Ivan IV

In the Caucasus Women are collecting water from a spring; a stranger who has lost his way asks for help. Marie, daughter of Temrouk offers to show him the path. A second stranger, Ivan in disguise, enters and leaves with the young stranger. Russian soldiers burst in and order Temrouk to surrender his daughter to them. The king refuses, but when an officer threatens to murder the children, Marie goes with them. Igor arrives as the Circassians lament their fate, and he vows to kill the enemy. Temrouk orders that the avenger must be chosen by lot; it is Igor. A banquet in the Kremlin Boyars celebrating the victory of Ivan over the Tartars. Condemned criminals pass by begging for mercy but in vain. Ivan congratulates Yorloff, who had uncovered the conspiracy, and commands the young Bulgarian to sing of his homeland. The tsar responds with a battle song. Ivan had sought the most beautiful girl in the land to be his wife. Yorloff is confident that his own daughter will be chosen, and a group of maidens enter the hall. Ivan commands them to remove their veils, but Marie refuses. Although she is forced to do this, she refuses to become his wife. Ivan’s sister Olga passes through in a religious procession and Marie puts herself under her protection. Kremlin courtyard People sing praises on the marriage of Ivan and Marie. The cortege approaches and Igor steals on. Temrouk also enters at this moment. Yorloff reveals to Igor that he too has a grievance against Ivan and the three of them …

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