Act III. Solomon is alone with the queen. She has one request to make of him, that he shall release Assad. Why? He is nothing to her but she wants to see whether the king has regard for his guest. And Solomon refuses the request of the deceitful woman who, breathing vengeance, strides out of the palace. But when Sulamith complains, Solomon consoles her. Assad will shake off the unworthy chains. Far away on the borders of the desert, she will find peace with Assad.
Act IV. Again the scene changes. On the border of the desert stands the asylum of the young women consecrated to God in which Sulamith has found rest from the deceitful world. Assad staggers hither; a weary, banished man. And again the Queen of Sheba appears before him offering him her love. But he flees from the false woman for whom he had sacrificed Sulamith, the noble one. A desert storm arises, burying Assad in the sand. When the sky becomes clear again Sulamith, taking a walk with her maidens, finds her lover. She pardons the dying man and points out to him the eternal joys which they will taste together.
THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH
Opera in three acts, by Carl Goldmark, text by M. Willner, after the story by Charles Dickens. Produced, Berlin, 1896; in this country, 1910.
Characters
| John | Baritone |
| Dot, his wife | Soprano |
| May | Soprano |
| Edward Plummer | Tenor |
| Tackleton | Basso |
| The Cricket | Soprano |
Time—Early Part of 19th Century.
Place—An English Village.
Act I. Room in John's house. Invisible chorus of elves. To the Cricket, the guiding spirit of the house, Dot confides her secret. She hopes soon to have a child. May, a pretty young girl, a toymaker, is to be married the next day to Tackleton, her employer. She bemoans her fate. She still loves Edward Plummer, who disappeared several years before. After May's departure John appears with Edward, disguised as a sailor, and is not recognized either by John or the villagers.
Act II. A garden. May and Tackleton are supping together. John makes Tackleton jealous of the stranger, Edward, who, seeing that May is only marrying Tackleton because his wealth will save her old foster-father from want, reveals his identity to Dot. Tackleton now makes John jealous of Edward, but John is lulled to sleep by the Cricket, and dreams of himself as a happy father.