Rossini: Guglielmo Tell - Act III | Zancanaro, Merrit, Surjan, Studer - Muti, Ronconi (La Scala 1988)

Act 3 - Scene 1: A ruined/deserted chapel in the Altdorf palace grounds.

Arnold has come to tell Mathilde that, instead of leaving for battle, he is staying to avenge his father, and thereby renouncing both glory and Mathilde. When he tells her that it was Gesler who had his father executed, she denounces his crime, and recognises the impossibility of their love. Hearing preparations for the coming festival in the palace grounds, they bid a fond farewell to each other.

Scene 2: The main square at Altdorf
The day is the hundredth anniversary of Austrian rule in Switzerland. Soldiers sing of the glories of Gesler and the Emperor. In commemoration, Gesler has had his hat placed on top of a pole and the Swiss are ordered and then forced to pay homage to the hat. Gesler commands that there should be dancing and singing to mark the century during which the empire has "deigned to sustain [Swiss] weakness", and a variety of dances and choruses follow. Soldiers have noticed Tell and his son in the crowd, refusing to pay homage to the hat, and drag him forward. Rodolphe recognises him as the man who assisted in Leuthold's escape, and Gesler orders his arrest. In a complex choir and quartet, the soldiers express their hesitation at arresting this famed archer, Gesler forces them to act, and Tell urges Jemmy to flee, but he prefers to stay with his father.

Gesler notices the affection Tell has for his son, and has Jemmy seized. Inspired, he devises his test: Tell must shoot an arrow through an apple balanced on Jemmy's head – should he refuse, both of them will die. The assembled Swiss are horrified at this cruelty, but Jemmy urges his father to courage, and refuses to be tied up for the challenge. Resigned, Tell retrieves his bow from the soldiers, but takes two arrows from his quiver and hides one of them. He sings an anguished aria to Jemmy, instructing him, and the two separate. Finally, Tell draws his bow, shoots, and drives the arrow through the apple and into the stake. The people acclaim his victory, and Gesler is enraged. Noticing the second arrow, he demands to know what Tell intended for it. Tell confesses his desire to kill Gesler with the second arrow, and both he and Jemmy are seized for execution.

Mathilde enters and claims Jemmy in the name of the emperor, refusing to let a child die. Gesler announces his intention to take Tell across Lake Lucerne to the fort at Kusnac/Küssnacht, and there to throw him to the reptiles in the lake. Rodolphe expresses concern at attempting a journey on the lake in the storm, but Gesler intends to force Tell, an expert boatman, to pilot the vessel. They leave, amid conflicting cries of "Anathema on Gesler" from the people, and "Long live Gesler" from the soldiers.

Act IV: https://rumble.com/v68ftrg-rossini-guglielmo-tell-act-iv-zancanaro-merrit-surjan-studer-muti-ronconi-l.html