Le conte d'hiver

In a myth‑laden Bohemian kingdom, King Pandosto’s fragile happiness shatters when a jealous whisper drives him to betray his own queen, Bellaria. Accused of adultery, she endures a harrowing trial even as she clings to the hope that an oracle’s prophecy might spare her. In a desperate act, Pandosto orders their newborn son to be cast into a storm‑tossed sea, sealing the family’s sorrow with the queen’s sudden death.

The infant drifts ashore in Sicily, where a humble shepherd discovers the child cradled in a scarlet cloth, adorned with a jeweled chain. Naming her Faunia, he raises her among simple pastures, yet her striking beauty quickly reaches the royal court. Dorastus, the Sicilian prince, becomes enchanted and, torn between duty and desire, contemplates an illicit escape with the shepherd’s daughter, setting the stage for a clash of love, honor, and destiny.