ðə stˈoːɹi bɪɡˈɪnz ɪn ɐ tˈævɚn ɪn ɐ nˈɔːɹðɚn ɪtˈæliən tˈaʊn ɪnðɪ ˈɜːli nˈaɪntiːnθ sˈɛntʃɚɹi, wˌɛɹ tˈuː mˈɛn ɑːɹ ɹˈiːdɪŋ ɐn ɐnˈaʊnsmənt ɪnðə pˈeɪpɚ baɪ ðə mˈɑːɹkwaɪz ʌv ˈoʊ, ɐ wˈɪdoʊ, ðæt ʃiː ɪz pɹˈɛɡnənt ænd wˈɪʃᵻz ðə fˈɑːðɚɹ ʌv hɜː tʃˈaɪld tə pɹɪzˈɛnt hɪmsˈɛlf ɪn ˈɔːɹdɚ tə mˈæɹi hˌɪm.
The story begins in a tavern in a northern Italian town in the early 19th century, where two men are reading an announcement in the paper by the Marquise of O, a widow, that she is pregnant and wishes the father of her child to present himself in order to marry him.