The Marquis of Calatrava lost his youngest son at an early age, and soon after, his wife. His elder son Carlo and his daughter Leonora remain. As a child, Leonora’s love of her father was equal to her love of the Virgin Mary, whom she regarded as her protector. But as she has grown up, she has become aquainted with Don Alvaro, son of a Spanish grandee and an Inca princess. Born in prison and mixed race, Alvaro has learned of persecution. The Marquis tries to prevent their burgeoning love by ensuring his home is well guarded.

ACT I: NEAR SEVILLE AT NIGHT

Don Alvaro has decided to abduct Leonora from her father’s house. Arrangements are made with the help of the servant Curra. The Marquis retires and Alvaro appears. He has agreed to Leonora’s demand that they be married before dawn. Yet Leonora hesitates. Though she loves her father, her desire for Alvaro ultimately triumphs. As they are leaving, the pair is caught by the Marquis, who insults Alvaro’s background. With difficulty, Alvaro controls himself. He assures the Marquis that his daughter’s honour is inviolate and declares he will face any consequences of their elopement. In token of readiness, he throws down his pistol, but the weapon discharges and fatally wounds the Marquis. With his dying breath, he curses his daughter as she and Alvaro flee.

ACT II

SCENE 1: A YEAR LATER – RUSTIC CELEBRATIONS IN THE VICINITY OF CÓRDOBA

Their disastrous elopement has forced Leonora and Alvaro to flee in different directions. Leonora has lost all trace of Alvaro and wanders Spain in an attempt to evade her brother Carlo, who has sworn to exact bloody vengeance. Italy is at war with Germany, and Spain is expected to support the Italians. Though the conflict’s dangers seem remote, when the people meet there is a sense of tension in the air. When Preziosilla, a smuggler with a penchant for political songs, exclaims ‘War is beautiful, long live war’, there is an ambiguity as to whether the people are mocking the situation or being seduced by its madness. Preziosilla promises to accompany the volunteers to the frontlines. Among the revellers is Carlo, who has conceled his true identity. Seized by panic when she sees him, Leonora prays to God to preserve her from her brother’s revenge. Carlo entertains the company with a sombre ballad that suggests Alvaro has returned home to Latin America.

SCENE 2: SHORTLY AFTERWARDS – THE MONASTERY CLOSE TO THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

Leonora seeks refuge at an anchorite’s cell close to a monastery. She tells her name to Padre Guardiano, the Father Superior, who begrudgingly allows her to stay. Feeling reconciled with Heaven, she believes she can forget her father’s curse. But when Padre Guardiano invites the monks to curse anyone who approaches her cell, she is plagued by anxious dreams. When her features are transfigured, however, she appears to the monks as a martyr.

INTERVAL

ACT III

SCENE 1: YEARS LATER – A MILITARY CAMP IN ITALY

Alvaro has not returned home but enlisted as a volunteer, hoping to die on the battlefield. Fate has decreed otherwise. He has risen through the ranks and is honoured as a war hero, albeit under a false name: Don Federico Herreros. He cannot forget Leonora and, believing his love to be dead, sees his life as a failure. Leonora’s brother Carlo is also using a false name, fleeing the disgrace of his family’s past. He is saved from death at a gambling den by Alvaro. Feeling a shared bond, the two men swear to fight together, unsuspecting of each other’s true identities

Alvaro is wounded in battle and requires surgery. He passes on a case of documents to Carlo, who is to burn them in the event of his death. Carlo promises his friend the Order of Calatrava for his bravery, but Alvaro reacts violently, leaving Carlo to brood; could Alvaro be his sister’s accursed lover? Discovering a portrait of Leonora, he is filled with diabolical glee as he learns Alvaro will live: Carlo will kill him and avenge his father.

SCENE 2: ANOTHER THREE MONTHS LATER

When Alvaro recovers, Carlo reveals himself and instigates a duel. Discovering Leonora may still be alive, Alvaro tries to dissuade Carlo from pursuing revenge, but Carlo is implacable: he declares that Leonora, too, will die at his hands. Barely prevented from killing one another, Alvaro resolves to abandon the war, seeking asylum in a monastery. Meanwhile, Preziosilla has arrived at the front to entertain the soldiers. Joining her are the itinerant pedlar Trabuco and the surly Fra Melitone from Our Lady of the Angels, a pastor hoping to receive alms. In this carnival atmosphere, it is hard to know who is truly a soldier.

INTERVAL

ACT IV

SCENE 1: SPAIN, MANY YEARS LATER – THE MONASTERY OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

The war, long over, has left a trail of devastation. Fra Melitone, now tasked with ladling out soup for the poor, feels no gratitude to his relative well-faring, responding to a ring of the monastery bell with ill humour. The new arrival is Carlo, who has located Alvaro after years of searching. The latter has taken the name Padre Raffaele and is living close to where Leonora had settled years prior. Still seeking revenge, Carlo provokes Alvaro with a racist remark. The two men rush to duel outside the monastery.

SCENE 2: LEONORA’S CELL

Outside Leonora’s cell, the two men fight. Carlo is fatally wounded. In his despair, Alvaro insists the dying man be given his last rites. Leonora begs the strangers to leave, but then recognises them as Alvaro and her brother. Carlo lashes out at his sister, who has longed only for death after prayers and fasting have failed to bring her peace of mind. Reconciled with God at the very moment of her death, she promises Alvaro redemption.