THE GOLDEN CROSS

Opera in two acts. Music by Brüll; text by H. Mosenthal, after the French. Produced: Berlin, December 22, 1875. Characters | Gontran de l’Anery, a young nobleman | Tenor | | Colas, an innkeeper | Baritone | | Christine, his sister | Soprano | | Thérèse, his bride | Soprano | | Bombardon, a sergeant | Ba | Time —1812. Place —Melun, near Paris. Act I. The town of Melun is suffering heavily from the great campaign which Napoleon is undertaking against Ru ia in 1812, so many of the young men must take the field. Among the hardest hit are Thérèse and Christine , the first a bride, the other a beloved sister. Their Colas has been taken away; if he can find no substitute he must go to the war. Sergeant Bombardon , who is to take away the drafted men, is already in town with his soldiers. At the same time as the sergeant, a young nobleman, Gontran de l'Anery , arrives. He hears that Christine has promised her hand to the man who goes to war in place of her brother. She will give him a golden cro and when he brings it back will be his bride. But no one has the desire to expose himself to the hazards of war. Then Gontran , seized by a violent love, decides to take Colas' place. Through the sergeant he sends for the cro . Christine does not know who has offered himself for her brother. Act II. Three years have pa ed. In the house of the innkeeper Colas , now as brave as before, having been wounded in battle with the invading enemy, Captain Gontran finds himself received as a severely wounded person. He loves his nurse Christine with all his heart and she also is attached to him. He even has a claim upon her as having been once a substitute for her brother, but he will not force her affections, and besides, he no longer has "the golden cro ." Christine too dares not follow her inclinations for, as Gontran tells her that it was he who went to the war, she would offend him very much if she, true to her oath, should ask for the cro . This also reappears. A cripple, in whom one would scarcely recognize the former stalwart Sergeant Bombardon , is the bearer. Christine's heart nearly breaks, but she does not hesitate to keep her word. But no! Bombardon is not an impostor. He got the cro from a dying man. Yet, who is this? Dare he trust his eyes? The man whom he believed dead comes out of the house. It is Gontran . What happine for the two lovers!