La DoganaThe Customs House
Ambientazione · SettingA low stone hall opening onto the quay. Lanterns swing on their hooks; the sea is heard but not seen. ORSOLA, keeper of the north light, stands over a ledger she has not signed. Dawn is an hour off.
1Non ho firmato niente, e già mi accusano.I have signed nothing, and already they accuse me.
2Il mare porta via anche le parole.The sea carries even our words away.
3Chi conta le navi non conta gli uomini.Whoever counts the ships does not count the men.
She sets down the pen. A door opens upstage left.
4Custode, la lanterna è ancora spenta.Keeper — the lantern is still unlit.
5Tre barche aspettano il tuo permesso.Three boats are waiting on your leave.
6Aspettino. Il vento non chiede permesso a me.Let them wait. The wind asks no leave of me.
7E tu, che porti sempre ordini d'altri,And you, who carry only other men's orders,
8dimmi una volta ciò che pensi tu.tell me for once what you yourself believe.
Duetto: Due PortiDuet: Two Harbours
Andante mossoCellos alone, then a rising figure in the winds.
9Credo che ci sian due porti in ogni vita:I believe there are two harbours in each life:
10quello che lasci e quello che rimandi.the one you leave, the one you keep postponing.
11E io ho passato vent'anni sul confine.And I have spent twenty years upon the border.
12Ogni notte accendo per chi parte,Each night I light the lamp for those departing,
13ogni alba spengo per chi non torna.each dawn I quench it for those who don't return.
They do not look at one another. The orchestra takes the second harbour theme.
14Due porti, un solo faro fra di noi.Two harbours — one lamp standing between us.
15Chi lo tiene acceso non può navigare.Whoever keeps it burning cannot sail.
Si Accende la LampadaThe Lamp is Lit
Cambio di scena · Scene changeThe hall darkens; the lantern gallery of the north light descends from the flies. Wind machines enter pianissimo and do not stop until the curtain.
16Sale la bora, sale dalla pietra.The bora rises, rises from the stone.
17Chi ha una casa la chiuda adesso.Let those who have a house shut it now.
18Chi ha una barca la leghi due volte.Let those who have a boat tie it twice over.
19Datemi il fuoco. Non la firma — il fuoco.Give me the fire. Not the signature — the fire.
20Che il registro bruci pure sotto il vetro.Let the ledger burn beneath the glass for all I care.
21Stanotte il nord avrà la sua lanterna.Tonight the north shall have its lantern back.
Finale: Sale la BoraFinale: Bora Rising
22L'hai accesa. Allora sei tu la colpevole.You lit it. Then the guilt is yours alone.
23Sono la custode. È la stessa parola.I am the keeper. It is the same word.
The lantern flares. Full chorus, offstage bells.
24Guarda il nord! Guarda il nord che risponde!Look to the north! The north is answering!
25Una luce sola, e il mare ha un confine.One single light, and the sea has an edge again.
Sipario · CurtainThe wind machines cut off mid-bar. Blackout on the tonic, before the chord resolves.
Translator's Notes to Act II
Line 6 — “il vento non chiede permesso”
Salvi's phrase is idiomatic and slightly rude; Vale's 1961 version softened it to “the wind needs no permission.” The 2024 revision restores the direct address, which the vocal line demands on the falling fourth.
Line 23 — “custode” / “colpevole”
The pun is untranslatable: keeper and culprit share no root in English. We accepted the loss and let the repetition of “word” carry the irony instead.
Chorus, lines 16–18
Sung in Triestine dialect in the autograph score. Modern houses print standard Italian; the dialect text is given in Appendix C of this edition.