Life Is a Dream (Act I, Scene I), by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

·27 min·2 clips

Rosaura, disguised as a man, curses her runaway horse after a storm strands her and her squire Fife on Poland's rocky border.

The episode opens with Rosaura and Fife arriving in a rocky mountain pass in Poland after a storm. Rosaura curses her runaway horse, and they discuss their disorientation and lack of supplies. They spot a fortress and see a light, then observe Sigismund emerge chained, carrying a lamp. Sigismund delivers a soliloquy questioning why he, innocent, suffers while guilty creatures prosper, addressing the heavens. Rosaura and Fife watch, with Fife commenting on his madness. Rosaura approaches Sigismund, who mistakes her for an angel from across the mountain. They converse about suffering and injustice, with Rosaura offering pity. A trumpet sounds, and Rosaura flings her sword to Sigismund before hiding. Clotaldo enters with soldiers, finds the sword, and arrests Rosaura and Fife. Clotaldo interrogates them, learning they are from Muscovy bound for the capital. Upon examining the sword, Clotaldo recognizes it as the one he left in Muscovy years ago as a pledge. He decides to spare them, citing their youth and his past obligation. Clotaldo offers to escort them to the court, and they agree, forming an alliance. The scene ends with plans to rest and travel at daybreak.

As heard by us

A storm-lit opening gives Calderon's chained prince and Rosaura's entrance immediate force.

Life is a Dream begins in a storm-swept pass of rocks, and the image of Rosaura entering from the topmost rock in man's attire, with Fife following behind, gives the scene immediate dramatic grip.

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Why you'd press play

For a stormy opening, a chained prince, and a woman in man's attire.

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