Death in Venice

Scene 1: Munich Aschenbach, a famous German novelist, is weary and opens the opera bemoaning the fading of his artistic inspiration. As he walks through the suburbs of Munich, he stops before the entrance to a cemetery. He catches sight of a traveller ("from beyond the Alps by his looks") and, musing on the strange and exotic nature of foreign lands, is impulsively moved to travel south in the hope of refreshing his artistic imagination. Scene 2: On the Boat to Venice He takes a boat to Venice, sharing his passage with a group of libidinous youths and their leader, the Elderly Fop. Aschenbach's discovery that the fop is not young, but old and made-up ("How can they bear that counterfeit; that young-old horror. A wretched lot, a wretched boat") repulses him, and he arrives in Venice dispirited. Overture: Venice Scene 3: The Journey to the Lido Aschenbach contemplates his arrival by gondola into the city ("What lies in wait for me here, Ambiguous Venice, Where water is married to stone, And passion confuses the senses?"). He intends to go to the Schiavone, but is taken towards the Lido by the Old Gondolier, who mutters that "Nobody shall bid me; I go where I choose; I go my own way". A brief argument as to their destination ensues, but the novelist soon capitulates and is taken to the Lido. Scene 4: The First Evening at the Hotel Aschenbach is greeted by the Hotel Manager, who shows him his room with ingratiating volubility. As the other guests assemble for dinner, Aschenbach w…

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