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In!the!Prologue,!we!meet!Tevye!the!milkman!and!his!wife!Golde,!and!the!people!of!Anatevka,!a!small!Jewish!settlement!in!Russia.!!It!is!1905!and!the!first!rumblings!of!the!Russian!Revolution!are!to!be!heard.!Life!in!Anatevka!is!hard,!and!governed!by!the!traditions!of!the!Jewish!way!of!life,!with!marriages!arranged!by!the!village!matchmaker!Yente.!!She!has!been!to!see!Golde,!to!arrange!a!marriage!for!Tzeitel,!the!oldest!daughter,!with!the!rich!but!elderly!Lazar!Wolf,!the!village!butcher.!!Tzeitel,!Hodel!and!Chava,!the!three!sisters!sing!of!the!matches!they!would!like!to!be!arranged!for!their!perfect!husbands.!Tevye!then!enters,!pulling!his!cart,!and!muses!"If!I!were!a!rich!man",!but!his!dreams!are!interrupted!by!various!people,!and!the!news!that!Jews!from!adjacent!villages!are!being!evicted.!!Enter!Perchik!a!student!from!Kiev!University,!wandering,!but!earning!a!living!from!giving!lessons!to!children;!Tevye!invites!him!to!spend!the!Sabbath!with!them,!and!he!is!soon!involved!with!Hodel,!Tevye's!second!daughter.!!After!some!confusion,!Tevye!and!Lazar!Wolf!agree!to!Tzeitel's!betrothal,!but!when!Tevye!tells!Tzeitel!the!good!news!she!is!overcome!and!has!to!reveal!that!all!along,!she!has!loved!Motel!the!tailor.!!She!is!so!upset!that!Tevye!agrees!(after!persuasion)!that!she!may!marry!him!and!not!Lazar!Wolf;!this!then!has!to!be!explained!to!Golde.!This!is!cleverly!done!by!the!appearance,!in!a!dream,!of!Lazar's!deceased!first!wife,!FrumaXSarah,!who!tells!of!dire!consequences!of!Lazar!remarrying.!!Golde!agrees!to!the!marriage!of!Tzeitel!and!Motel.!!The!marriage!is!celebrated,!but!after!a!joyous!dance,!the!Constable!enters!with!his!men!and!breaks!up!the!ceremony!as!a!prelude!to!a!“pogrom.”!*!!Act!Two!opens!with!Perchik!on!his!way!back!to!Kiev!to!take!part!in!the!revolution!but,!before!he!goes!he!asks!Hodel!to!marry!him.!!They!tell!Tevye!that!they!will!marry!in!defiance!of!the!tradition!that!they!should!ask!him,!and!despite!his!opposition,!he!agrees.!!He!bravely!tells!Golde!of!his!decision!and!why!he!did!it!X!because!Hodel!loves!Perchik!X!and!asks!if!she!loves!him!and!this!leads!to!the!loveliest!duet!in!the!show!X!"Do!you!love!me?"!!Then!rumours!start!about!Hodel!and!Perchik!(who!has!been!arrested!in!Kiev)!followed!by!a!new!arrival!in!Motel's!shop,!where!Chava,!the!third!daughter!has!once!again!be!approached!by!Fyedka,!a!Russian.!!Fyedka!has!been!interested!in!Chava!for!some!time!but!she!has!held!off!due!to!Tevye's!traditional!Jewish!hatred!of!all!things!Russian!would!never!allow!him!to!accept!Fyedka!as!his!sonXinXlaw.!!Now!she!realizes!that!she!loves!him,!and!tries!to!ask!Tevye!to!accept!Fyedka!but!he!cannot!and!tells!her!never!to!see!him!again.!!She!decides!instead!to!run!away!with!him.!!On!top!of!this!disaster,!the!Constable!warns!Tevye!that!the!whole!village!has!but!three!days!to!clear!out!X!the!pogrom!X!has!started!X!there!is!talk!of!resistance!but!it!is!hopeless:!and!Anatevka!has!to!be!abandoned.!!The!opera!ends!with!the!villagers,!one!after!the!other!going!away!to!start!a!new!life!wherever!the!may,!leaving!Tevye,!Golde,!and!their!youngest!two!daughters,!Shprintze!and!Bielke!packed!and!ready!to!go!to!America,!leaving!Anatevka!empty,!deserted,!silent.!
*!po·grom (pə-grŏm′, pō′grəm) n. An organized, often officially encouraged massacre or persecution of a minority group, especially one conducted against Jews.
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