to scratch an
angel
containing the impressed history of a master's last
hour,
and -- in its forceful brevity -- projecting us
to the limits of the actual world
original libretto & music by ari frankel
Duration:
app. 90 minutes without intermission
PRIMO lyric
baritone
MESSENGER countertenor
MOTHER, dbl. MELENCOLIA mezzosoprano
WIFE, dbl. EUTERPE soprano
DAUGHTER soprano
CONCIERGE mezzosoprano
SON, dbl. CADMUS tenor
FATHER, dbl. Uncle & CRONUS bass
NEIGHBORS SATB
ensemble
SECTIONS
1. Skin Neighbors
2. The
Shave Messenger
3. Prelude Instrumental
4. Check/Mate Mother, Computer/Messenger, Primo
5. Oh,
Primo Mother, Son, Intercom Voice, Primo
6. Home Wife, Daughter, Mother, Messenger,
Primo
7. Dirty
Feet Primo, Neighbors
8. Mail
Dance Wife, Daughter, Primo
9. Not
To Worry Primo, Concierge
10. Gray Zones Wife, Concierge, Neighbors
11. Living,
But Not Alive Son, Primo
12. Walk In My
Footsteps Primo, Neighbors
13. It Can. It
Is. Messenger, Primo, Father
14. Like you,
caro babbo Primo, Father
15. Sand Son, Primo, Cronus
16. Broken Euterpe, Neighbors
17. Point.
Comma. Point. Melencolia, Primo
18. Afar [dust] Neighbors
19. Chemistry Primo, Neighbors
20. Does Not
Equal Neighbors
21. Some Never
Do Melencolia, Neighbors
22. Ask Me Euterpe, Concierge, Cronus
23. Arm Patrol Messenger, Cadmus
24. Burning
Coal all but Primo
25. Non ne
posso piu Primo alone
Melencolia I, Albrecht D€rer
The stage may be a 3-dimensional cut of Levięs
family house. At its center - a wide, spiraling staircase, –hugging” an
elevator shaft. The staircase has a low railing.
The different floors are visible, or –marked”, and
at least the ground and 3rd floors –are there”. The PRIMO apartments
occupy all of the 3rd floor. Other neighboring apartments are also
visible.
MOTHERęs room is visible to stage right. At the
bottom of the vertical, caged, elevator shaft, descending the middle of the
stairwell, one also sees its well and bottom elevator door. On the ground
floor, the CONCIERGEęs apartment door is visible, on the far left.
Alongside this center –column”, there are
projection screens / activity areas, that will allow virtual tableaux to be
both staged/performed and/or screened. When PRIMO falls, his –body”, or morphed
projections thereof, can actually be contained inside this elevator cage/shaft;
the cage itself can sometimes morph into barbed wire or glass/chemical tubing
or some lit mesh.
As morning breaks, PRIMO is still sleeping in bed,
the house awakens, as neighbors start their day. PRIMO slowly rises.
1. Skin
Neighbors
translation:
[crease,
cease,] doubt thou the stars are fire; [crease, cease,] doubt thou the stars
are fire;
[crease,
cease,] doubt that the sun doth move [crease, cease,] doubt that the sun
doth move
[crease,
cease,] doubt truth to be a liar; [crease, cease,] doubt truth to be a
liar;
[crease,
cease,] but never doubt I love. [crease, cease,] but never doubt I
love.[1]
Nel mezzo
del cammin di nostra vita In the middle of the journey of our
life
mi ritrovai
per una selva oscura I came to myself within a dark wood
che la
diritta via era smarrita. where the straight way was lost.[2]
Grau, teurer
Freund, ist alle Theorie All theory, dear friend, is gray but
the
Und gr€n des
Lebens goldner Baum. golden tree of actual life springs
ever green.[3]
Verde que te
quiero verde, Green I love you green,
Verde
viento. Verde ramas. Green wind. Green branches.[4]
Tacitae per
amica silentia lunae Through the amicable silence of the
soundless
Verbum caro
factum est. moonlight[5]
The word was made flesh.[6]
On
lęenterra... aux vitrines ňclairňes, They buried him... in the lighted
windows,
ses livres
disposňs trois par trois veillaient his books arranged three by three kept
watch
commes des
anges aux ailes ňployňes... like angels with outspread wings...
Les vrai
paradis The true paradises
sont les
paradis quęon a perdus. are paradises we have lost.[7]
BATHROOM in the childhood house where PRIMO was
born. After brushing teeth, he proceeds to shave. MESSENGER, who may not yet be
–visible”, sings, mimicking, or shadowing, or guarding PRIMO, and his reflected
mirror image.
2. The Shave
Messenger
MESSENGER: I
come with whiskers rather short.
I
hate to shave, oh, help me grow.
I
know your time is in much demand;
I
only ask you to be my friend, with
worlds
colliding, cultures lost;
have
no control, find no God;
be
my savior: try it on.
Oh,
be my savior.
I
come with questions, answer not.
I
come to hold you in my dark.
The
sheets are dirty, I care not
My
laundryęs rich and full of stuff, so
be
my savior, try it on;
wear
the crown, wear the crown.
Be
my hero, one and all;
be
my savior.
Shave
me close.
The
cream is burning from outside.
The
blade is bright and smooth and nice.
With
drugs available for free,
Ięm
somewhat worried, wouldnęt you
be
my savior, try it on.
Be
my savior, wear the crown.
Be
my hero, one and all.
Oh,
be my savior.
I
knock, and wait, and watch TV;
Play
with computers in search of me;
Life
is fleeing, sleep no more;
Ięm
always tired, so alone with
worlds
colliding, cultures lost;
have
no control, find no God;
Be
my savior.
Oh,
be my savior.
Be
my savior: wear the crown.
Be
my savior: try it on.
Be
my hero, one and all.
Be
my savior.
I
come with whiskers rather short.
I
hate to shave, oh, help me grow.
I
know your time is in much demand;
I
only ask you to - - - shave me - - -
shave
me - - - shave me.
3. Prelude
Instrumental
As PRIMO finishes dressing, he moves into his
STUDY, fixing his shirt into his trousers. Booting the COMPUTER, he looks
around for some notes. He launches a chess program, and sits to play –against”
the computer. Its –voice” will actually be the processed voice of MESSENGER).
4 . Check/Mate
Mother, Computer/Messenger, Primo
COMPUTER: Your
move.
PRIMO: My
move?! Why, yes. Youęre right
I must have dosed off; not quite awake
yet.
Queen
takes Knight 4.
COMPUTER: Watch
out. Youęll score.
PRIMO: This
house° This room. This game°
COMPUTER: Were
you born here?
What do you know?
PRIMO: One
thing° one thing° [frustrated] I
forget.
Your move.
COMPUTER: Bishop
bows. Pawn is out. I have doubts.
PRIMO: How
is that possible?
Ięll re-boot you and youęll know.
Doubts are human.
COMPUTER: Watch
out, you men.
PRIMO: This
house° This room.
BOTH: This
game°
PRIMO: I
write.
COMPUTER: You
record.
PRIMO: I
delete.
COMPUTER: Erase
some more.
Help
me with this game.
PRIMO: Prostate
pills † go away!
Post-op was hard°
COMPUTER: Pawn
takes White Heart.
PRIMO: Check?
COMPUTER: Check.
PRIMO: This
house. This game°
MOTHER: [from
other room] Primo!
COMPUTER: Who
calls?
MOTHER: Primo!
PRIMO: Mother
calls.
[toward Motheręs voice] Ięll be°
COMPUTER: Right
away you jump to her side!
PRIMO: What
else can one do?
What else would you do for an ailing mom?
[pause] Check?
COMPUTER: Check-mate.
MOTHER: PRIMO!
PRIMO: Yes,
mother. Coming.
Rising from the desk, PRIMO slowly, with effort,
turns to go to his MOTHERęs room. On his way, the apartmentęs intercom buzzer
sounds. He answers.
5. Oh, Primo
Mother, Son, Intercom Voice, Primo
”I go to the door of my motheręs room and
I feel the weight of the whole world on me.”
† Primo to relative
PRIMO: Prego.
VOICE: Is
Renzo there?
PRIMO: No.
He is Number Four.
VOICE: Sorry!
PRIMO proceeds through the corridor, as the
apartment door swings open.
SON: Sorry,
father. My friend pressed the wrong bell.
PRIMO: Not
to worry, son.
SON: Weęll
be in my apartment for a while, if you need anything.
Ci
vediamo [be seeing you].
PRIMO: [waving
son away] Ci vediamo.
Passing through the landing, PRIMO transforms from
a moral compass, from the celebreated guru of a writer that the world
perceives, into a controlled child, eager to please mommy.
MOTHERęS ROOM. Bedridden for months, with Primoęs
DAUGHTER at her side, the ill woman complains. Seemingly senile, weak, she
remains stubborn.
MOTHER: Oh,
Primo, Primo.
Ięve been calling you forever.
Where have you been?!
PRIMO: In
my study, Mama.
MOTHER: Why
donęt you answer?
You donęt care at all about me°
Itęs only –work” with you!
PRIMO: Sorry,
Mama. I am sorry.
MOTHER: [answering,
as if she was asked:]
Sleep? I had no sleep.
All I had was pain.
I want to go home.
PRIMO: But,
mother, you ARE home. We ARE home.
This IS home. (looking around at the
room)
This has always BEEN our home.
MOTHER: No,
my words° you donęt understand.
You donęt understand my words.
I want to go to my true home.
My home in the sky.
PRIMO: Mama,
what nonsense!
Donęt
TALK like that.
w/SON: Donęt
talk°
PRIMO alone: °
like that.
MOTHER: Ah,
it hurts!
TOGETHER: It
hurts.
MOTHER: Yes,
it hurts so much!
PRIMO: Ięm
sorry, Mama.
Not our home. Not our home° What IS home?
6. Home
Wife, Daughter, Mother, Messenger,
Primo
DAUGHTER: Home
is often a thing you loose.
Home is never a place you choose.
w/MOTHER: Home
is maybe. Home is wet.
MOTHER alone: All
my troubles begin in bed.
w/PRIMO: Home
is throats that are seldom sore.
PRIMO alone: Home
is freedom desiring more.
w/MOTHER: Home, I gotęch you.
PRIMO, DAUGHTER, WIFE: Home, youęre it!
WIFE, MOTHER: Please
come closer; now retreat.
MOTHER alone [half spoken]: Home is mirrors that
never, ever crack.
PRIMO [spoken]: Home,
Ięve left you and now Ięm back.
w/WIFE [sung]: Home
is shelter. Home is clean.
DAUGHTER: Children
Playing, mothers near.
MESSENGER: Home
is where wings are hung to dry.
Home is truth over many lies.
w/PRIMO: Home
is beauty. All is well.
You [P: I] move lightly within your [P: my] shell.
MESSENGER alone: Fly,
fly home.
w/PRIMO: Fly,
fly soul.
PRIMO kisses MOTHER, who relaxes back into bed. He
leaves her room slowly, shuffling his feet. As NEIGHBORS begin the hymnal DIRTY
FEET, PRIMO freely, oratorically, recites:
7. Dirty Feet
Primo, Neighbors
I
marched far away to the forest;
I
crawled close to the burning bush;
I
tried to aim, and then fire,
but
you [you] never understood.
I was caught, and then I was tortured.
Tested,
again and again.
Starving,
dirty, abandoned
by
you, and by what some call Hell.
Oh, mother, your doorway s0 heavy;
Its
weight more precious then stones;
[linger, extend the end –s”]
I
have traveled the railways of Europe.
Still
carry the markings of war.
But
when violence let go, released me,
both
my shoes were too dirty for home.
Oh,
mother. [pause]
Your doorway. [pause]
I
live but for life, and the others?
Living
with fears of regret.
We
love not for the sake of forgiving,
but
for the chance to crawl, dirty, to bed.
WIFE
appears from another part of the apartment, carrying a shopping bag.
CONCIERGE begins to make her way up the stairs,
carrying a bundle of mail.
8. Mail Dance
Wife, Daughter, Primo
WIFE: Primo,
I am off for a short while;
We need some vegetables and milk.
PRIMO: Very
well, my dear. Very well.
[quickly
turns to DAUGHTER as WIFE leaves]
Please
answer any phone calls that may ring.
I am going down to check for [any] mail
That the mailman may bring.
DAUGHTER: But
is it not always brought to you, caro babbo?
Is
it not always brought up to you?
PRIMO: Well,
yes. [hesitant] It does not
matter°
But, yes, well, it IS a Saturday morning°
Maybe. Yes, it will be easier if I, myself go°
DAUGHTER: Of
course, caro babbo.
PRIMO: °
if I go myself.
DAUGHTER: Of
course°
WIFE: So,
I am off.
PRIMO: Very
well
WIFE: Will
you be alright?
PRIMO: Yes.
Surely.
[pause] You know°
WIFE: [only
slightly impatient] What is it now?
PRIMO: We
could brighten up this hallway a bit.
WIFE: What
do you mean?
PRIMO: Paint.
Change curtains. Add light.
WIFE: Primo,
itęs Saturday morning° Early Saturday morning.
PRIMO: I
know, cara, but this has been on my mind for some time.
WIFE: Well,
can we discuss this later?
PRIMO: [spoken]
Sure. Why not.
[softly] Letęs dance.
Instrumental Dance/Dream follows. PRIMO and WIFE
dance, awkwardly. This is a shared fantasy, imagining a spontaneous, expressive
courtship they wish they had had. At climax, tango vamp/beats appear; then,
back to real life.
As music ascends, with basket in one hand, WIFE
gives PRIMO a brief hug with her free hand. He shies away from the touch. She
lightly waves goodbye, without speaking. PRIMO waves back, without speaking.
As WIFE descends, she passes by the CONCIERGE. She
slows down, and will pause at the landing, without yet exiting the building.
Through the corridor, PRIMO passes his STUDY and reaches apartment door. As he
opens it, the CONCIERGE reaches it from the other side.
9. Not To Worry
Concierge, Primo
CONCIERGE: Oh,
excuse me, Dottore Levi!
PRIMO: Not
to worry, Signora Gasperi.
CONCIERGE: [handing
him the bundle] Not much mail today,
Dottore.
PRIMO: Not
to worry.
CONCIERGE: Some
days thereęs a bag, and other days
there is almost nothing but catalogs and
bills.
PRIMO: Not
to worry. Not to worry.
Thank you, Signora Gasperi.
Thank you kindly.
Levięs
terrace, street corner. Photo: Ari Frankel
PRIMO waves, closes apartment door, and returns to
STUDY. Absent mindedly, he draws the curtains and looks out the terrace, onto
his street. The CONCIERGE begins descent, and duets with WIFE, who remained
near building exit.
10. Gray Zones
Wife, Concierge, Neighbors
WIFE: Raw
emotions pouring out
to
touch life; to bless this house.
w/ CONCIERGE: Pain
above us, pain below.
How I love him, he wonęt know.
CONCIERGE: Do
I need him? More than air!
TOGETHER: Give
me passion, or I despair.
Gray zones cover both our lives.
Words
of freedom never rhyme.
NEIGHBORS hum a chorale ending, as WIFE exits and
CONCIERGE descends and reaches her apartment. PRIMO turns back from terrace,
returns inside, and sits to look through the mail while dialing a phone number.
In another apartment, SON is also now seen, speaking to his visiting friend.
11. Living, But Not Alive
Son, Primo
SON: My
father, he is not well.
He is living, but is not alive.
PRIMO: I
am living, but am not alive° [repeat]
[on phone] Cara, how are you?
[sigh]
How many things we have done together.
You, you know by now.
How by writing I found peace for a while,
And
felt [myself] becoming a man again,
A
person like everyone else; [x2]
w/SON: Neither
martyr, nor debased;
Neither martyr, nor a saint.
PRIMO: Cara,
how are you?
Here, it is over. Over.
It
is harder now then it was in the camp.
I
am worse then I was at Auschwitz.
So hard. So slow.
w/SON: I
am living, but am not alive° [repeat]
PRIMO: Grazie°
Tu sei molto gentile. [pause, repeat]
PRIMO hangs up the phone. MOTHER calls from her
room.
MOTHER: [to
the DAUGHTER, angry]
Donęt tell ME if I can call him or not!!
[towards
PRIMOęs study, loudly]
Primo!! [pause] Primo!!
PRIMO: Coming,
mother! Coming.
Exiting the study into the corridor, something
shifts PRIMO out onto the floor landing. He is a bit unstable, holding onto a
low section of the railing for balance. PRIMO presses down on the railing as a
memory illuminates itself in another part of the stage.
VIRTUAL TABLEAUX I: [MUSIC STARTS] Mountains, morphing
from snow-covered Alps to Italian countryside ones. A young PRIMO (app. 8-11
years of age) is seen climbing, following in the footsteps of some friendly,
strong adult. They are in full gear+hats. They hum/whistle a popular folk song,
innocent, and happy.
Levi cycling along the Italian lakes,
1941.
Photo: Bianca Giudetta Serra
12. Walk In My Footsteps
Primo, Neighbors
PRIMO: In
1927 or 1928, when I was eight or nine,
my
Uncle Oreste Colombo, an outdoors type,
took
me on strawberry picking expeditions
[+NEIGHBORS:] in
the hills above Torino.
PRIMO: –Walk
in my footsteps”, he would say.
–Walk
in my footsteps”.
NEIGHBORS: In
the hills above Torino.
PRIMO: –Walk
in my footsteps”.
NEIGHBORS: In
the hills above Torino.
PRIMO: –Walk
in my footsteps”, he would say.
NEIGHBORS: In
the hills above Torino.
PRIMO: Before
long, I accompanied Uncle Oreste
to more ambitious altitudes.
These
excursions greatly improved my physical confidence
In The hills above Torino.
–Walk
in my footsteps”, he would say.
NEIGHBORS: In
the hills above Torino.
PRIMO: –Walk
in my footsteps”.
Video images slowly shift between another –walk in
oneęs footsteps” memory, this one from Auschwitz, following Capo Alexęs leather
boots on the descent from the chemistry examination, noticing his own,
unmatched foot rags°
NEIGHBORS: In
the hills above Torino.
PRIMO: –Walk
in my footsteps”.
NEIGHBORS: In
the hills above Torino.
PRIMO: Many
days later, I approached [+CHORUS] mountaineering
with
the seriousness of [+CHORUS] a
vocation.
PRIMO: Walking
in his footsteps. |
|
x3.5
NEIGHBORS: In
the hills above Torino. |
Lighting morphs back to the present day staircase
of his home. PRIMO sways back into his study.
MOTHER: [calling
from her room]
Where IS that boy?!
–Uncle Oreste” is now seated in the study, a heavy
coat covering his mountaineering outfit. The coat has many large pockets,
stuffed with books. He is FATHER.
13. It Can. It Is.
Primo, Messenger, Father
PRIMO: Father°
It canęt be!
MESSENGER: It
can. It is.
PRIMO: Father°
What is this?!
FATHER: We
need to talk, my son.
Ięve been traveling way too much.
But you know I am always –there” for you.
PRIMO: Father,
you•re dead!
FATHER: Donęt
rub it in!
Nobodyęs perfect.
I know I was too old and distant, but°
PRIMO: This
canęt be°
MESSENGER: It
can. It is.
The confused, older, self-centered FATHER, hammers
–Carmen” on a piano, while engaging in a fast, overlapping sprechtstimme
exchange with PRIMO.
14. Like You, Caro Babbo
Father, Primo
FATHER: Drink!
PRIMO: I
donęt drink, Caro Babbo [Dear, Daddy]
FATHER: Smoke!
PRIMO: I
donęt smoke, Caro Babbo
FATHER: Go
with girls!
PRIMO: There
ARE no girls!
FATHER: Reading,
then? |
|
x4
PRIMO: Yes!
Reading! |
FATHER: Whatęs
wrong with you?!
You donęt drink!
PRIMO: I
donęt drink, Caro Babbo. [Dear, Daddy]
FATHER: You
donęt smoke!
PRIMO: I
donęt smoke, Caro Babbo.
FATHER: You
donęt go with girls!
PRIMO: There°
FATHER: Well,
at least you read. X8
PRIMO: [overlapping]
I love to read, like you.
Read,
like you, caro Babbo.
I
love° like° you° I° love° to read.
Semi-VIRTUAL TABLEAUX II: SON joins them in STUDY,
and begins SAND. By its end, he morphs into CADMUS. FATHER morphs into CRONUS. By the time he himself sings, he
will be pulling on curtains, walls, and bookshelves. Reality blends with
depressed illusion, as walls and curtains, turn into mud and blood.
Late 1986. Photo: Giansanti/Sygma
15. Sand
Son [Cadmus], Primo, Cronus
[Father]
SON: Blood
plays a game of hide and seek
With your veins and with your needs
If it goes † you loose;
Stay † you win; Goes † you die;
Stays † you live; Blood plays a game.
PRIMO: Sand,
sifting through your hands like lice.
Follow my commands and see.
w/SON: If
you do † you win;
Donęt † you loose; Go † you die;
Stay † you live; Sand plays a game.
CRONUS: Mud
mixes up the sand and blood;
[w/SON, PRIMO] Dripping
on the wall above.
If
it flows † you loose;
Stays you win; Goes † you die;
Stays † you live. Mud plays a game.
PRIMO w/SON: Flows
† you loose; stays you win;
Goes † you die; stays † you live.
Mud plays a game.
VIRTUAL TABLEAUX III: on a post-war wasteland,
EUTERPE † previously WIFE - introduces the –journey”/mood.
Euterpe by Roqueplan
16.
Broken
Euterpe, Neighbors
Man
is a bird full of mud,
I say aloud.
† Anne Sexton, After Auschwitz
EUTERPE: There
is a square in black and white
Where
shots ring out throughout the night.
Please
help me; Please come
to
stop the violence of our tongue.
In
a burning forest hides a pine,
So
no-one will forget your crime.
w/N2 (Alto): Please
help me; please come
to
join in writing of that time.
EUTERPE alone: A
train is flying off the track.
All
numbers carved into my back.
Please
help me; please come
and
move my knight from where it lies.
+ NEIGHBORS: In
a land where rules are broken, [repeated,
chorally built]
EUTERPE: wearing
robes all torn.
V.T. IV: LIGHTING shifts images related to logic,
formulas.
17. Point. Comma.
Melencolia, Primo
MELENCOLIA: Point.
Comma. Point.
Point. Comma. Point.
Point.
PRIMO: I
wonder.
MELENCOLIA: Point.
Comma.
PRIMO: Tired
with all these°
MELENCOLIA: [from
sides of stage] Try to be as scientific as you can
PRIMO: Tired
with all these, from these would I be gone.
V.T. V: Neighbors may now appear as fellow
chemists, or prisoners, or patients, projecting idea summaries of Jean Amery
and The Old Testament.
18. Afar [dust]
Neighbors
NEIGHBORS: We know who you are.
You
are who we say you are.
Afar
el afar;
Ki
afar ata For dust thou art
Vň-el
afar tashuv. and unto dust shalt thou return.[8]
Amen.
V.T. VI: Images morphs into articles of clothing,
chemical symbols, and Nazi triangle marks, the actual PRIMO appears in another,
virtual pseudo-lab setting.
PRIMO, in a torn (or clean?) lab coat, is at a lab
table with a bunzen burner, tubes, and other science tools; paint factory lab?
Auschwitzęs exam? school experiment?
Different Nazi triangle symbols,
identifying the various enemies of the regime.
The horizontal categories list markings
for the following types of prisoners:
(from left to right) political,
professional criminal, emigrant, Jehovah's Witnesses,
homosexual, Germans shy of work, and
other nationalities shy of work.
The vertical categories begin with the
basic colors, and then show those
for repeat offenders, prisoners in
punishment commandos, Jews, Jews who have
violated racial laws by having sexual
relations with Aryans, and Aryans who
violated racial laws by having sexual
relations with Jews. The remaining symbols
give examples of marking patterns. Photo:
KZ Gedenkstatte Dachau
19. Chemistry
Primo, Neighbors
PRIMO: Chemistry
is clear, precise.
Chemistry
is verifiable.
Chemistry
is an essential, definitive system;
A
language that I like enormously.
There
was a manual to be found in every home †
–New
Industrial Recipes” †
explaining
how one can prepare oneself,
+ NEIGHBORS: spiritually
and physically,
PRIMO: so
as to be in a state conducive to making an invention.
I
have a curious sensation;
is
there a plot at my expense?
+ NEIGHBORS: Here
is the echo of great discovery
Here
is the echo of ecstasy.
PRIMO + VOX 2: Chemistry
is [voice
2: Emotion,]
clear,
precise, [esthetic]
verifiable
information [and
poetic].
Chemistry
is [A
discovery]
a
definite system [that
takes];
A
language that I like enormously [your
breath away!].
+ NEIGHBORS: All
that can exist, exists. [x4]
Chaos
gave way to order;
The
indistinct to the comprehensible. [x4]
PRIMO: Chemistry
is clear, precise, verifiable information.
Chemistry is an essential, definite system;
A language that I like enormously.
NEIGHBORS: [whispering] A discovery that can take your breath away. [x 4]
PRIMO: Here
is the echo of great discovery.
NEIGHBORS now also appear to hold bunzen burners,
or candles. They may be survivors, or –gray zoned” compromisers, or scientists
in the great lab that is life.
Primo in the lab.
Photo: Giansanti/Sygma
20. Does Not Equal
Neighbors
NEIGHBORS: Symmetry
does not equal balance.
Make
the leap [with us] from
Prosy
symmetry into poetic balance.
And
meanwhile, go on living, living and partly living.
Belief
does not equal faith.
Make
the journey [with us] from
Greedy
belief to pedestrian faith.
And
meanwhile, go on living, living and partly living.
Just
does not equal wise.
Take
the road [with us] from
Cultural
justice to inner-bound wisdom.
And
meanwhile, go on living, living and partly living.
VIRTUAL TABLEAUX VII: an old, poor, devout woman,
slowly, deliberately, crawls down a church aisle, while murmuring her prayers.
MELENCOLIA en route to the altar?
A parallel image will later appear, where PRIMO † alone, or with fellow
prisoners/patients/inmates † all crawl in a similar way, not down an aisle, but
towards a fence, or towards barbed wire, or towards a lit entrance/exit.
21. Some Never Do
Melencolia, Neighbors
Tired with all these, from these would I be gone,
Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.
† Shakespeare, Sonnet LXVI
NEIGHBORS: [in
background, as intro]
Strong. Weak.
Strong. Weak.
MELENCOLIA: A
sign red; a seal said;
Bang the dead slowly.
Defend me, my memory;
It all is true.
A thin sand; a hand wrong;
Bang the dead slowly.
I came first; I go last;
Some never do.
NEIGHBORS: Or
mipinot heder; teva shakuf;
Mavet
yasig otti, mavet katuv.
(Hebrew: Light from
room corners, transparent nature.
Death will take over
me, written death.)
MELENCOLIA: A
sign is; a seal is; NEIGHBORS:
[in
background]
Bang
the dead slowly. Strong.
Weak.
To
occupy; to not release; Strong.
Weak.
Donęt
loose control. [continue?]
But
only; but every;
Bang
the dead slowly.
I
came first; I go last;
Some
never do.
NEIGHBORS: Or
mipinot heder; teva shakuf;
Mavet
yasig otti, mavet katuv.
(Hebrew: Light from
room corners, transparent nature.
Death will take over
me, written death.)
When old woman finally reaches the altar she
somehow partakes (alone, or in parallel, with the others) in a sort of
communion, but instead of or in addition to the thin host, she digs into a
round loaf of bread, accelerating with hunger, shoving more into her mouth,
then stuffing pieces into her pockets° MELENCOLIA is now again the bed-ridden
MOTHER, as CONCIERGE begins –Ask Me”.
EUTERPE, and CRONUS join from elsewhere, –above”? Semi-VIRTUAL TABLEAUX VIII.
22. Ask Me
Euterpe, Concierge, Cronus
And I wander in a land of barren
boughs:
If I break them, they bleed;
I wander in a land of dry stones:
If I touch them they bleed.
† T.S. Elliot, Murder in the
Cathedral
CONCIERGE: You
ask me once, you ask me twice,
You
ask yourself a million times:
Oh,
how such things can happen.
You
search above; you search below;
You
search for someone who might know.
But
answers are not forthcoming today.
CRONUS: And
time moves on, and years will pass.
More
people may embrace these acts,
As
history repeats itself.
w/CONCIERGE: You
hope we learn. You hope we pray.
But
weęre up here and youęre down there,
And
animals will grow hungry for more.
EUTERPE: No
sticks nor stones will break my bones;
The
glass is hard, the wind is strong,
And
smoke will cover many.
w/CONCIERGE: As
birds - we sing, as stones † we throw;
I
fear youęll never really know.
w/CRONUS: But
answers are not forthcoming today.
VIRTUAL TABLEAUX IX: PRIMO lies down, covering
himself with a blanket. Background/set transforms from mountain-top to camp
bunks, or hospital beds,
or morgue drawers; with only a scrap of blanket to
cover his ill, shaking body. MESSENGER hovers over bed-ridden PRIMO.
23. Arm Patrol
Messenger, Cadmus
MESSENGER: As
I land on your bed now,
Hold
your head in my hand,
Thereęs
a breath in your lungs still;
There
is time for regret.
I
donęt want you to die now,
But
thatęs why Ięve been sent
From
the place some call heaven;
The
domain of the rest.
You
are very afraid now.
You
are weeping alone.
As
I fly out the back way,
As
I go on patrol.
w/Cadmus: Rain
is falling outside now,
Rain
is leaking inside,
Through
the walls of this cabin,
Through
the evils-in-kind.
MESSENGER: Thereęs
a number behind you.
Thereęs
a number in front.
Letęs
examine your arms, now;
Connect
all your marks.
w/Cadmus: Pain
is falling outside now;
Pain
is leaking inside,
Through
the walls of this coffin,
Through
the bridges of sighs.
MESSENGER: As
I land on your bed now,
Hold
your head in my hand,
Thereęs
still bread in your pocket;
Thereęs
no time for regret.
PRIMO, at railing, looses his balance. The
projected mountaineering, images return. The young PRIMO looses his balance on the
mountain as well. MESSENGER watches over them both, but canęt hold back any of
the two. The young PRIMO jumps, or plunges, or falls/slips off the mountain.
The actual, live PRIMO falls over railing, –plunging down” in
ultra-slow-motion.
PRIMOęs slow motion, tumbling fall to the ground
lasts throughout the 7 minutes of –Burning Coal”. Projected images may morph
into colors, flowers, animals, uniforms, chemical elements, etc. Additional possible
VIRTUAL TABLEAUX X: Passengers in a train. It is not Primoęs crowded war
travels; perhaps a latter return to Germany, or just one of many business
trips. EUTERPE opening lines may still be underscored by train noise [audible
using sampler playback].
R.B. Kitaj, –The Jew, Etc.”
24. Burning Coal
ALL but PRIMO
I sang to the moon the toadęs liquid
song,
my constant hunger riddled wood.
† Primo Levi, Autobiography,
Collected Poems
EUTERPE: I
will not adapt to anything.
The
ones who adapt to everything
Are
those who Survive.
w/MELENCOLIA: Most
do not adapt to everything.
Unable to adjust to
trivial things
EUTERPE alone: And
die like a pair of shoes.
w/CRONUS: A
chemist is trained to interpret things.
A substance can say
the time is here.
EUTERPE alone: I
leave you no hope.
w/MESSENGER: A
country can be marked by certain smells.
A land can often
tell of secret things;
w/CADMUS: Toasted
barley, burning coal°
ALL: We
will not adapt to anything.
The ones who adapt
to everything
Are those who
survive.
EUTERPE alone: Most
do not adapt to everything.
The virtual tableau on stage sides goes dark, as we
return to the house set.
Back in real time, PRIMOęs actual body reaches and
hits landing.
There is SILENCE, then there are the last words from
PRIMO:
25. Non Ne Posso PiŘ
Primo alone
PRIMO: Non
ne posso piŘ. I
canęt go on.
William Blake
PRIMO lowers his head,
dead.
CONCIERGE rushes out of her ground floor cubicle to see what the noise was. PRIMOęs body becomes visible next to the elevator shaft. She screams and runs to the citofono, the intercom system, at the entrance. She buzzes SONęs apartment.
Levięs building buzzers. Photo:
Ari Frankel
SON voice: Prego?!
CONCIERGE: Tuo
padre° Your
father°
Si
¦ ammalato° He
has taken ill
Ha
avuto un incidente. He
has had an accident.
Just then, WIFE returns with a full shopping bag,
holding bottles ,eggs, and other breakables. She enters, sees PRIMOęs body and
freezes.
As SON speeds down the stairs and reaches the
landing, WIFE drops the bag, which shatter loudly in the silence.
As the bagęs contents shatter, the stage goes
black.
CURTAIN, END
Levięs grave, Torino. Photo:
Ari Frankel