2014/15GREAT PERFORMERS - Lincoln Center`s Great Performers
Transcription
2014/15GREAT PERFORMERS - Lincoln Center`s Great Performers
2014/15 GREAT PERFORMERS The Program Sponsored by BNY Mellon Thursday Evening, March 5, 2015, at 7:30 Pre-concert lecture by Cori Ellison at 6:15 in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse Art of the Song: La voix humaine Anna Caterina Antonacci, Soprano Donald Sulzen, Piano BERLIOZ La mort d’Ophélie (1842) DEBUSSY Chansons de Bilitis (1897–98) La flûte de Pan La chevelure Le tombeau des Naïades DUPARC La vie antérieure (1884) POULENC La fraîcheur et le feu (1950) Rayons des yeux et des soleils Le matin les branches attisent Tout disparut même les toits même le ciel Dans les ténèbres du jardin Unis la fraîcheur et le feu Homme au sourire tendre La grande rivière qui va RAVEL Kaddisch (1914) Intermission POULENC La voix humaine (1958) BNY Mellon is a Proud Supporter of Great Performers. This performance is made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center. Steinway Piano Alice Tully Hall, Starr Theater Adrienne Arsht Stage Please make certain all your electronic devices are switched off. Great Performers BNY Mellon is a Proud Supporter of Great Performers. Support is provided by Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser, The Florence Gould Foundation, Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, Great Performers Circle, Chairman’s Council, and Friends of Lincoln Center. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts. Endowment support for Symphonic Masters is provided by the Leon Levy Fund. Endowment support is also provided by UBS. MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center. Movado is a Supporter of Lincoln Center. United Airlines is a Supporter of Lincoln Center. WABC-TV is a Supporter of Lincoln Center. William Hill Estate Winery is a Supporter of Lincoln Center. UPCOMING ART OF THE SONG EVENTS IN ALICE TULLY HALL: Sunday Evening, April 12, 2015, at 5:00 Sarah Connolly, Mezzo-soprano Joseph Middleton, Piano SCHUBERT: Ellens Gesang I–III MAHLER: Rückert-Lieder COPLAND: Selections from 12 Poems of Emily Dickinson ELGAR: Sea Pictures Wednesday Evening, April 29, 2015, at 7:30 Simon Keenlyside, Baritone Emanuel Ax, Piano Works by DUPARC, DEBUSSY, POULENC, FAURÉ, and RAVEL For tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visit LCGreatPerformers.org. Call the Lincoln Center Info Request Line at (212) 875-5766 to learn about program cancellations or to request a Great Performers brochure. Visit LCGreatPerformers.org for more information relating to this season’s programs. Join the conversation: #LCGreatPerfs We would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper might distract the performers and your fellow audience members. In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who must leave before the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces. The taking of photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building. Snapshot Great Performers By Hugh Macdonald This evening’s recital gives a penetrating sample of the French mélodie, concluding with an opera, no less—the one-act La voix humaine by Poulenc, of which Anna Caterina Antonacci is perhaps the leading interpreter in the world today. The program traverses the shift from private music-making to the opening up of solo recitals in the 20th century: Berlioz would never have expected his beautiful song “La mort d’Ophélie” to be performed in a public concert (for that he would need to orchestrate it, and he did). Likewise, the immense repertoire of songs by Gounod, Saint-Saëns, Bizet, Massenet, Duparc, and Fauré—to name only the most prominent— were heard exclusively in the salons that well-to-do ladies hosted in the great years of the Belle Époque. Significantly, Debussy’s song was first performed in 1900, in public, which thereafter became the norm without in any way diminishing the attraction of setting French poetry to music, as Poulenc’s great legacy reminds us. —Copyright © 2015 by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. Notes on the Program Great Performers I Notes on the Program By Hugh Macdonald La mort d’Ophélie, Op. 18, No. 2 (1842) HECTOR BERLIOZ Born December 11, 1803, in La Côte-Saint-André, France Died March 8, 1869, in Paris Approximate length: 8 minutes Berlioz once planned to write an opera on Hamlet, and he wrote several pieces related to the play, but he never set Shakespeare’s words. “La mort d’Ophélie” is a setting of a poem by Ernest Legouvé that paraphrases Gertrude’s account of Ophelia’s death in Act IV of the play: “There is a willow grows aslant a brook.” It was in the roles of Ophelia and Juliet that actress Harriet Smithson, who became Berlioz’s first wife, made such an impression on the composer, so it is tempting—though probably groundless—to associate the composition of this song, whose manuscript is dated May 7, 1842, around the time of the marriage’s breakdown. Against the almost unbroken flow of the stream, the song laments the girl’s unhappy fate, echoing the sad melody on her dying lips. Great Performers I Notes on the Program La mort d’Ophélie Text: Ernest Legouvé The Death of Ophelia Auprès d’un torrent, Ophélie Cueillait, tout en suivant le bord, Beside a brook, Ophelia was gathering, as she followed the water’s edge, in her sweet and tender madness, periwinkles, crow flowers, irises the color of opals, and those pale pink blossoms known as dead man’s fingers. Ah! Dans sa douce et tendre folie, Des pervenches, des boutons d’or, Des iris aux couleurs d’opale, Et de ces fleurs d’un rose pâle Qu’on appelle des doigts de mort. Ah! Puis, élevant sur ses mains blanches Les riants trésors du matin, Elle les suspendait aux branches, Aux branches d’un saule voisin; Mais trop faible le rameau plie, Se brise, et la pauvre Ophélie Tombe, sa guirlande à la main. Quelques instants sa robe enflée La tint encor sur le courant, Et, comme une voile gonflée, Elle flottait toujours, chantant, Chantant quelque vieille ballade, Chantant ainsi qu’une naïade Née au milieu de ce torrent. Mais cette étrange mélodie Passa, rapide comme un son. Par les flots la robe alourdie Bientôt dans l’abîme profond Entraîna la pauvre insensée, Laissant à peine commencée Sa mélodieuse chanson. Ah! Then, lifting in her white hands the smiling treasures of the morning, she hung them on the branches of a nearby willow; but the bough, not being strong enough, bent and broke, and poor Ophelia fell, her garland in her hand. For a few moments her dress spread wide bore her up on the water and, like an air-filled sail, she floated, singing still, chanting some old ballade, singing like some naiad born in the midst of this stream. But this strange song ended, as fleeting as a snatch of sound. Her dress, heavy with water, soon into the depths dragged the poor distracted girl, leaving as yet hardly begun her melodious chant. Ah! (Please do not turn the page until the song’s completion.) Great Performers I Notes on the Program Chansons de Bilitis (1897–98) CLAUDE DEBUSSY Born August 22, 1862, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France Died March 25, 1918, in Paris Approximate length: 10 minutes The poet Pierre Louÿs, eight years younger than Debussy, was one of his closest friends. For some years they were constantly together, relishing, in Edward Lockspeiser’s words, “food, women, books, and music in large and eager satisfaction.” Louÿs, furthermore, was wealthy enough to keep the always impoverished Debussy in funds. But most important were their common artistic impulses and the obvious sympathy that Debussy had for his friend’s poetry, much of it inspired by an idealized vision of ancient Greece. Louÿs’s poems are in prose, so for Debussy it felt like a return to the composition of the opera Pelléas et Mélisande, which he had recently completed. The voice is mostly declaiming rather than singing, and the musical richness of harmony and texture lies in the piano part. It is the piano that is called on to suggest Pan’s flute and the green frogs in the first song and the sensuousness of the nymph’s beautiful hair in the second. These songs were composed in 1897–98 and first performed by Blanche Marot, with Debussy at the piano, on March 17, 1900. Chansons de Bilitis Text: Pierre Louÿs Songs of Bilitis Trans: Peter Low La flûte de Pan Pour le jour des Hyacinthies, Il m’a donné une syrinx Faite de roseaux bien taillés, Unis avec la blanche cire Qui est douce à mes lèvres comme le miel. Il m’apprend à jouer, assise sur ses genoux; Mais je suis un peu tremblante. Il en joue après moi, Si doucement que je l’entends à peine. The Pan-Pipes For the festival of Hyacinthus he gave me a syrinx, a set of pipes made from well-cut reeds joined with the white wax that is sweet to my lips like honey. He is teaching me to play, as I sit on his knees; but I tremble a little. He plays it after me, so softly that I can scarcely hear it. Great Performers I Notes on the Program Nous n’avons rien à nous dire, Tant nous sommes près l’un de l’autre; Mais nos chansons veulent se répondre, Et tour à tour nos bouches S’unissent sur la flûte. Il est tard; Voici le chant des grenouilles vertes Qui commence avec la nuit. Ma mère ne croira jamais Que je suis restée si longtemps À chercher ma ceinture perdue. La chevelure Il m’a dit: “Cette nuit, j’ai rêvé, J’avais ta chevelure autour de mon cou. J’avais tes cheveux comme un collier noir Autour de ma nuque et sur ma poitrine. Je les caressais, et c’était les miens; Et nous étions liés pour toujours ainsi, Par la même chevelure la bouche sur la bouche, Ainsi que deux lauriers n’ont souvent qu’une racine. Et peu à peu, il m’a semblé, Tant nos membres étaient confondus, Que je devenais toi-même Ou que tu entrais en moi comme mon songe.” Quand il eut achevé, Il mit doucement ses mains sur mes épaules, Et il me regarda d’un regard si tendre, Que je baissai les yeux avec un frisson. We are so close that we have nothing to say to one another; but our songs want to converse, and our mouths are joined as they take turns on the pipes. It is late; here comes the chant of the green frogs, which begins at dusk. My mother will never believe I spent so long searching for my lost waistband. The Hair He told me: “Last night I had a dream. Your hair was around my neck, it was like a black necklace round my nape and on my chest. I was stroking your hair, and it was my own; thus the same tresses joined us forever, with our mouths touching, just as two laurels often have only one root. And gradually I sensed, since our limbs were so entwined, that I was becoming you and you were entering me like my dream.” When he’d finished, he gently put his hands on my shoulders, and gazed at me so tenderly that I lowered my eyes, quivering. (Please do not turn the page until the song’s completion.) Great Performers I Notes on the Program Le tombeau des Naïades Le long du bois couvert de givre, je marchais; Mes cheveux, devant ma bouche, Se fleurissaient de petits glaçons, Et mes sandales étaient lourdes De neige fangeuse et tassée. Il me dit: “Que cherches-tu?” —“Je suis la trace du satyre. Ses petits pas fourchus alternent Comme des trous dans un manteau blanc.” Il me dit: “Les satyres sont morts. Les satyres et les nymphes aussi. Depuis trente ans, il n’a pas fait un hiver aussi terrible. La trace que tu vois est celle d’un bouc Mais restons ici, où est leur tombeau.” Et avec le fer de sa houe Il cassa la glace de la source où jadis riaient les naïades. Il prenait de grands morceaux froids, Et les soulevant vers le ciel pâle Il regardait au travers. The Tomb of the Water-Nymphs I was walking along in the frostcovered woods; in front of my mouth my hair blossomed in tiny icicles, and my sandals were heavy with muddy caked snow. He asked: “What are you looking for?” —“I’m following the tracks of the satyr. His little cloven hoofprints alternate like holes in a white cloak.” He said: “The satyrs are dead. The satyrs are dead, and the nymphs too. In thirty years there has not been such a terrible winter. That’s the trail of a he-goat. But let’s pause here, where their tomb is.” With his hoe he broke the ice of the spring where the waternymphs used to laugh. There he was, picking up large cold slabs of ice, lifting them toward the pale sky, and peering through them. —Translation courtesy of Peter Low. © 2000 by Peter Low. Great Performers I Notes on the Program La vie antérieure (1884) HENRI DUPARC Born January 21, 1848, in Paris Died February 12, 1933, in Mont-de-Marsan, France Approximate length: 5 minutes Duparc lived many years but wrote little music. He studied with César Franck and was one of the French composers most active in Paris in the regeneration of French music after the war with Prussia in 1870–71. A handful of orchestral works and 17 songs were the start of a promising career when, in his mid-30s, it all fell apart. It was a major case of composer’s block, with the attendant revulsion against his own works, some of which Duparc destroyed. He lived to a great old age but composed nothing more. “La vie antérieure” is probably the last of his exquisite series of songs, written in 1884. He wrote of it: “It is not in the strict sense a ‘mélodie,’ but rather a kind of sung poem in which I tried to translate Baudelaire’s ideas and wonderful lines into musical terms.” The piece is a small drama moving from the solemn evocation of the vastes portiques at the opening to new harmony and new movement for the “almighty chords of their rich music.” This moves forward to a climactic moment when the poet sees where once he lived, amid pleasures and sensuous ease, while the piano’s closing bars suggest that this could not last. Great Performers I Notes on the Program La vie antérieure Text: Charles Baudelaire A Previous Life Trans.: Richard Stokes J’ai longtemps habité sous de vastes portiques Que les soleils marins teignaient de mille feux, Et que leurs grands piliers, droits et majestueux, Rendaient pareils, le soir, aux grottes basaltiques. For long I lived beneath vast colonnades tinged with a thousand fires by ocean suns, whose giant pillars, straight and majestic, made them look, at evening, like basalt caves. Les houles, en roulant les images des cieux, Mêlaient d’une façon solennelle et mystique Les tout-puissants accords de leur riche musique Aux couleurs du couchant reflété par mes yeux. The sea-swells, mingling the mirrored skies, solemnly and mystically interwove the mighty chords of their mellow music with the colors of sunset reflected in my eyes. C’est là que j’ai vécu dans les voluptés calmes Au milieu de l’azur, des vagues, des splendeurs Et des esclaves nus, tout imprégnés d’odeurs, It is there that I lived in sensuous repose, with blue sky about me and brightness and waves and naked slaves all drenched in perfume, Qui me rafraîchissaient le front avec des palmes, Et dont l’unique soin était d’approfondir Le secret douloureux qui me faisait languir. who fanned my brow with fronds of palm, and whose only care was to fathom the secret grief which made me languish. —Translation by Richard Stokes from A French Song Companion (Johnson/Stokes), published by OUP. Great Performers I Notes on the Program La fraîcheur et le feu (1950) FRANCIS POULENC Born January 7, 1899, in Paris Died January 30, 1963, in Paris Approximate length: 10 minutes Poulenc composed over 140 songs, and of these 34 were settings of poems by his contemporary Paul Éluard, who was prominent in the Surrealist movement and later an ardent member of the Communist party. Poulenc was particularly sensitive to the word-play in Éluard and to the images that flash in and out of his poems. Poulenc once declared that Éluard was his favorite poet. This cycle of seven songs, La fraîcheur et le feu, was composed in 1950 with the baritone voice of Pierre Bernac in mind. Poulenc emphasized the integrity of the cycle, preferring to think of it as a single poem set to music in seven sections, with two alternating tempos. He drew attention to the “mystical purity” of these poems, which make play, as the title suggests, with opposites: darkness and light, hot and cold, man and woman, life and death. No. 5, “Unis la fraîcheur et le feu,” imagines the union of opposites, and the mention of man and woman at the end leads naturally into the next song, “Homme au sourire tendre,” a piece of great nobility, even grandeur, and carefully placed as the climax of the cycle. The final song appositely concludes with the few bars that introduced the first song of the cycle. La fraîcheur et le feu Text: Paul Éluard The Coolness and the Fire Trans.: Richard Stokes Rayons des yeux et des soleils Rayons des yeux et des soleils Des ramures et des fontaines Lumière du sol et du ciel De l’homme et de l’oubli de l’homme Un nuage couvre le sol Un nuage couvre le ciel Soudain la lumière m’oublie La mort seule demeure entière Je suis une ombre je ne vois plus Le soleil jaune le soleil rouge Le soleil blanc le ciel changeant Je ne sais plus La place du bonheur vivant Au bord de l’ombre sans ciel ni terre. Beams of eyes and suns Beams of eyes and suns of branches and of fountains light of earth and sky of man and man’s oblivion a cloud covers the earth a cloud covers the sky suddenly the light forgets me death alone remains entire I am a shadow I no longer see the yellow sun the red sun the white sun the changing sky I no longer know where living joy abides at the shadow’s edge with neither earth nor sky. (Please do not turn the page until the song’s completion.) Great Performers I Notes on the Program Le Le Le Le Le matin les branches attisent matin les branches attisent bouillonnement des oiseaux soir les arbres sont tranquilles jour frémissant se repose. The branches fan each morning The branches fan each morning the flurry of the birds each evening the trees are tranquil the quivering day’s at rest. Tout disparut même les toits même le ciel Tout disparut même les toits même le ciel Même l’ombre tombée des branches Sur les cimes des mousses tendres Même les mots et les regards bien accordés All vanished even the roofs even the sky All vanished even the roofs even the sky even the shade fallen from the branches onto the tips of soft mosses even the words and harmonious glances Soeurs miroitières de mes larmes Les étoiles brillaient autour de ma fenêtre Et mes yeux refermant leurs ailes pour la nuit Vivaient d’un univers sans bornes. sisters mirroring my tears stars shone round my window and my eyes closing once more their wings for the night lived in a limitless universe. Dans les ténèbres du jardin Dans les ténèbres du jardin Viennent des filles invisibles Plus fines qu’à midi l’ondée Into the darkness of the garden Into the darkness of the garden some invisible maidens enter more delicate than the midday shower Mon sommeil les a pour amies Elles m’enivrent en secret De leurs complaisances aveugles. my sleep has them for friends they intoxicate me secretly with their blind complaisance. Unis la fraîcheur et le feu Unis la fraîcheur et le feu Unis tes lèvres et tes yeux De ta folie attends sagesse Fais image de femme et d’homme. Unite the coolness and the fire Unite the coolness and the fire unite your lips and your eyes from your folly await wisdom make an image of woman and man. Great Performers I Notes on the Program Homme au sourire tendre Homme au sourire tendre Femme aux tendres paupières Homme aux joues rafraîchies Femme aux bras doux et frais Homme aux prunelles calmes Femme aux lèvres ardentes Homme aux paroles pleines Femme aux yeux partagés Homme aux deux mains utiles Femme aux mains de raison Homme aux astres constants Femme aux seins de durée Man with the tender smile Man with the tender smile woman with the tender eyelids man with the freshened cheeks woman with the sweet fresh arms man with the calm eyes woman with the ardent lips man with abundant words woman with the shared eyes man with the useful hands woman with the hands of reason man with the steadfast stars woman with the enduring breasts Il n’est rien qui vous reticent Mes maîtres de m’éprouver. there is nothing that prevents you my masters from testing me. La grande rivière qui va La grande rivière qui va Grande au soleil et petite à la lune The great river that flows The great river that flows vast beneath the sun and small beneath the moon in all directions randomly will not have me to point it out Par tous chemins à l’aventure Ne m’aura pas pour la montrer du doigt Je sais le sort de la lumière J’en ai assez pour jouer son éclat Pour me parfaire au dos de mes paupières Pour que rien ne vive sans moi. I know the spell of the light I’ve enough of it to play with its lustre to perfect myself behind my eyelids to ensure that nothing lives without me. —Translation by Richard Stokes from A French Song Companion (Johnson/Stokes), published by OUP. (Please do not turn the page until the song’s completion.) Great Performers I Notes on the Program Kaddisch, from Deux mélodies hébraïques (1914) MAURICE RAVEL Born March 7, 1875, in Ciboure, France Died December 28, 1937, in Paris Approximate length: 4 minutes Ravel’s Deux mélodies hébraïques were commissioned by Alvina Alvi, a soprano in the St. Petersburg opera company whom he met in London in December 1913. He arranged these two melodies early in 1914 and they were first performed by Alvi, with Ravel at the piano, on June 3 of that year. In Jewish practice the “Kaddish” is sung by mourners after the death of a relative. Ravel allows the note G to sound in the piano throughout, while the singer has ornate melismata as decoration of the traditional melody. The piano gradually contributes more, but always confined to spread chords reaching into the depths of the instrument. Kaddisch Kaddish Yithgaddal weyithkaddash scheméh rabba Be’olmâ diverâ ‘khire’ outhé Veyamli’kh mal’khouté Behayyé’khón, ouveyome’khôn ouve’hayyé de’khol beth yisraël Ba’agalâ ouvizman qariw Weimrou. Amen. Yithbara’kh. Weyischtaba’h weyith paêr weyithromam weyithnassé Weyithhaddar weyith’allé weyithhallal scheméh dequoudschâ beri’kh hou, Le’êlà min kol bir’khatha weschiratha Touschbehatha wene’hamathâ daamirân ah! Be’olma. Ah! Weïmrou: Amen. May thy glory, O King of Kings, be exalted, O thou who art to renew the world and resurrect the dead. May thy reign, Adonai, be proclaimed by us, the sons of Israel, today, tomorrow, forever. Let us all say: Amen. May thy radiant name be loved, cherished, praised, glorified. May it be blessed, sanctified, exalted, thy name which soars above the heavens, above our praises, above our hymns, above all our benisons. May merciful heaven grant us tranquillity, peace, happiness. Ah! Let us all say: Amen. —Translation from the Yiddish courtesy of Richard Stokes. © 2015 by Richard Stokes. Intermission Great Performers I Notes on the Program La voix humaine (1958) FRANCIS POULENC Approximate length: 52 minutes As a tribute to Denise Duval, the soprano who had sung the leading roles in his two previous operas, Les mamelles de Tirésias and Dialogues des Carmélites, Poulenc wrote his third and last opera in 1958 for her alone. This is a tragic story about the breakup of a love affair seen entirely through the eyes of the girl (“Elle”), who can only reach her lover on the telephone, and then only with difficulty, owing to the hazards of the French telephone system. La voix humaine was a play by Jean Cocteau first presented in 1930. As theater it is a testing challenge for a dramatic actress; to transform it into an opera was an inspired move since the music can enormously amplify the girl’s responses and emotions, a charge that Poulenc was especially well equipped to undertake. He responds line by line, almost word by word, to the agitated, nervous outbursts of the girl, as well as to her calmer recollections of happier days and bland descriptions of her daily preoccupations. The music makes no attempt to fill in the unheard half of the conversations; it is entirely in the girl’s head, punctuated by the xylophone’s interjections as the telephone bell and a brief moment when the sound of a jazz band comes down the line to her horrified ears. Poulenc’s orchestration is magnificent, but from the composer of so many fine songs, it is no surprise that this penetrating drama can work successfully accompanied by the piano instead. Hugh Macdonald is emeritus professor of music at Washington University, St. Louis. He is the editor of the New Berlioz Edition and author of Music in 1853 (2012). His latest book, Bizet, was published last fall by Oxford University Press. —Copyright © 2015 by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. Great Performers I Text and Translation La voix humaine Text: Jean Cocteau The Human Voice Trans.: Joseph Machlis (On sonne.) Allô, allô… Mais non, Madame, nous sommes plusieurs sur la ligne, raccrochez… vous êt’ avec une abonnée… Mais, Madame, raccrochez vousmêm’!… Allô, Mad’moisel’!… Mais non, ce n’est pas le docteur Schmit… Zéro huit, pas zéro sept. Allô!… C’est ridicul’… On me demande; je ne sais pas. (The telephone rings.) Hello, hello… No, no, Madame. But this is a party line. Please hang up… But I was on the wire first…If you please, will you get off the line l… Operator, please… Oh no, this is not Dr. Schmid… 0-0-8, not 0-0-7. Hello!… This is absurd… They keep ringing; I wonder why. (Elle raccroche, la main sur le récepteur. On sonne.) (She hangs up, her hand on the receiver. The telephone rings.) Allô!… Mais, Madam’, que voulez-vous que j’y fass’?… Comment, ma faut’? Pas de tout… Allô, Mad’moisel’! Dites à cette dame de se retirer. Hello!… But Madame, what do you want me to do?… What do you mean? Not at all… Operator, please! Would you kindly tell this lady to hang up. (Elle raccroche. On sonne.) (She hangs up. The telephone rings.) Allô, c’est toi?… Oui, très bien. C’était un vrai supplice de t’entendre à travers tout ce monde… Oui…oui…non… C’est une chance… Je rentre il y a dix minutes. Hello, it’s you?… Yes, quite clearly. It was dreadful not to hear what you were saying because of all those people… Yes…yes…no… It just so happens… I came back a little while ago. (Très naturelle) (Naturally) Great Performers I Text and Translation Tu n’avais pas encore appelé?… Ah!…Non, non. J’ai diné dehors, chez Marthe… Il doit être onze heur’ un quart. Tu es chez toi?… Alors regarde la pendule électrique… C’est que je pensais… Oui, oui, mon chéri… Hier soir? Hier soir je me suis couchée tout de suite et comme je ne pouvais pas m’endormir, j’ai pris un comprimé… Non…un seul…à neuf heures… J’avais un peu mal à la tête, mais je me suis secouée. Marthe est venue. Elle a déjeuné avec moi. J’ai fait des courses. Je suis rentrée à la maison. J’ai… Quoi?…Très forte… J’ai beaucoup, beaucoup de courage… Après? Après je me suis habillée, Marthe est venue me prendre… Je rentre de chez elle. Elle a été parfaite… Elle a cet air, mais ell’ ne l’est pas. Tu avais raison, comme toujours… Ma robe rose…Mon chapeau noir… Oui, j’ai encore mon chapeau sur la tête. Et toi, tu rentres? Tu es resté à la maison?… Quel procès?…Ah, oui. Allô! Chéri… Si on coupe redemande-moi tout de suite… Allô!…Non je suis là…Le sac? Tes lettres et les miennes… Tu peux le fair’ prendre quand tu veux… Un peu dur…Je comprends… Oh! mon chéri, ne t’excuse pas. Perhaps you called while I was out?… Ah!…No, no. I went out for dinner, with Martha… It must be a little past eleven. Are you at home?… Then take a look at the clock in the hallway… It’s just as I thought… Yes, yes, chéri… Last night? Last night I thought I would go to bed early, but then I had trouble in falling asleep. I took a pill… No…only one…at nine o’clock… I did have a bit of headache, but then it went away. Martha came this morning. We had breakfast together. I did some errands. And then I came directly home. I… What?…I’m trying… Oh I think I’ve lots of courage… And then? And then I got dressed for the evening, had a lovely time with Martha… came home around eleven. She’s really been an angel… She seems aloof, but she’s really not. Yes, you were completely right, as always… My red dress…My black hat… Yes, it’s the one you liked—I still have it on. And you? You went out? Or did you stay at home tonight?… What lawsuit?…Ah, yes. Hello! Chéri… If we’re cut off, you must call me back right away… Hello!…No I’m still here…The bag? Your letters and mine.… Yes, you can send for it when you like… It’s not easy…I understand… Darling, you needn’t apologize. Great Performers I Text and Translation C’est très naturel et c’est moi qui suis stupide…Tu es gentil… Moi non plus, je ne me croyais pas si forte. Quelle comédie?…Allô! Qui?… Que je te joue la comédie, moi! Tu me connais, Je suis incapable de prendre sur moi… Pas du tout…Pas du tout…Très calme… Tu l’entendrais…Je dis: tu l’entendrais. Je n’ai pas la voix d’une personne qui cache quelque chose… Non. J’ai décidé d’avoir du courage et j’en aurai… J’ai ce que je mérite. J’ai voulu être folle Et avoir un bonheur fou… Chéri, écoute…allô! Chéri… Laisse…allô! Laisse-moi parler… Ne t’accuse pas. Tout est ma faute… Si, si. Souviens-toi du dimanche de Versailles et du pneumatique…Ah! Alors! C’est moi qui ai voulu venir… C’est moi qui t’ai fermé la bouch’, C’est moi qui t’ai dit que tout m’était égal… Non…non…là tu es injuste. J’ai téléphoné la première, Un mardi, j’en suis sûre…Un mardi vingt-sept… Tu penses bien que je connais ces dates par coeur… Ta mère? Pourquoi? Ce n’est vraiment pas la peine… Je ne sais pas encore… Oui, peut-être… Oh! non, sûrement pas tout de suite, et toi?… That’s not at all strange. It is I who am stupid…You are so nice… Nor did I. I didn’t think I had the courage. Putting on an act?…Hello! Who?… You think I’m putting on an act? Me! You know me well, I am not the sort who would ever pretend… Not at all…I’m not angry… You will see…I said: You will see. Tell me, do I sound like a person who has something to hide?… No. I made up my mind that I would be brave, and I will… I got what I deserved. I was out to be reckless, I was taking a chance… Darling, please listen…Hello! Chéri… please…hello! Please let me talk… Do not blame yourself. It was all my fault.… Yes, yes. You remember that Sunday in Versailles when I sent that wire?…Ah! You see!… It was I who said I wished to come… It was I who would not let you speak. It was I who behaved as if I did not care… No…no…now you are unfair. I remember—I called you first… a Tuesday, I’m quite sure…Tuesday, the twenty-seventh… You ought to realize that I know those dates by heart… Your mother? But why? It is hardly worth the trouble… I honestly don’t know… Yes, perhaps… Oh no! certainly not right away. And you?… Great Performers I Text and Translation Demain? Je ne savais pas que c’était si rapide. Alors, attends, c’est très simple: demain matin le sac sera chez le concierge. Joseph n’aura qu’à passer le prendre… Oh! Moi, tu sais, il est possible que je reste, comme il est possible que j’aille passer quelques jours à la campagne, chez Marthe… Oui, mon chéri…Mais oui, mon chéri… Allô! Et comme ça? Pourtant je parle très fort… Et là, tu m’entends? Je dis: et là, tu m’entends?… C’est drôle parce que moi Je t’entends comme si Tu étais dans la chambre… Allô! allô! Allons, bon! Maintenant c’est moi qui ne t’entends plus… Si, mais très loin… Toi, tu m’entends? C’est chacun son tour… Non, très bien. J’entends même mieux que tout à l’heure, mais ton appareil résonne. On dirait que ce n’est pas ton appareil. Je te vois, tu sais. Tomorrow? I had no idea that it would be so soon. Well then, we’ll manage…it’s so simple: tomorrow morning I’ll leave the bag with the concierge. Joseph can come and pick it up tomorrow… Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll stay awhile in the city, or I may decide to go away for a couple of days in the country, at Martha’s… Yes, chéri…but of course, chéri… Hello! What is wrong? Dearest, I am speaking loud… And now, do you hear me? I said: and now do you hear me?… It’s funny, because I can hear you as plainly as if you were right here beside me… Hello! hello! Oh, it’s really absurd! Now I cannot hear a word… As if from afar, from far… Now can you hear? It’s each of us in turn… No, quite clearly. I can hear you better than before, but there is a buzz in your phone. It doesn’t sound like your telephone at all. I can see you, oh yes. (Il lui fait deviner.) (He makes her guess.) Quel foulard? Le foulard rouge. Tu as tes manches retroussées… Ta main gauche? Le récepteur… Ta main droite? Ton stylographe. Tu dessines sur le buvard, des profils, des coeurs, des étoiles… Ah! Tu ris! J’ai des yeux à la place des oreilles… What scarf? You have on the red one. You have your sleeves rolled back a little… In your left hand? The receiver… And a fountain pen in your right. You are drawing on the blotter, hearts and profiles and stars… Ah, you smile! I have eyes tucked away inside my ears… (Avec un geste machinal de se cacher la figure.) (She makes a mechanical gesture of hiding her face.) Great Performers I Text and Translation Dans le cabinet de toilette… Hier, je me suis trouvé nez à nez avec une vieille dame… No, no! Chéri, oh please don’t look at me now… Afraid? No, I am not afraid…It’s even worse… Oh darling, I’m no longer used to sleeping alone… Yes…yes…yes…I promise… You are so nice…I do not know. I try not to look at myself. I do not dare any more to turn on the light in my dressing room… Last night, there I was suddenly face to face with an old woman… Non, non! une vieille dame avec des cheveux blancs et une foule de petites rides. Tu es bien bon!… Mais, mon chéri, une figure admirable— C’est pire que tout, c’est pour les artistes. J’aimais mieux quand tu disais: Regardez-moi cette vilaine petite gueule!… Oui, cher Monsieur! Je plaisantais…Tu es bête… Heureusement que tu es maladroit et que tu m’aimes. No, no! An old woman with hair so white and a face full of little wrinkles. You are too kind!… But, chéri, a face that everyone envies— that is worst of all. That is for an actress. I preferred it when you said: “Funny face! Where did you get that funny face?”… Yes, my dear sir! I was joking…Don’t be silly… How lucky that you are so awkward and that you love me. Si tu ne m’aimes pas et si tu étais adroit, Le téléphone deviendrait Une arme effrayante. Une arme qui ne laisse pas de traces, qui ne fait pas de bruit… For if you did not love me and were not so awkward, this telephone could easily become a terrible weapon. A weapon that would leave no marks, nor make a noise… Moi, méchante? Allô! Allô, chéri… Où es-tu? Allô, allô, Mad’moisell’… Me, naughty? Hello! Hello, chéri… Are you there? Hello, hello, operator… (On sonne.) (The telephone rings.) Oh! Mon chéri, surtout ne me regarde pas… Peur? Non, je n’aurai pas peur… c’est pire… Enfin je n’ai plus l’habitude de dormir seule… Oui…oui…oui…je te promets… Tu es gentil… Je ne sais pas. J’évite de me regarder. Je n’ose plus allumer Great Performers I Text and Translation Allô, Mad’moiselle, on coupe. Hello. Someone cut us off. (Elle raccroche. Silence. Elle décroche.) (She hangs up. Silence. She takes the phone.) Allô, c’est toi?…Mais non, Mad’moiselle. On m’a coupée…Je ne sais pas… c’est à dire… Si, attendez…Auteuil zéro quat’virgul’sept. Allô! Pas libre? Allô, Mad’moisell’. Il me redemand’…Bien. Hello, it’s you?…No, no, operator. (Elle raccroche. On sonne.) (She hangs up. The telephone rings.) Allô! Auteuil zéro quat’virgul’sept? Allô! C’est vous, Joseph?… C’est Madame. On nous avait coupés avec Monsieur… Pas là?…Oui, oui, il ne rentre pas ce soir… C’est vrai, je suis stupide! Monsieur me téléphonait d’un restaurant, On a coupé et je redemande son numéro… Excusez-moi, Joseph. Merci. Bonsoir, Joseph. Hello! Auteuil seven-seven-three? Hello! It’s you, Joseph?… It’s Madame. Monsieur and I, we were disconnected… Not home?…Yes, yes, he’s not coming back tonight… How stupid of me! Monsieur must have telephoned me from outside, we were disconnected, so I called his number—my mistake… Excuse me, Joseph…I will… Thank you. Good night, Joseph. (Elle raccroche et se trouve presque mal. On sonne.) (She hangs up, feeling almost ill. The telephone rings.) Allô! ah! chéri! c’est toi? On avait coupé… Non, non. J’attendais…On sonnait, je décrochais et il n’y avait personne… Sans doute…Bien sûr… Tu as sommeil?… Tu es bon d’avoir téléphoné, très bon… Hello! Ah, chéri! It’s you? They cut us off… No, no, I was waiting… Someone rang, I answered right away, but there was no one… I suppose so…Of course… You are sleepy?… It was kind of you to call again, so kind… (Elle pleure. Silence.) (She is crying. Silence.) I was cut off…I don’t know…I mean… Yes, just a moment…Auteuil sevenseven-three. Hello! It’s busy? Operator, he’s trying to call me back…Alright. Great Performers I Text and Translation Non, je suis là…Quoi? Pardonne, C’est absurde…Rien, rien, Je n’ai rien…Je te jur’ que je n’ai rien… C’est pareil…Rien du tout. Tu te trompes…Seulement, tu comprends, On parle, on parle… No, I am here…What? Forgive me, it’s too silly…Nothing… there’s nothing wrong…But I swear there’s nothing wrong… Nothing’s changed…Not at all. You’re mistaken…It is only that (Elle pleure.) (She weeps.) Ecoute, mon amour. Je ne t’ai jamais menti… Oui, je sais, je sais, je te crois, J’en suis convaincue…non, ce n’est pas ça, C’est parce que je viens de te mentir, là, au téléphone, Depuis un quart d’heure, je te mens… Je sais bien que je n’ai plus aucune Chance à attendre, mais mentir Ne porte pas la chance et puis je n’aime Pas te mentir, je ne peux pas, Je ne veux pas te mentir, même pour ton bien. Oh! Rien de grave, mon chéri. Seulement je mentais en te décrivant ma robe et ne disant que j’avais dîné chez Marthe…Je n’ai pas dîné, Je n’ai pas ma robe rose. J’ai un manteau sur Ma chemise, parce qu’à force d’attendre Ton téléphone, à force de regarder l’appareil, De m’asseoir, de me lever, De marcher de long en large, je devenais folle! My darling, listen. I have never told you lies… Yes, I know, I know, I believe you. I’m sure of it, dear…No, it isn’t that… It’s only that I lied to you before, yes, on the telephone, just fifteen minutes ago, I lied to you. I know well that it’s too late for my luck to return. But a lie won’t bring me back my luck. Besides, I hate to tell you a lie. I cannot lie, I cannot lie to you, even for your own good. Oh! Nothing serious, mon chéri. I lied in describing the dress that I was wearing, also when I said I had dinner with Martha…I’ve had no dinner, I’m not wearing my red dress, only a coat over my nightdress, because I was waiting all evening for you to call. And what with my staring at the phone, and sitting down, and jumping up, and pacing up and down the room, I was almost frantic! all this talk, this talk… Great Performers I Text and Translation Alors j’ai mis un manteau et j’allais sortir, Prendre un taxi, me fair’ mener Sous tes fenêtres, pour attendre… eh bien! Attendre, je ne sais quoi… Tu as raison…Si, je t’écoute…Je serai sage, Je répondrai à tout, je te jure. Ici…Je n’ai rien mangé. Je ne pouvais pas. J’ai été très malade…Hier soir, j’ai voulu prendre un comprimé pour dormir; Je me suis dit que si j’en prenais plus, Je dormirais mieux et que si je les prenais tous, Je dormirais sans rêve, sans réveil, And so I put on my coat, I was going out to take a taxi, to wander underneath your windows…stand there waiting…ah, yes! Stand waiting—I don’t even know what for… You are so right…Yes, I am listening… I shan’t be foolish, and I will keep my head, I promise. Right here…I didn’t eat a thing. I simply couldn’t. Last night I meant to take a pill that would put me to sleep; Je serais morte… I thought that if I took more than one, I’d sleep so much better. I thought that if I took them all I’d sleep without a dream and never wake— I’d sleep forever… (Elle pleure.) (She weeps.) J’en ai avalé douze…Dans de l’eau chaude… Comme une masse. Et j’ai eu un rêve. J’ai rêvé ce qui est. Je me suis réveillée toute Contente parce que c’était un rêve, Et quand j’ai su que c’était vrai, Que j’étais seule, que je n’avais pas la tête sur Ton cou, j’ai senti que je ne pouvais pas vivre… Légère et froide et je ne sentais plus Mon coeur battre et la mort était longue à Venir et com’j’avais une angoisse épouvantable, Au bout d’une heure j’ai téléphoné à Marthe… Je n’avais pas le courag’ de mourir seule. Chéri…chéri…Il était quatre heur’ du matin. And so I swallowed twelve…in hot water… all in a lump. Then—then I was dreaming. You were going away. And then when I awoke I felt so happy, because it was—just a dream. But when I knew it was true, that I was alone, that my head was not against your shoulder, then I knew I could not go on living… My body felt cold and light, and my heart was no longer beating, and death was slow in coming. Since I was in terrible pain, after an hour I managed to phone Martha… I lacked the courage to die alone. Chéri…Chéri…It was four o’clock in the morning. Great Performers I Text and Translation Elle est arrivée avec le docteur qui habite Son immeuble. J’avais plus de quarant’. Le docteur a fait une ordonnance et Marthe Est restée jusqu’à ce soir. Je l’ai suppliée De partir parce que tu m’avais dit que Finally she came, and with her that doctor who lives in her house. I had a hundred and two. The doctor wrote out a prescription, and Martha remained till tonight. I begged her (Elle pleure.) (She weeps.) Allô! Je croyais qu’on avait coupé… Tu es bon, mon chéri. Mon pauvre chéri à qui j’ai fait du mal…Oui, parle, Parle, dis n’importe quoi. Je souffrais à me rouler par terre Hello! I thought they had cut us off… You’re so kind, chéri. My darling, whom I have hurt so very much…Yes, speak, say anything at all. I have suffered enough to drive me mad, yet you have only to speak, and I feel well again, and can close my eyes. You know, sometimes when we were in bed, and my head was resting in its usual place, pressed against your chest, I could hear your voice exactly as it sounds over the telephone tonight. Hello! Why do I hear music?… I said: Why do I hear music?… Well then, you should knock on the wall and complain if your neighbors play their gramophone so late at night… It’s useless. Anyhow, Martha’s doctor is coming back tomorrow… Don’t you worry now…Of course. to leave me alone, since you had promised Tu téléphonerais et j’avais peur qu’on to phone me as soon as you were free—I was afraid they would try to keep us apart…I’m M’empêche de te parler…Très bien. alright. Don’t you worry now. Ne t’inquiète pas. Et il suffit que tu parles pour que Je me sente bien, que je ferme les yeux. Tu sais, quelquefois quand nous étions Couchés et que j’avais ma tête à Sa petite place contre ta poitrine, J’entendais ta voix, exactement La même que ce soir dans l’appareil. Allô! J’entends de la musique… Je dis: J’entends de la musique… Eh bien, tu devrais cogner au mur Et empêcher ces voisins de jouer Du gramophone à des heur’ pareil’… C’est inutile. Du reste le docteur De Marthe reviendra demain… Ne t’inquiète pas…Mais oui. Great Performers I Text and Translation Ell’ te donnera des nouvelles… Quoi? Oh! si, mil’ fois mieux. Si tu n’avais pas appelé, Je serais morte. She will let you know what he said… What? Oh yes! so much better. If you hadn’t called tonight I would have died. (Elle marche d’un côté à l’autre et sa souffrance lui tire des plaintes.) (She paces up and down and her suffering makes her moan.) Pardonne-moi. Je sais que cette scène Est intolérable et que tu as bien de la patience, mais comprends-moi, je souffre, Je souffre. Ce fil, c’est le dernier qui Me rattache encore à nous…Avanthier soir? J’ai dormi. Je m’étais couchée avec le téléphone… Non, non. Dans mon lit…Oui. Je sais. Je suis très ridicule, mais j’avais Le téléphone dans mon lit et malgré tout, On est relié par le téléphone. Forgive me, dear. I know you find this scene quite unbearable, and that you are being very patient. But if you knew what torture I suffer. This wire—the only bond that still connects me with us…Monday evening? I slept quite well. I went to bed with the telephone… No, no. On my bed…Yes, I know. I’m being silly. But I kept the telephone in my bed. In spite of all it is a link—something that connects us. Only because you are speaking. It’s five years now that I’ve lived through you, that I’ve spent my time waiting for you, thinking you were dead every time you were late—I could die at the thought— and reviving the moment you appeared; and when you were finally here, dying at the thought that you’d leave me…And now I can breathe because I hear your voice… Parce que tu me parles. Voilà cinq ans que je vis de toi, que tu es mon seul air respirable, Que je passe mon temps A t’attendre, à croir’ mort si tu es en retard, à mourir de te croir’ mort, A revivre quand tu entres et Quand tu es là, enfin, à mourir de peur que tu partes…Maintenant, j’ai de l’air Parce que tu me parles… Allô! Allô! Madam’ retirez-vous. Vous êt’ avec des abonnés… Allô! Mais non, Madam’… Mais, Madame, Nous ne cherchons pas à être intéressants… Si vous nous trouvez ridicules, Pourquoi perdez-vous votre temps Au lieu de raccrocher?… Hello! Hello! Madame, will you hang up. But you cut in on our line… Hello! Oh no, Madame… But, Madame, we’re not trying to be interesting, I can assure you… If you really find us so silly, why are you wasting your time instead of hanging up?… Great Performers I Text and Translation Oh!…Ne te fâche pas…Enfin!… Non, non. Elle a raccroché après Avoir dit cette chose ignoble… Tu as l’air frappé…Si, tu es frappé, Je connais ta voix…Mais, mon chéri, Cette femme doit être très mal Et elle ne te connait pas. Ell’ croit que Tu es comme les autres hommes… Mais non, mon chéri, Ce n’est pas du tout pareil…Pour les gens, On s’aime ou on se déteste. Les ruptures sont des ruptures. Ils regardent vite. Tu ne leur feras jamais comprendre…Tu ne leur feras jamais comprendre certaines choses. Le mieux est de faire comme moi et de s’en moquer complètement. Oh!…Don’t be angry…At last!… No, no. She just hung up, after having been so terribly nasty… You sound upset…Yes, you are upset. I know your voice…But dearest, she must have been a very sick woman, and she doesn’t know you at all. Perhaps she believed you were just like the others… Oh no, chéri, it is not at all the same…People think it’s either love or hatred. Once an affair is over, it’s over. They know everything. You will never make them understand…You will never make them understand that things are not simple. It’s better to do the same as I: laugh at them all and ignore them. (Elle pousse un cri de douleur sourd.) (She utters a stifled cry of sorrow.) Oh!…Rien. Je crois que nous parlons comme d’habitude Et puis tout a coup la vérité me revient. (Larmes) Dans le temps, on se voyait, On pouvait perdre la tête, Oublier ses promesses, risquer l’impossible, Convaincre ceux qu’on adorait En les embrassant, en s’accrochant à eux. Un regard pouvait changer tout. Mais avec cet appareil, Ce qui est fini est fini… Sois tranquille. On ne se suicide pas deux fois… Je ne saurais pas acheter un révolver… Oh!…Nothing. I could swear that we were talking just the same as always. All of a sudden I realized the truth… (Tears) When we still saw one another, we could still lose our heads, forget a broken promise, and take such chances. Our love could conquer every doubt with a tender kiss, or with a wild embrace. Just a look could change everything. But what with this telephone between, what is done is done… Don’t worry. No one ever tries to kill himself twice… I would hardly know where to buy a revolver… Great Performers I Text and Translation Tu ne me vois pas achetant un révolver. Où trouverais-je la force de combiner un mensonge, Mon pauvre adoré? Aucune…J’aurais dû avoir du courage. Il y a des circonstances Où le mensonge est utile. Toi, si tu me mentais pour rendre La séparation moins pénible… Can you see me buying a revolver? Je disais simplement que Si tu me trompais par bonté d’âme Et que je m’en aperçoive, Je n’en aurais que plus de tendresse pour toi… Allô! Allô! Where would I find the strength to think up a lie at this moment, my poor darling? I couldn’t…I would never have the courage. There are circumstances where a lie might be useful. If you had lied to me, to make our separation seem less painful… I did not say you were lying. I said: if you had lied and I knew about it. If, for example, you were not at home, and you were to tell me… No, no, chéri! Listen please…I believe you… Yes, your voice suddenly sounds angry… I meant only to say that if you told a lie out of kindness, and I had known that you did, it would only cause me to love you more… Hello! Hello! (Elle raccroche en disant tout bas et rapidement.) (She hangs up, murmuring very quickly.) Mon Mon Mon Mon Dear Dear Dear Dear Je ne dis pas que tu mentes. Je dis: si tu mentais et que je le sache. Si, par exemple, tu n’étais pas chez toi, Et que tu me dises… Non, non, mon chéri! Ecoute…Je te crois… Si, tu prends une voix méchante… Dieu, Dieu, Dieu, Dieu, fait’ qu’il redemande. fait’ qu’il redemande. fait’ qu’il redemande. fait’… (On sonne. Elle décroche.) God, God, God, God, make him call me back. make him call me back. make him call me back. make… (The telephone rings. She takes the receiver.) Great Performers I Text and Translation On avait coupé. J’étais en train de te dire que Si tu me mentais par bonté et que je m’en aperçoive, Je n’en aurais que plus de tendresse pour toi… Bien sûr…Tu es fou! Mon amour, mon cher amour. We were disconnected. I was saying that if you had lied out of the goodness of your heart, and I noticed you were lying, it would only cause me to love you more… Of course…You are mad! Oh my love, my dearest love. (Elle enrule le fil autour de son cou.) (She winds the telephone cord around her neck.) Je sais bien qu’il le faut, mais c’est atroce. Jamais je n’aurai ce courage… Oui. On a l’illusion d’être l’un contre l’autre Et brusquement on met des caves, Des égouts, toute une ville entre soi. I know well that we must, but it is dreadful. I never could summon up the courage… Yes, I have the illusion that I’m right beside you. And all at once, the cellars and sewers. A whole city lies between us. I have wound the cord around my neck. I can feel your voice around my neck. Your voice surrounding my neck… They could hardly cut us off, except by mistake… Oh chéri! Oh how could you even imagine I’d think such an ugly thought? I am well aware that this thing is more difficult for you, more painful in every way than for me…no…no…To Marseilles? Oh listen, chéri. Since you will be in Marseilles at least for a week, may I ask…I really would like… I would like it if you did not go to that little hotel where we always stayed together… You are not angry?…Because the things I don’t have to imagine do not exist. J’ai le fil autour de mon cou. J’ai ta voix autour de mon cou. Ta voix autour de mon cou… Il faudrait que le bureau Nous coupe par hasard… Oh! Mon chéri! Comment peux-tu imaginer Que je pense une chose si laide? Je sais bien que cette opération Est encore plus cruelle à faire de ton côté Que du mien…non…non…A Marseill’? Ecoute, chéri, puisque vous serez à Marseill’ Après-demain soir, je voudrais…enfin j’aimerais… J’aimerais que tu ne descendes pas à l’hôtel Où nous descendons d’habitude… Tu n’es pas fâché?…Parce que les choses Que je n’imagine pas n’existent pas, Great Performers I Text and Translation Ou bien elles existent dans une espèce de lieu Très vague et qui fait moins de mal…tu comprends? Merci…merci. Tu es bon. Je t’aime. Or let’s say that they exist in some very vague kind of place that does not hurt so much…You understand? Thank you…thank you. You are good. I love you. (Elle se lève et se dirige vers le lit avec l’appareil à la main.) (She gets up and walks towards the bed with the telephone in her hand.) Alors, voilà. J’allais dire machinalement: à tout de suite… J’en doute. Oh!…C’est mieux. Beaucoup mieux… So here we are. I was about to say, out of habit, “I’ll see you soon…” I doubt it. Oh!…It’s better. Much better… (Elle se couche sur le lit serre l’appareil dans ses bras.) (She lies down on the bed and clasps the telephone in her arms.) Mon chéri… Mon beau chéri. Je suis forte… Dépêche-toi…Vas-y. Coupe! Coupe vite! Je t’aime, je t’aime, je t’aime, je t’aime…t’aime. Oh darling… my sweet darling. I’ll be brave… Let’s make an end…Go on. Hang up! Hang up quickly! I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you…love you. (Le récepteur tombe par terre.) (The telephone falls to the ground.) B EALOVEGA Meet the Artists Great Performers I Meet the Artists Anna Caterina Antonacci Anna Caterina Antonacci is widely acknowledged as a major artist, and her extraordinary vocal timbre and acting skills have enabled her to perform a vast and varied repertoire in the world’s most important theaters. She has scored notable personal success as Cassandra (Les troyens) with John Eliot Gardiner at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, in L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and in the title role in Medea in Toulouse. Her debut in a new production of Carmen at the Royal Opera House–Covent Garden, conducted by Antonio Pappano, was a triumph. It was also performed at the Opéra Comique and was a precursor to Ms. Antonacci’s return to London as Cassandra at Covent Garden and the BBC Proms. Also revered for her interpretations of Berlioz’s vocal works, Ms. Antonacci’s performances have included La mort de Cléopâtre with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Nelson, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Nézet-Séguin. Ms. Antonacci has been honored with the Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur. Her first recording, Era la Notte, for the Naïve label, received great acclaim. She has also recorded L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra for Wigmore Hall Live, with her pianist Donald Sulzen, featuring songs by Tosti, Cilea, and Hahn. Great Performers I Meet the Artists Donald Sulzen Donald Sulzen has won recognition as a collaborator with celebrated singers such as Anna Caterina Antonacci, Laura Aikin, Thomas Cooley, and James Taylor, and is also the pianist of the renowned Munich Piano Trio. Mr. Sulzen studied with Jules Gentil at the École Normale de Musique in Paris, from which he graduated with honors. He earned a master’s degree in music at the University of North Texas before moving to Europe to specialize in German song through master classes with Martin Katz, Geoffrey Parsons, and John Wustman. Mr. Sulzen’s extensive concert activity includes tours through the major recital halls of Europe, the U.S., South America, and Japan. He has also appeared on radio and television, and recorded on more than 30 CDs for Orfeo International, Toshiba EMI, and Koch International, among others. Recent recordings include Dvořák’s Piano Trios, Opp. 65 and 90, as well as Georg Schumann’s Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2, both with the Munich Piano Trio. Other artists Mr. Sulzen accompanies include Daphne Evangelatos, Julie Kaufmann, Ofelia Sala, Marilyn Schmiege, and David Daniels. Mr. Sulzen currently resides in Munich, where he is a professor for the instruction of song duos at the University of Music and Performing Arts. Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Initiated in 1965, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series offers classical and contemporary music performances from the world’s outstanding symphony orchestras, vocalists, chamber ensembles, and recitalists. One of the most significant music presentation series in the world, Great Performers runs from October through June with offerings in Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Walter Reade Theater, and other performance spaces around New York City. From symphonic masterworks, lieder recitals, and Sunday morning coffee concerts to films and groundbreaking productions specially commissioned by Lincoln Center, Great Performers offers a rich spectrum of programming throughout the season. Great Performers Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 programs, series, and festivals including American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award–winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billion campus renovation, completed in October 2012. Lincoln Center Programming Department Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director Hanako Yamaguchi, Director, Music Programming Jon Nakagawa, Director, Contemporary Programming Jill Sternheimer, Acting Director, Public Programming Lisa Takemoto, Production Manager Charles Cermele, Producer, Contemporary Programming Kate Monaghan, Associate Director, Programming Claudia Norman, Producer, Public Programming Mauricio Lomelin, Associate Producer, Contemporary Programming Julia Lin, Associate Producer Nicole Cotton, Production Coordinator Regina Grande, Assistant to the Artistic Director Luna Shyr, Programming Publications Editor Olivia Fortunato, House Seat Coordinator For Art of the Song Megan Young, Supertitle Creator and Operator Ms. Antonacci’s representation: Askonas Holt www.askonasholt.co.uk