Cyrano explains this by saying that he had made himself believe he was Christian. Christian discovers a tear stain on the paper. Cyrano hands him the one he has just written and asks him if that will do. Christian comes into Cyrano's tent telling him that he wished he had time to write a last letter before they go into battle. Le Bret rebukes him for risking his life to send off a letter for another man, but Cyrano tells Le Bret of his promise, and goes into his tent to write another letter. Scene 1 At dawn in the camp of the Gascony cadets outside Arras all are asleep except Le Bret, who is on guard and Cyrano who is sneaking back into the camp. The cadets re-enter and are amazed to see Christian and Cyrano unwounded and friendly towards each other.
When Christian confesses that he is a fool, unskilled in speech, and cannot write, Cyrano offers to write the letter and to help him win Roxane's hand. Once the cadets have left, Cyrano tells Christian that Roxane is in love with him and is expecting a letter. When Cyrano discovers who he is, he ignores the insult, but Christian repeats it two more times. As Cyrano is recounting the fight, Christian is overcome with bravado and interrupts him with a reference to his large nose. Christian asks a fellow cadet about Cyrano and the cadet tells him that no one ever dares to mention his nose because they would soon have a fight on their hands. Once De Guiche has left, the cadets demand that Cyrano tell them about his fight with De Guiche and his men. De Guiche arrives with his attendants and announces that as they will shortly be in battle side by side, he will forget the past. Several Gascony cadets enter, Le Bret and Christian among them, and congratulate Cyrano on his victory over De Guiche and his hundred men. Rostand had never obtained copyright for the play in the United States and could not prevent adaptations there but vowed that he would never allow Damrosch's Cyrano to be performed in any country where the play had been copyrighted. Shortly before the opera's opening, Edmond Rostand pronounced himself "indignant" at the liberties which Damrosch and Henderson had taken in adapting his play, particularly the ending.
He had revised his original score somewhat and further cuts were made to its original five-hour and half-hour running time during the rehearsal period.
In 1911 Damrosch invited Gatti-Casazza and Arturo Toscanini to his house to hear excerpts from Cyrano, and it was chosen for the 1912/1913 season. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the Metropolitan Opera's General Manager from 1908 to 1935, had started a policy of producing at least one new English language opera each season. Damrosch had finished composing the opera by 1903, but its first performance opportunity did not come until ten years later.
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