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
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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.
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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.
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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