Cyrano de Bergerac

Outside Roxane’s house, Ragueneau tells her duenna that his wife left him for the Musketeer and Cyrano stopped him from dying by suicide. The duenna tells Ragueneau that Roxane is going to a colloquy on the Tender Passion. Cyrano comes in with two pages playing music. They argue about music, and Cyrano tells the duenna that he won the pages in a bet with D’Assoucy. Cyrano sends the musicians to play for Montfleury.

When she comes out of the house, Cyrano asks Roxane about Christian. She believes Christian is intelligent, having read letters written by Cyrano but signed by Christian. Roxane recites lines from the letters from memory, Cyrano criticizes them, and Roxane says he’s jealous. Her duenna says Guiche is coming and tells Cyrano to hide in the house.

Guiche says he is going to the battlefront in Arras and has been promoted to colonel of the guards—Cyrano and Christian’s regiment. This news upsets Roxane and, hiding her affection for Christian, tells Guiche that keeping Cyrano from battle is a better revenge than giving him the opportunity to fight. Guiche takes this as a sign that Roxane loves him and declares his love for her. He plans to hide in his Uncle-Cardinal’s new convent and come to her after people think he has left.