2
RADUZ AND MAHULENA
whom He called forth to a new life Who said to the suffering for their eternal comfort and hope: “I am the Resurrection and the Life!”
In the thousandth year of the usurpation of the Huns.
| Persons of the Drama | ||
| Stojmír, King of Tatra. | ||
| Runa, his wife. | ||
| Prija, | their daughters | |
| Ziva, | ||
| Mahulena, | ||
| Raduz, prince of Magura. | ||
| Queen Nyola, his mother. | ||
| Radovid, an old servant of Radúz. | ||
| Přibina, confidant of Stojmír. | ||
| Vratko, a woodcutter. | ||
| People of Magura and of Tatra. Youths and maidens. The body guard of the king. | ||
ACT I
A lofty, cloud-capped peak of the Tatra Mountains. Leaning against a crag stands a slender maidenly form in a white robe, playing a simple, touching melody on the violin. Her blond tresses are entwined with a wreath of many-colored flowers; on her forehead shines a star. A veil of glittering rainbow tints flows freely in long undulations from her head to her feet. On her shoulder perches a white dove. The song dies away and the maiden speaks.
PROLOGUE
I am a tale of old. Whosoe’er will follow me, him will I lead to the blue realms of fable. Here from these gigantic heights, along ancient paths, overgrown with moss and strewn with leaves of ancient autumns, I descend to the sunny fields of the Slovak people. I know the depths of its soul and its ancient dreams live within my bosom. Did I not stand at its cradle! With my enchanted veil I shroud the deeds of bygone ages in the mists of memory. Yet beneath the glistening of its folds the ancient yearnings of the people are spreading their wings; the people’s tenderness glows from beneath its undulations and the
