Out of the Wings

El caballero de Olmedo (c.1620), Lope de Vega Carpio

The Gentleman from Olmedo : From ACT THREE, Johnston's 'The Gentleman from Olmedo'

The Gentleman from Olmedo (1992), translated by David Johnston

From ACT THREE, Johnston's 'The Gentleman from Olmedo'

Context:

This is near the end of the play. After his victorious but exhausting performance in the bullfight, Alonso travels home to Olmedo to inform his parents of his safety and the honours he has received. Just before this scene, he stops by Inés’s balcony to say goodbye, and in his poetic description of his feelings he reveals his growing fear of his impending death. As he leaves he sees a ghostly figure who claims to be ‘Don Alonso’ but when he challenges the spectre, it disappears. Alonso continues on his journey, but in the next moment, he encounters Inés’s betrothed, Rodrigo, who is murderously jealous of Alonso and has planned to eliminate his rival.

Further information:

Translation sample from the version by David Johnston produced at the Watermill in 2004 (performance script)

Sample text

RODRIGO and FERNANDO appear.
RODRIGO:: Tonight will put an end to it.
FERNANDO:: You won’t turn back?
RODRIGO:: It’s too late now.
can make amends for their deceit.
I heard his stupid lackey laughing
with one of the serving girls.
He has dishonoured both of us,
Ines and me. And Medina.
With Fabia’s cunning and witchcraft,
Fabia who can make mountains move,
who can cause rivers to run dry,
who summons demons to her aid.
Such a woman is teaching Ines
and is sleeping under the same roof
as Leonor. Listen to me:
if she’s destroyed Ines’s will
with her evil spells and potions,
and forced her to love this stranger,
she can turn Leonor from you.
Fabia is an obscenity.
She is an insult to us all.
and a sin in the eyes of God.
She is an abomination.
FERNANDO:: Then leave vengeance in God’s hands.
RODRIGO:: I am no coward. I am Medina.
FERNANDO:: Is Ines worth this … this madness?
RODRIGO:: Is Leonor? Her spirit? Her soul?
If you’ll stand by and do nothing,
I swear, Fernando, that I won’t.
Listen:: a horse in the distance.
If he’s got that lackey with him,
then we’ll know that he’s the coward.
FERNANDO:: Lackey or not, he’s no coward.
RODRIGO:: Coward or not, it makes no difference.
FERNANDO:: But you will challenge him, won’t you?
RODRIGO:: I’ll kill him. Justice demands it.
FERNANDO:: Today he rode before a king.
The wheel of fortune’s come right round.; They hide, just as ALONSO appears.
ALONSO:: I’ve never known unease like this.
Even the bubbling of the stream,
the rustling branches, the wind singing,
they pile fear upon fear. Madness.
To give in to this is madness.
This is such a simple journey,
such a petty test of valour,
I could do it a thousand times.
But tonight the darkness is… complete.
There’s someone there… a peasant
making his way to work in the fields.
PEASANT (Singing.):: They killed him in the darkness there.
The caballero.
The glory of Olmedo.
The flower of Medina.
ALONSO:: A woman’s voice … she’s singing …
I don’t understand … some warning
from heaven … more likely Fabia
giving in to Ines’s pressure
that I should stay in Medina.
PEASANT (Singing.):: Shades warned him, told him not to go.
They warned him he should stay away.
The caballero.
The glory of Olmedo.
The flower of Medina.
ALONSO:: You, over there!
PEASANT:: Who’s that calling?
ALONSO:: A traveller who’s lost his way.
PEASANT:: Stay where you are. I’ll come to you.; The PEASANT appears.; Can you see me?
ALONSO:: Where are you going?
PEASANT:: To the fields. What’s it to you?
ALONSO:: You were singing. What song was it?
PEASANT:: A song I heard in Medina.
ALONSO:: I’m Alonso … the caballero.
I’m on my way to Olmedo.
You can see, I’m very much alive.
Who was it that sang the song?
PEASANT:: Some old hag: she said her name’s Fabia
and that I should remember it.
Sir, perhaps you should think again.
Go back to Medina. Stay with me
until daybreak. Don’t cross the river.
Perhaps there’s a purpose to this.
ALONSO:: I’m no coward. I’m not afraid.
PEASANT:: Your courage is a foolish thing.
ALONSO:: Fear haunts my imagination.
Listen to me, good woman, I…
Where are you? I can’t see you…
In the dark. She’s gone to the fields.
A simple song, that’s all it was.
Another man, some other time.
I’m half-way. More. No turning back.
I’ll not lose face in Medina.; RODRIGO and FERNANDO appear.
RODRIGO:: Who’s there?
ALONSO:: A lonely traveller, sir.
FERNANDO:: Stop where you are.
ALONSO:: What?
FERNANDO:: Wait there!
ALONSO:: Gentlemen, whoever you are,
if poverty drives you to this,
let me tell you my house is near;
we are not sparing with money
or alms for anyone who asks.
RODRIGO:: Unbuckle your sword and dagger
and throw them on the ground.
ALONSO:: Do you know who you’re talking to?
I’m …
RODRIGO:: The gentleman from Olmedo.
FERNANDO:: The so-called gentleman. Liar!
RODRIGO:: Who shamed us in front of the King.
Who preened himself like a peacock
through the streets of Medina. Our town.
Who brought shame and dishonour
to the home of a good man.
ALONSO:: You dare to talk to me of shame,
of dishonour? The shame is yours
for biding your time so slyly,
and you have dishonoured yourselves
by coming here this way tonight,
sure of your safety together,
a pair of thieves and murderers
who ran away one night before
and left their cloak upon the ground.
A sure sign of their cowardice.
Sirs, you do not frighten me.; ALONSO closes in on RODRIGO.
RODRIGO:: I’ve not come here to test my strength
or practise your brand of chivalry; The sound of a single shot.
ALONSO:: Oh God!; He falls.
FERNANDO:: You shot him! Rodrigo…; They flee, FERNANDO last, casting a long backward glance as he goes.
ALONSO:: God forgive me, hear my prayer …
I have sinned most greviously …
I was deaf to your warnings, God …
I listened to the voice of pride,
of vanity. I was deceived
by envy and treachery.
God help me in this the hour
of my death …

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