Death in Venice

Act I
 
The successful author Gustav von Aschenbach is worn out. A working method based on discipline and self-control has brought him to a dead end.
Encouraged by the sight of a foreign traveler, he decides to take a trip to Venice. Instead of spending the summer working in the mountains as usual, he will recuperate in the southern sun.
On the voyage to Venice, he is shocked by the crass behavior of an elderly fop and other passengers.
A gondolier takes Aschenbach – in defiance of his clearly stated wishes – to his destination, a seaside resort called the Lido.
The ostentatiously deferential hotel manager shows him to his room and raves about the view.
One of the hotel guests catches Aschenbach’s eye: a Polish youth named Tadzio. The writer is captivated by his beauty.
On an excursion to the historic center, Aschenbach feels overwhelmed by the merchants’ importunities, and the scirocco makes him ill. He resolves to cut short his stay.
His departure is thwarted when his luggage goes astray. He secretly rejoices that he will not have to give up the sight of Tadzio after all.
Aschenbach spends his days observing Tadzio on the beach. He finds himself artistically inspired by the shapeliness of the boy’s body but is incapable of speaking to him. Daydreaming, he imagines the “Games of Apollo,” from which Tadzio emerges victorious in every discipline. At last the writer admits to himself that he loves the boy.