Don Álvaro, or, The Force of Fate

Cast Of Characters

1. Majo: A term originally used to refer to individuals from the working-class districts (barrios bajos) of Madrid in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. They were noted for their loud, extravagant dress, arrogant ways, uninhibited behavior, and colorful speech. The majo (and maja) were subjects in one-act farces by Ramón de la Cruz (1731–1794) and paintings by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828). C A S T O F C H A R A C T E R S o] DON ÁLVARO MARQUIS OF CALATRAVA DON CARLOS DE VARGAS, the marquis’s son DON ALFONSO DE VARGAS, the marquis’s son DOÑA LEONOR, the marquis’s daughter CURRA, a maid PRECIOSILLA, a Gypsy girl A MAJO1 THE SUPERIOR OF THE MONASTERY OF LOS ÁNGELES BROTHER MELITÓN, the monastery doorkeeper PEDRAZA AND OTHER OFFICERS AN ARMY SURGEON A REGIMENTAL CHAPLAIN 3 4 C A S T O F C H A R A C T E R S A MAGISTRATE A STUDENT A CANON INNKEEPER INNKEEPER’S WIFE SERVANT GIRL AT THE INN TÍO TRABUCO, a muleteer TÍO PACO, a water vendor THE PROVOST MARSHAL A SERGEANT AN ORDERLY ON HORSEBACK TWO INHABITANTS OF SEVILLE SPANISH SOLDIERS, MULETEERS, AND VILLAGERS Notes: Costumes are clothes that were worn in the mideighteenth century. If there are not enough actors, one can play the roles of two or three minor characters who appear in different acts. If, because of inadequate settings in our theaters, the panorama of the scenery for the second act cannot be changed, a backdrop curtain that depicts a rugged mountain at night can be lowered within moments. This play premiered in Madrid at the Teatro del Príncipe on March 22, 1835, with the principal roles played by Señora Concepci ón Rodríguez and Señores Luna, Romea, López, etc. ...