But he can't win. Liscione is teaching Dirindina how to survive in
a harsh world and can guarantee her fame. Moreover, the pair enjoy
playing on his fantasies. When Don Carissimo has stormed out in a
fury they debate how they will exploit Dirindina's talents to support
themselves:
Liscione: When we're there we'll turn our
lodgings into a casino. We'll play games with the nobility for watches
and rings and lace trimmings...
They try out a scene from a tragic opera, in which the
heroine, Queen Dido, chides her lover Aeneas for deserting her just
as they are married and she has conceived his child. Don Carissimo,
returning, observes this rehearsal.
Dirindina: By you, by you, the holy laws that rule heav'n are
trampled; you have mocked my very being, and shattered the sacred
nuptial vows you uttered.
Dirindina: You wretch, can you desert so coldly this yearning
bosom now that you've used me, and proved me fatefully fertile?
Carissimo: I can't believe it - my dreams are now quite shattered
