as nymphs to seduce them. They
hide at the sight of Armida and Rinaldo. The lovers are still blissfully happy and swear
eternal faithfulness. Armida leaves for a moment, and Rinaldo’s happiness is intruded
upon by the two Christian knights. They bitterly reproach Rinaldo for failure in his
Christian duty, showing him his own reflection in an polished adamantine shield. Rinaldo,
initially torn between love and honor, now fully realizes his folly. Ashamed and full of
remorse, he is now resolute to join the Crusaders and leave Armida forever. All three
leave together.
Armida, unable to find Rinaldo, sees him in the company of two Christian warriors. Suspecting that Rinaldo is abandoning her, she confronts the three knights at the exterior of her palace. However, the enchantress’ calls for pity and tearful pleas not to be abandoned are in vain. Her begging to be taken as Rinaldo’s most humble servant or esquire also falls on deaf ears. Brought back to reality and unwaveringly supported by Carlo and Ubaldo, Rinaldo is now determined to leave. However, he still feel sympathy for Armida, and hesitates; Carlo and Ubaldo are obliged to take him away by force. Armida faints.
Left totally alone and regaining conscience, Armida has visions of Love and Revenge vying for a place in her heart. After a long struggle, she finally designates Revenge as a more rewarding choice. In a pitiable rage, she orders the demons to destroy her garden and palace. They promptly obey, and Armida flies up into the sky in a chariot, while everything is engulfed by huge clouds of fire and smoke.
Torquato Tasso’s poem, however, offers a different ending. After Rinaldo’s abandonment of Armida, she swears revenge and assembles an army in hope to destroy the knight. But when the two meet again in the enchanted forest, Armida’s persistent affection renders her incapable of murder; she contemplates suicide instead. Rinaldo prevents Armida from committing her desperate act, and the two are reconciled and reunited (the implication, however, being that Armida will convert to Christianity and subsequently marry Rinaldo). Not all musical settings of the original story, as narrated by Tasso, preserve the happy end. Lully’s, Gluck’s, Haydn’s and Rossini’s operas in particular purposefully avoid the happy outcome in favor of portraying strong, conflicting emotions of the principal character and a cataclysm shown on the stage — a spectacular collapse of Armida’s palace and enchanted garden.
© Milan Petkovic, 2002