"Poor Buoso." "Poor cousin." "Poor uncle." "O, Buoso." "Buoso." "O, brother-in-law." "O, bro..." "I'll weep for days and days." "Days'?" "For months!" "Months?" "For years and years!" "I'll mourn you my whole life." "Poor Buoso." "Take him away, Gherardo." "O, Buoso, Buoso, all our lives we shall mourn your passing." "We shall mourn..." "We shall mourn." "Buoso, Buoso." "...all our lives." "What?" "Really?" "That's what they say in Sigma." "What do they say in Sigma'?" "They say that..." "What'?" "That's what they say in Sigma." "What do they say in Sigma'?" "They say that..." "No." "Marco, do you hear what they say in Sigma'?" "They say that..." "Well, may we all know..." "That's what they say in Sigma." "...what the devil do they say in Sigma'?" "There are rumours, bits of gossip." "They were saying yesterday evening round at Cisti the baker's:" ""if Buoso dies, it will be manna for the monks."" ""They'll be saying, 'Belly, it's time to feast."'" "And someone else said: "Yes, yes, yes, in his will he's left everything to a monastery."" "What'?" "Who says so'?" "That's what they say in Sigma." "Is that what they say in Sigma'?" "That's what they say in Sigha." "O, Simone'?" "Simone." "Say something." "You're the eldest." "You've also been mayor of Fucecchio." "What do you think'?" "What do you think'?" "If the will is in the hands of a lawyer, perhaps we'll be unlucky." "But if he has left it in this room, unlucky monks, but hope for us." "Unlucky monks, but hope for us." "O, Laurette, my love, let's put our hopes on my uncle's will." "No, it's not it." "No, it isn't there." "No, it isn't there." "Where can it be'?" "We're saved!" "We're saved!" "Buoso Donati's will." "Aunt, I'm the one who found it." "In return, tell me if uncle, poor uncle, has left me well-off, if we'll all be rich soon." "On a happy day like this, would you consent to my marrying" "Lauretta, Schicchi's daughter?" "My inheritance will seem sweeter if I can marry her on May Day." "O, yes." "There's time to discuss it later." "I could marry her on May Day." "Quick, give us the will." "Can't you see that we're all on edge'?" "Aunt." "If everything goes as we hope it will, marry who you like, even the devil's daughter." "O, uncle loved me very much, he's sure to have left me with my pockets full." "Run over to Gianni Schicchi's and tell him to come here with Lauretta:" "Buosds nephew Rinuccio is expecting him." "Here are two popolinos." "Buy yourself some sweets." ""To my cousins Zita and Simone."" "Poor Buoso." "You must have all the candles." "They must burn right down to the base." "Yes, enjoy them, enjoy them." "Poor Buoso." "If only he'd left me this house." " And the mills at Sigma." " And the mule." " If only he'd left me the mule and the mills." " The mills of Sigma." "Quiet." "It's open." "So it was true!" "We shall see the monks grow fat at the Donati's expense." "All those lovely florins he saved up finishing in the monk's habits." "Robbing all of us of a living, and letting the monks wallow in plenty." "I shall have to limit my drinking at Sigma, while the monks drink the fruit of the vine." "They'll have to keep letting out their robes." "We'll burst with rage and they'll burst with goodies." "My happiness will be stolen b y the holy works of Santa Reparata." "Open the monastery pantries!" "Be happy, brothers, and sharpen your teeth!" "Here you are - the first fruits from the market." "Lick your lips!" "Here, poor brothers, plump thrushes." "Meaty quails." "Larks." " Ortolans." " Warblers." " Meaty quails." "Fatted geese." " Ortolans." " And cockerels." " Cockerels." "The youngest cockerels." "The tenderest young cockerels." "And with your rosy, well-fed faces, laugh at us:" "Larks and cockerels." "There's a Donati." "Who would ever have said that when Buoso went to the grave we would be weeping in earnest!" "And is there no way..." "She would cry for real." "...to get round it'?" "... To change '?" ""To turn it '?" "...soften it'?" "O, Simone, Simone'?" "You're the eldest." "And you've also been mayor of Fucecchio." "There is only one person who can advise us, perhaps save us." "Who'?" "Gianni Schicchi." "I don't want Gianni Schicchi and his daughter mentioned again." "Do you understand'?" "He's coming now." "Who'?" "Gianni Schicchi." "Who called him'?" "I sent for him because I was hoping..." "This is a fine time to have Gianni Schicchi under our feet." "You should only obey your father." "Imagine a Donati marrying the daughter of a peasant!" "Someone who's come up to Florence from the country!" "Imagine being related to newcomers." "I will not have him here." "I won't." "You're mistaken." "He's crafty, astute." "He knows everything about the traps in the law and the codex." "A wag!" "A joker!" "Is there some new, rare practical joke going round'?" "It's Gianni Schicchi who set it up." "Shrewd eyes light up his funny face with laughter, and his huge nose throws a shadow just like an old ruined tower." "He's from the country'?" "good" "So what'?" "Enough of this petty, small-minded prejudice." "Florence is like a tree in flower, whose trunk and branches are found in the Piazza dei Signori, but its roots bring new strength in from the fresh, fruitful valleys." "Florence grows and solid palaces and slender towers rise up to the stars." "Before the Arno runs to the sea, singing, it kisses the Piazza Santa Croce, and its song is so sweet and resonant that the streams join it in chorus." "And so artists and scientists have joined to make Florence richer and more splendid." "And from the castles of Val d'Elsa welcome Arnolfo, come down to build his beautiful tower." "And welcome Giotto from leafy Mugel, and Medici, the valiant merchant." "Enough of narrow-minded malice and spite!" "Long live the newcomers and Gianni Schicchi!" "It's him." "What expressions of dismay and sorrow..." " Lauretta." " Rino." "...Buoso Donati must have got better." "My love." "Why so pale'?" "Alas, my uncle..." "Tell me." "My love, my love, it's so sad." "So sad." "He's gone'?" "So why are they crying'?" "They're better at acting than a wandering minstrel." "O, I can understand your grief at such a loss." "I'm deeply sorry" "The loss really has been great." "O, these things..." "But, what can you do'?" "In this world you lose one thing, you find another, you lose Buoso, but there's the inheritance!" "Exactly!" "For the monks." "Ah, disinherited'?" "Disinherited." "Yes, yes, disinherited." "And that's why I'm saying:" "take your daughter and go." "I'm not giving my nephew to a girl without a dowry." " Aunt, I love her." " Father, I want him." "Daughter, have some pride." "Well done, old woman, well done." "For a dowry you'd sacrifice my daughter and your nephew." "Well done, old woman, well done." "Old skinflint!" "Miser!" "Mean, tight-fisted, stingy!" "And he insults me!" "Without a dowry, I won't give my nephew away, I won't give my nephew away." "O, come on, come on." "Have some pride, come on, come on." "No, no!" "Come!" "goodbye - come, Laurette, Vieni" "Farewell to our bright hopes," "She wipes her eyes." "It would be a kindred of beggars." "every last ray has died." "We won't be able to marry." "on May Day." " Daddy, I want it" " A bit of pride" "Think of the will." "Tight-fisted old woman!" "Think of the will." "Come away from here." " Come." " No." "Signor Giovanni, stay for a moment." "Instead of shouting, give him the will." "Try to save us." "You can't be lost for some marvellous idea, a discovery," "To you can not miss wonderful idea, an invention, a solution, a way out, a resource!" "For these people'?" "Nothing, nothing, nothing." "O, dear Daddy," "I like him." "He's handsome, he's handsome." "I want to go to Porta Rossa to buy the ring." "Yes, yes, I want to go there." "And if it's useless to love him," "I'll go to the Ponte Vecchio and throw myself into the Arno." "I am pining, lam tortured." "O, God," "I could die." "Daddy, have pity, have pity." "Daddy, have pity, have pity." "Give me the will." "Nothing to be done." "Farewell to our bright hopes, our sweet mirage." "We won't be able to marry on May Day." "Nothing to be done." "Farewell to our bright hopes, every last ray has died." "However..." "Perhaps we shall be able to marry on May Day." "Well'?" "Laurettina, go out on to the terrace." "Take some nice crumbs to the little bird." "On your own." "No one knows that Buoso has breathed his last'?" "No one." "Good." "No one must know yet." "No one will find out." "And the servants'?" "Since he grew worse no one has been in the room." "You two take the corpse and the candlesticks into that room opposite." "Women, make up the bed." "But..." "Quiet." "Do as I tell you." "Who can that be'?" "Master Spinelloccio, the doctor." "Don't let him in." "Tell him something that Buoso is better and that he's resting." "May I'?" "Good morning, Master Spinelloccio." "He's better." "Has there been some improvement'?" "Yes, indeed." "What power science has risen to." "Well, let's have a look, let's have a look." "No, he's resting." "But I..." "He's resting." "No, Master Spinelloccio." "O, Master Buoso." "I'd so like to rest." "Could you come back this evening'?" "I'm almost asleep." "Yes, Master Buoso." "But are you better?" "I've come back to life." "Till this evening." "Till this evening." "Even from his voice I can tell he's better." "No patient has ever died on me." "I don't make any claims." "The credit all belongs to the school of Bologna." "Till this evening, Doctor." "Till this evening." "Was my voice like his'?" "Exactly the same." "O, victory, victory!" "Don't you understand'?" "No." "What blackheads." "You run to the notary's:" ""Master notary, quick!"" ""Come over to Buoso Donati's." "He's grown much worse."" ""He wants to make his will."" ""Bring the papers along with you." "Quickly, master, or it will be too late."" "And the notary arrives." "He comes in." "The room is half in darkness." "In the bed, the figure of Buoso can be made out." "On his head is the nightcap," "round his mouth, the handkerchief." "Between cap and handkerchief is a nose which looks like Buoso's but instead is mine, because in place of Buoso there am I." "I, Schicchi, with another voice, another shape, pretending to be Buoso Donati," "giving instructions and making a will." "O, people, this mad conception, springing from my imagination is enough to defy eternity." "Schicchi, Schicchi, Schicchi." " Go, run to the notary's." " I'll run to the notary's." " Dear Gherardo, Marco, Zita, Ciesca..." " O, such emotion." "Family affection is beautiful." "O, Gianni, let's have a think now about how to divide things." "The money in cash'?" "In equal parts." "I'll have the holdings at Fucecchio." "I'll have those at Figline." "I'll have those at Prato." "We'll take the properties at Empoli." " I'll have those at Quintole." " I'll have those at Prato." "...at Fucecchio." "That would still leave the mule, this house and the mills at Signa." "They're the best things." "I understand, I understand." "Because I am the oldest and have been mayor of Fucecchio, you want to give them to me." "I thank you." "No, no, no, no." "Just a moment." "If you're old, that's your concern." "That's your concern." "Listen to him, the mayor!" "Listen to him." "Family affection is long-lasting." "They've found out." "They've found out that Buoso has croaked." "The game is up." "Daddy, what should I do'?" " The little bird doesn't want any more crumbs." " Give him something to drink now." "The Captain's baptised Moor has had an accident." "Rest in peace." "As for the house, the mule and the mills," "I suggest we leave them to Schicchi's honesty and sense of justice." "We'll leave it up to Schicchi." "As you wish." "Give me the things to get dressed." "Quickly, quickly." "Here is the nightcap." "If you leave me the mule, this house and the mills at Signa, I'll give you thirty florins." "Very well." "If you leave me the house, the mule and the mills, I'll give you a hundred florins." "Very well." "Gianni, if you leave me this house, the mule and the mills at Sigma," " I'll gorge you with money." " Very well." "Here's the handkerchief." "If you leave us the mule, the mills at Signa and this house, you'll choke with florins." "Very well." "And here's the nightshirt." "If you'll leave us the mule, the mills at Signa and this house, you'll have a thousand florins." "Hurry up, baby b0)', you have to go to bed." "If the game goes well, we'll give you a sweet." "The egg becomes the chicken, the flower becomes a fruit," "the friars eat up everything, but as a monk grows poor, Ciesca grows rich." " And kind Gianni..." " ..changes his clothes to help us." " He changes expression..." " ..his face and his nose to help us." " He changes his voice..." " ..and the will to help us." " I'll give you the help you deserve!" " That's lovely." " I'll make you happy!" " Exactly so." "O, Gianni, Gianni, our saviour." "O, Gianni Schicchi, our saviour." " O, Schicchi." " O, Schicchi." "O, Gianni Schicchi, our saviour." " Is the resemblance exact?" " Perfect." "Off to bed." "A warning first." "Ladies and gentlemen, be careful." "Do you know the decree'?" ""Whoever impersonates another with regard to wills and bequests, both he and his accomplices will have one hand chopped off and then be exiled."" "Bear that in mind." "If we were caught:" "do you see Florence'?" "Farewell, Florence, farewell, heavenly skies," "I bid you adieu with this stump, and go wandering off like a Ghibelline." "Farewell, Florence, farewell, heavenly skies," "I bid you adieu with this stump, and go wandering off like a Ghibelline." "Here's the notary." "Master Buoso, good morning." "O, are you here'?" "Thank you, Master Amantio." "O, Pinellino the shoemaker, thank you." "Thank you, Guccio, the dyer, it's too kind, too kind of you to come and be witnesses for me." "Poor Buoso, I've always made his shoes, and to see him in this state makes me cry." "I would like to have written the will in my own hand, but paralysis prevents me." "That's why I wanted a notary, serious and honest." "O, Master Buoso, thank you." "Then you're suffering from paralysis?" "Poor Buoso." "O, poor man." "Enough." "The witnesses have seen it, testes viderunt." "We may begin." " But... your relatives'?" " Let them stay." "Then I'll begin." "In the name of God, in the year of Our Lord Jesus Christ, since His healing incarnation the one thousand two hundred and ninety-ninth on the first day of September, the eleventh indiction." "I, Amantio di Nicolao, notary, citizen of Florence, at the request of Buoso Donati, write this will." "Annulling, revoking and invalidating all previous wills." "What foresight." "One preliminary:" "tell me, your funeral - may it be far off - do you want it splendid, ornate, expensive'?" "No, no, no, not expensive." "No more than two florins should be spent." "O, such modesty." " What a heart." " It does him honour." "I leave to the minor order of brothers and to the holy works of Santa Reparata... five lire." "Well done." "One must always be charitable." "Don't you think that's rather little'?" "When someone dies and leaves a large amount to religious orders and monasteries, it makes those who live on say:" ""That was stolen money."" "What principles." "What a mind." "What wisdom." "What clarity." "The money in cash I leave in equal shares to each of my relatives." "O, thank you, uncle." " Thank you, cousin." " Thank you, brother-in-law." "To Simone, I leave the property at Fucecchio." " Thank you." " To Zita the holdings at Figline." "Thank you, thank you." " To Betto, the land at Prato." " Thank you, brother-in-law." "To Nella and Gherardo, the property at Empoli." "Thank you, thank you." "To Ciesca and Marco, the property at Quintole." "Now we're at the mule, the house and the mills." "I leave my mule, the one that cost three hundred florins, and is the best mule in Tuscany, to my devoted friend" "Gianni Schicchi." "What'?" "What's that'?" "He leaves the mule to his devoted friend Gianni Schicchi." "But..." "What do you expect Gianni Schicchi will want with that mule'?" "Keep calm, Simone, I know what Gianni Schicchi wants." "Ah, the scoundrel, the scoundrel." "I leave the house in Florence to my dear, devoted and affectionate friend," "Gianni Schicchi." "Ah, that's enough, that's enough." "Damn that scoundrel, Gianni Schicchi." " We protest." " Farewell, Florence, farewell, heavenly skies." "I bid you goodbye." "The wishes of the man making his will should not be impeded." "Master Amantio, I make my bequests to whom I please." "I have decided on my will and it shall be done." "If they scream, I'll stay calm and sing to myself." " O, what a man." " What a man." "And the mills at Sigma..." "The mills at Sigma'?" "The mills at Signa - farewell, Florence " "I leave to my dear - farewell, heavenly skies - affectionate friend, Gianni Schicchi." "And I bid you goodbye with this stump!" "There, it's done." "Zita, give twenty florins from your purse to the witnesses, and a hundred to the good notary." "Thank you, Master Buoso." "No farewells." "On your way, on your way." "Let's be brave." "O, what a man, what a man." "What a man, what a loss." "What a shame." "What a loss." "Courage." "Courage." "Thief." "Thief." "I'll run you out of my house!" "It's my house!" "Pillage!" "Out!" "Out!" "Out!" "It's my house!" "My Laurette, we shall always stay here." "Look, Florence is golden, Fiesole is beautiful." "That's where you vowed your love to me." "I asked you for a kiss." "My first kiss." "Pale and quivering, you turned your face." "Florence in the distance seemed like paradise to us." "Tell me, ladies and gentlemen, if Buosds money could have had a better end than this." "For this prank, they have sent me to hell, and so be it." "But, with the permission of the great old man Dante, if you've been entertained this evening, allow me... extenuating circumstances."