Scene 4 are taken from the opera almost in their entirety. While the scoring of the Concert Overture is identical to the opera, the vocal lines are absent—except in their essential moments, when they are replaced with instruments. Structure and roles The Maiden in the Tower is in one act, comprising an overture and eight scenes. It features four vocal soloists, two arias, and three duets. A typical performance lasts about 36 minutes. Overture: Allegro molto Scene 1: Allegro molto. A duet for the Maiden and the Bailiff that ends with the first orchestral interlude. Scene 2: Molto sostenuto. The Maiden's aria "" ("Holy Mary, gracious and mild"). Scene 3: Allegro. Ends with the second orchestral interlude. Scene 4: Allegro moderato The Lover's aria "" ("Ah, when I see her face"). Scene 5: Largamente. A duet for the Maiden and the Lover. Scene 6: Allegro molto A duet for the Lover and the Bailiff. Scene 7: Meno mosso Scene 8: [Meno mosso] Included, all or in part, in the concert overture Sibelius arranged in 1900. Synopsis The Maiden in the Tower is a rescue opera that tells a "simple tale of chivalry". In Scene 1, the curtain rises to find the beautiful Maiden picking flowers along the seashore; in the background is a castle with a tower. The Bailiff, emerging from the birch forest, comes upon her and professes his love: "sweetest virgin, thou my shining star". When his pleas do not persuade the Maiden, he seeks to seduce her with material riches. This proposal she also rebuffs, and so the Bailiff determines to take her as his bride by force; powerless, the maiden collapses into the arms of the "cowardly villain". After a first orchestral interlude, Scene 2 finds the Maiden imprisoned in the castle. She kneels in prayer from the tower balcony, and asks the Virgin Mary to protect her (""). In Scene 3, the Maiden overhears peasants singing about the change of season: "Now in forest the winds of spring are sighing ... winter's darkened skies flee the gaze of the sun". To her relief, she discerns her father's voice and believes her rescue is imminent. But the peasants disown her, believing that she has propositioned herself "for gold and gloss". After a second orchestral interlude, Scene 4 finds the Maiden's true love, a freeborn peasant singing an aria in which he dreamily proclaims his desires (""),