Les Troyens

Act One

The Trojan people are finally able to walk beyond their walls after 10 long years inside (‘Après dix ans’). Music and laughter is heard all around as the children play games, and the people celebrate their new freedom. They see a large wooden horse, and believe that the Greeks have left it there as an offering to them. One of the soldiers stops to tell the people that the place they stand on is more important than they know. This is the place where Achilles died. The soldier points out Achilles’ grave, and the people rejoice that their hated enemy is dead. They plan to dig up his corpse and drag it around the city as punishment for his heinous crimes.

Meanwhile, Princess Cassandre has been pacing through the camp, full of anxiety (‘Le Grecs ont disparu’). As a prophetess, she is worried about the suspicious horse, and she has good reason to worry; although the Greeks seem to have disappeared, she has seen the ghost of Hector, her brother, roaming the ramparts at night. The