Summary

Narrating the opening of scene two, Arkadi informs that audience that Grusha is on her way to the northern mountains, with the chorus chiming in as well. Grusha enters the stage singing “The Song of the Four Generals,” and arrives at a peasant’s cottage. Asking for a glass of milk, the old peasant is gruff, and tells her to go inquire about milk with the soldiers. They eventually agree on an outlandish price, 2 piasters, for a glass of milk, and Grusha moves onward.

The singer narrates again, describing how the Prince’s Ironshirts are following her into the mountains. A corporal comes onstage, harassing a couple of ironshirts under his command. He tells them “A good soldier has his heart and soul in it. When he receives an order, he gets a hard-on, and when he...