Beyond Blog Posts:
include additional information, anecdotes and musical score excerpts:
Beyond/Jenseits – an Opera for My Mother (Sections I & II)
Beyond/Jenseits – A Life in Review (Sections III & IV)
Beyond/Jenseits – An Encounter with the Conductor (Sections V & VI)
Beyond/Jenseits – A Lullaby (Section VII)
Beyond/Jenseits – The Husband and the Lover (Sections VIII, IX, X & XI)
Beyond/Jenseits – On the Therapist’s Couch (Sections XII & XIII)
Beyond/Jenseits – Just Some Bimbo from the Ballet (Sections XIV & XV)
Beyond/Jenseits – Turning the Tables on the Therapist (Sections XVI & XVII)
Beyond/Jenseits – Torn Between Two Lovers (Sections XVIII, XIX & XX)
Beyond/Jenseits – Our Hearts Meet in the Silence (Section XXI)
Beyond/Jenseits – The Grand Finale (Sections XXII, XXIII & XXIV)
Catherine Gayer performs the Woman in both German and English recordings
I
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
Two men in designer suits, possibly wearing sunglasses, sit behind a traffic sign: Curve. The stage is rather dark. Traffic noise.
1. ANGEL:
Must be about time.
The 2. Angel checks his watch
A cell phone
2. ANGEL
Nineteen hundred hours, ten minutes.
1. ANGEL Understood.
(to 2. Angel) Black Mercedes. Mary Stone 2. ANGEL
A woman?
Car sounds that come nearer. Then a loud crash, two cars have smashed into another. A woman is thrown onto the stage, together with a suitcase.
WOMAN
I’m falling…. I’m floating…
A waterfall, the roar of the ocean waves
The song of the sea shell’s breath
1. ANGEL
Are you ready?
WOMAN
A fluttering whirlpool of blinding white, blue tinted light
1. ANGEL
Please come along. You are expected.
WOMAN
No ending, no beginning
I am light, just like a feather
Fire truck siren.
WOMAN (Cont.)
Now I feel many arms come to hold me
Soft and gentle, how they enfold me
So much tenderness
I feel I am cradled with care
I am afraid to walk into this Land of Nowhere
Why doesn’t someone hold my hand?
Alone – I’m feeling so alone
The Lord is my shepherd – I shall not want
I’m falling – I’m floating
My body – I am no more inside my body
I’m rising above me and look back down
I have been driven out of my skin
What are those people doing?
1. ANGEL
(ironical) They’re trying to save your life.
WOMAN
They’re stabbing me with needles that hook into cold machines
I.V. tubing like endless wormtails
They’re digging deep into my breast
Blood – everywhere blood
I must get back!
1. ANGEL
That you can decide later.
WOMAN
The breath of living
My body has blown up into atoms
II
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
WOMAN
(Doubtful) You are angels?
You don’t look anything like I imagined.
2. ANGEL
I’m sorry we don’t meet your expectations.
WOMAN
I must get to Cologne! I have a performance! Queen of the Night!
(she sings) ah-
And tomorrow I sing at La Scala.
1. ANGEL
You know how to make God laugh? Tell him your plans.
1. & 2. ANGEL
Now, now, evermore now, there only is this moment now
Now, now, evermore now, there only is this moment now
WOMAN
I am a famous opera singer. My public will miss me.
1. ANGEL
Another who thinks she’s irreplaceable.
2. ANGEL
She has such a pretty voice.
WOMAN
Here, my costumes. Lulu…Gilda, Susanna, Musetta…
2. ANGEL May I touch?
III
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
WOMAN
I want to live. At least a little bit longer.
All the words I have not spoken
All the dreams I have not followed
All the tears I have not cried out
My son needs me…!
2. ANGEL
Your son’s grown up. He can get by without you.
WOMAN
The shore
My little boy walking
With his tiny hand in my hand
The waves break pulling gently at our footsteps til our traces have gone
All the words I have not spoken
All the dreams I have not followed
2. ANGEL All over
WOMAN
Roberto
Beloved impossible
Mia bella Maria
We take the lover’s leap
We cling together, sinking beneath the surface
I truly was in love, Roberto
But I made sure I never told you
All the words I have not spoken
1. ANGEL Your time is up.
WOMAN
Henry
The homey distance by your side
Strangers who have been married for thirty-three years
If I could break through the walls of our lonely jail cells
Of our private confinement
All the words I have
I’ll give you all my jewelry
Only a little bit longer
WOMAN
There must be more to my life
Don’t you tell me that this is all there is
This is a sham
This is cruel
All gone! All Over! No more!
There must be more to my life
All the words I have not spoken
All the dreams I have not followed
All the tears I have not cried out
All gone! All over! No more! There must be more to my life
2. ANGEL
Now, now, evermore now, there only is this moment now
Now, now evermore now, there only is this moment now
1. ANGEL
Artists are always the worst.
They imagine they’re something special.
(2. ANGEL
Now, now, evermore now, there only is this moment now)
1. ANGEL
Forgotten everything already? Roll her film
IV
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
1. & 2. ANGEL
One two three outside now – Everyone must hide now
Right of me and left of me cannot be – One two three I’m coming
The woman sings along in a child’s voice, holding her eyes closed.
WOMAN
One two three outside now – Everyone must hide now
Right of me and left of me cannot be – One two three I’m coming
Mother, Mother, what time is it?
1. ANGEL 12!
The Woman takes 12 steps.
WOMAN
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
1. ANGEL
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
The 1. Angel counts beats or holds a metronome. The Woman as child does vocal exercises.
WOMAN
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
(Italian vowel sounds): i, e, a, o (pronounced ee, eh, ah, augh)
I want to be a famous singer
Do you think I can make it, Mama?
i, e, a, o
If you only believe, you can do anything. If you only…
I want, I want, I want
i, e, a, o
2. ANGEL
I want, I want, I want
WOMAN
Mirror, Mirror on the wall – Who is the prettiest girl of all
Yah yeh yah yeh yoh – Yah yeh yah yeh yoh
Yah yeh yah yeh yoh
1. & 2. ANGEL
(echoing) Yah yeh yah yeh yoh….
WOMAN
And they lived happily ever after
Yah yeh yah yeh yoh
Yah yeh yah yeh yoh
The story isn’t over yet, is it?
Keep reading, Mama, but tell me ahead of time when the story is over.
I got a D in math and pimples all over my face.
In school they keep calling me “Knock-knees”
1. & 2. ANGEL
Knock-knees, knock-knees, knock-knees, knock-knees…
WOMAN
Dear God, please make my legs grow straight
Where are you, God?
Ah- oh-
I took money out of Mama’s purse and bought myself a barrette
Dear God, please don’t be mad
Ah- oh-
The barrette is blue with a butterfly. But you can see that. You see everything.
Ah- oh-
I promise that I’ll never do it again.
Ah- oh-
And forgive us all of our sins as we will forgive the other sinners too
V
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
The Woman and the Conductor rehearsing. Both are nervous. She sings a wordless baroque aria.
WOMAN
Ah-
CONDUCTOR (2. ANGEL)
Lovely, with sentiment
WOMAN
Ah-
CONDUCTOR
But no sentimentality please
Bellissimo, a whispering melody
A sensual, hovering tapestry
He comes closer. She eludes him. He exudes a strong erotic energy. She feels drawn to him, but also fears this sensuality.
CONDUCTOR
Pauses….most important are the pauses.
WOMAN Oh-
CONDUCTOR
Imagine how your mouth forms the tones, caresses them. Con bocca chiusa. (He hums seductively)
WOMAN
AAH –
The woman is enjoying being wooed.
CONDUCTOR
Yes, yes, even more luster in your chest tones
WOMAN
AAH – Ah, ah, ah –
CONDUCTOR
Please, Mary, don’t hold back.
(his intentions unmistakable)May I invite you, to dinner at my hotel?
WOMAN
Ah ah ah, ah ah ah
Uh uh, uh uh
Ah-
CONDUCTOR
We should get to know each other…much better…
The rehearsal continues.
WOMAN
Ah-
ah – ah- ah-
VI
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
WOMAN
Who am I but a stranger
Whom I still intimately know
I’m shattered in thousand pieces, and everyone’s me
Who am I – I’m neither here nor am I there
I’m floating – I’m falling
Illusions
Just an oasis in the desert for one who dies of thirst
Should I try to reach it I will grasp air, light delusions
Is death true, really, or is death only a mirage
1. ANGEL
Death is a true mirage
WOMAN
Like a ghost, like a water bubble
A shadow, stark lightning at night (fearful) ah-
He throws a rope around my neck and drags me off
He tears my heart apart
And bores into my deepest insides
Where is the light?
Where is the starshine?
Nothing here but the cold and dark
Ah- ah- ah-
(calming down) ah-
VII
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
The woman, at her son’s bedside, sings a lullaby.
WOMAN
Oo… oo…
1. ANGEL
Sweet dreams my darling
Sweet dreams my love
Sweet dreams my darling
Sweet dreams my love
SON (2. ANGEL)
Mama, is there a ladder so high it reaches up to heaven?
WOMAN
I don’t know, Sweetie. Go to sleep now…
SON:
You leaving now, Mama?
WOMAN
Yes, my love, I have a performance.
SON
You smell so good. May I smell your perfume?
WOMAN
Did you practice your piano?
SON
Can we go to the zoo tomorrow?
WOMAN
I have rehearsal, there’s no time.
SON
And the day after?
1. ANGEL
(singing as accompaniment)
Now, now, evermore now
There only is this moment now
La la la la la la…
WOMAN
I have to go to Milan. But Betty can take you to the zoo.
SON
But she doesn’t smell as good as you.
WOMAN
Sleep tight, my prince, and sweet dreams. I’ll blow you a kiss from the stage.
oo… oo…
SON
But I always dream of monsters.
1. ANGEL
Sweet dreams my darling Sweet dreams my love
SON
They have three heads and spit poison. Sulfur-like and stinky
1. & 2. ANGEL
Sweet dreams my darling Sweet dreams my love
WOMAN Ah… ah…
1. & 2. ANGEL
Sweet dreams my darling Sweet dreams my love
Sweet dreams my darling Sweet dreams my love
Sweet dreams my darling Sweet dreams my love
HUSBAND (1. ANGEL)
I declare us husband and wife.
VIII, IX, X, XI
English Language Live Concert Recording
VIII
German Language Studio Recording
Childhood memories.
WOMAN
You must kiss him
I don’t want to kiss him
Kissing is yucky
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Splish splash splish splash
And the hideous frog transfigured himself into a sweet Prince Charming
(to Husband) Not until death shall part you
The time has come, have you been told?
Do you think I’m just running late?
Don’t drive so fast, you always said when I left
Life can be fleeting like lightning striking
It falls so fast like a waterfall down the mountain
Remember to water the roses
The tawny tomcat who always comes calling likes canned milk and tuna
In our freezer you’ll find ziplock bags of cherries
I thought I’d bake cherry cobbler
Your favorite kind
The maid comes on Mondays
You’ll have to leave money for her
Your brown suede jacket is at the drycleaners
AH! …ah….
IX
German Language Studio Recording
The Woman and the Conductor. A secret meeting. Passion. Lust.
WOMAN Ah, ah-
CONDUCTOR
The delicately sloping nape of your neck
WOMAN
(aroused) ah-
CONDUCTOR
The colors in your middle range
Yes, molto, molto
Hmm…well rounded high tones
Lentamente…
WOMAN
Oh-
CONDUCTOR
Lentamente…
WOMAN
Ah, ah,
CONDUCTOR
Vivace
WOMAN
Ah, oo,
CONDUCTOR
I lead the way and you fly
WOMAN
Ah, ah,
CONDUCTOR
Crescendo
WOMAN
Ah, ah
CONDUCTOR
Crescendo
WOMAN
Oh, ah, ah
CONDUCTOR
Letting go now…
WOMAN
Ah, ah, ah
CONDUCTOR
I adore you!
WOMAN
Ah…ah…ah…
They climax
AH!
CONDUCTOR
Bella!!
WOMAN
Be greeted O Virgin Maria
Dear unsullied Virgin
Most high and holy of all women
I don’t even know how to pray…
X
German Language Studio Recording
WOMAN
(her thoughts with her Husband) Henry
Remember to water the roses
The tawny tomcat who always comes calling likes canned milk and tuna
CONDUCTOR
When can I see you again?
WOMAN
(pulling away) mm…
CONDUCTOR
She is the woman of my dreams. She has perfect pitch. And the sweetest ass to ever grace the concert halls.
HUSBAND
(mumbling law-speak – he is an attorney)
According to paragraph 27 the facts of this case point to self defense… We are clearly dealing with diminished culpability.
WOMAN
Coffee?
My safety and my well-ordered comfort
My sweet security
My feathered nest
Passion brings you far too much peril, far too much peril
It can crush you, it can break you in two
Last evening’s secretly lapped up lust is quickly cut down
HUSBAND
Every person who suffers detriment, a loss or harm suffered in person or property, from the unlawful act or omission of another may recover from the person in fault a compensation therefore in money which is called damages. Paragraph 1832.
XI
German Language Studio Recording
WOMAN
For there is the longing that never leaves me
I thought that a man could fulfill me
Feed me and still me
But still the longing, it stays
I thought that success could fulfill me
Feed me and still me
But still the longing, it stays
I thought that a family would have fulfilled me
But still the longing, it stays
There’s always the longing
For what I don’t know
CONDUCTOR
Da capo…da capo…piano, pianissimo…dolce…mi amore, bellissima…
HUSBAND
(simultaneously with Conductor) Damages may be awarded in a judicial proceeding for detriment resulting after the commencement thereof, or certain to result in the future.
WOMAN
The spell cannot endure
Unceasingly it will fade
I’m turning around in a daze
Two havens
Higher and lower
Two havens that are enfolding like one being
I can hear it sing inside and outside
XII
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
The woman with her therapist (1. Angel)
THERAPIST
She comes every Tuesday. Tuesdays at Four. Usually she’s in blue. Elegant. Blue must be her favorite color. A pretty woman. When I first saw her,
I thought, like a damsel fly amongst house flies. Somehow she is not tangible. She eludes you. She says she doesn’t know who she is. That’s why she comes to me. She is a split personality. I shall weld her into wholeness.
WOMAN
Snails – so many snails in the garden
They eat my lettuce leaves
I pour beer in buckets to drown them all
(another world) Rocket flares flying in spirals around in my head
My thoughts rise and blow up like water bubbles
THERAPIST
Trivialities. Banalities. I think she wants to fool me. Keep me in the dark. Is she making fun of me?
WOMAN
Just a half a cup of flour, one teaspoon of baking salts, then beat up two egg whites, add a half a cup of honey
My son loves brownies, chocolate chip brownies
I put in walnuts, walnuts, maybe almonds
THERAPIST
Hmm…what does that remind you of?
WOMAN
Connections. He always wants to make connections. Prove something or another.
Pseudo-expert, Smarty-pants, Bullshit-artist!
THERAPIST
What did you dream of last night?
WOMAN
A cornfield, a purple fence with a tiny gate
I gingerly approach
At the opposite side I see a man
He’s coming right at me
He waves
But something is pulling me back like a drain I want to scream
My voice…I lost my voice!
The Therapist snores.
2. ANGEL
Sweet dreams my darling
Sweet dreams my love
WOMAN
I feel like killing him
Lips as red as blood!
2. ANGEL
Sweet dreams my darling
Sweet dreams my love
THERAPIST
(sleepily) She is a split personality. I shall weld her into wholeness.
WOMAN
I am that which always was
Which always is
And always will be
2. ANGEL
Formlessness dances with form
XIII
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
HUSBAND
Rejected due to prejudice…the suit cannot be granted…case dismissed.
WOMAN
Your honor, I object.
One, two, three outside now – Everyone must hide now
Right of me and left of me cannot be
Crescendo, letting go now
The family plays Blind Man’s Bluff. Husband and Son wear blindfolds.
WOMAN
mmm…
Hot, hot, yes, still hotter
No, cold, who’ll be the one to win
SON
Me, Mama
I search, but don’t know what. I can’t find it.
WOMAN
Hot, hot, hot – always getting hotter
I lead the way and you fly
SON
I’ve lost it for ever.
WOMAN
Have a fun Halloween
Husband finds a pumpkin and holds it up triumphantly.
HUSBAND
Crystal clear insight!
Grasping reality with pinpoint precision!
WOMAN
Father, mother, son
My holy trinity
Father, mother, son
My holy trinity
And there came the day
That she would bear him children
And she gave birth to her only son
And swaddled him tight in diapers
And laid him gently in his cradle
SON
I want to be a ghost!
WOMAN
For there is the longing that never leaves me
I thought that a family would have fulfilled me
But still the longing, it stays
XIV
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
The Conductor is screwing another woman.
CONDUCTOR
Yes, yes, now I’m coming…Now!
1. ANGEL
Now, now, evermore now, now, now, evermore now Now, now, evermore now, now, now, evermore now Now, now, evermore now, now, now, evermore now
The Woman enters the space, warming up her voice.
She slaps him.
WOMAN
Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaargh! (she sees the Conductor) Ah…
CONDUCTOR
Just some bimbo from the ballet. Forgive me.
WOMAN
Ah…Bella, Bella, Bellissima
1. ANGEL
You can make another choice
The “film” is wound back. All return to “places”. The Conductor is screwing another woman.
CONDUCTOR
Yes, yes, now I’m coming…Now!
1. ANGEL
Now, now, evermore now, now, now, evermore now Now, now, evermore now, now, now, evermore now
Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaargh!
1. Angel gives her gun.
Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho-
CONDUCTOR
Just some bimbo from the ballet. Forgive me.
WOMAN
Bella! Bella! Bellissima ha ha –
she lets the gun drop
Ah- ah- ah Bang! (she shoots him nevertheless)
The “film” is wound back. All return to “places”. Conductor screws around again.
CONDUCTOR
Yes, yes, now I’m coming…Now!
1. ANGEL
Now, now, evermore now, now, now, evermore now
WOMAN
Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaargh!
She holds the gun to her head.
The following is like a record that keeps skipping, both in sound and action:
WOMAN Ah-
CONDUCTOR Just some bimbo-
WOMAN Ah-
CONDUCTOR Just some bimbo-
WOMAN Ah-
CONDUCTOR Just some bimbo-
WOMAN Ah-
CONDUCTOR Just some bimbo-
WOMAN Ah-
CONDUCTOR Just some bimbo-
The Woman laughs. She throws away the gun.
WOMAN
Dead. Like a doornail.
Death is the best thing that ever happened to me.
Ah-
XV
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
1. ANGEL
A game…either way you have no chance, so take it.
WOMAN
My life? (laughs)
A film remembering me
Faded memories playing for me
As in a foggy dream
The dream of a desire
That is not fulfilled
CONDUCTOR
We could try to love each other…
WOMAN
To leap into loving
Without nets below us
We’ll fall through emptiness
Holding tight to each other
Unending togetherness
And unremitting loneliness
For there is the longing that never leaves me
For there is the longing that never leaves me
For there is the longing
The longing for what I don’t know
XVI
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
THERAPIST
What did you dream last night?
WOMAN
Dreams are bubbles.
THERAPIST
Hmmm, what does that remind you of?
WOMAN
Sea, storm, waves foaming, a shipwreck…
THERAPIST Hmmm, interesting…
The Woman turns the tables on the Therapist.
WOMAN
(mocking) What does that remind you of?
THERAPIST
Summer, green fields, bees buzzing… (whining like a child) Lulu…
Lulu, lemme see your woowoo… Lulu, lemme see your woowoo…
WOMAN
Dick, let me see your prick!
THERAPIST
Like a pink violet…
WOMAN
Like a purple tulip head
(another world) Coldness transforms itself into shining fire
Fields of energy that blow out, disintegrating
Caught inside a net of my own spinning pictures
XVII
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
Applause, bravos. The Son awaits his mother backstage.
They dance together.
SON
You were wonderful, Mama.
WOMAN
Wait till you give your concerts. We’ll circle the globe from success to success.
You just have to believe it – one, two, switch to left. From success to success – Chopin, Schubert, Mozart
Five star hotels in London – Paris, Milan, New York
My son, the prodigy!
The Son breaks off abruptly.
SON
I must live my own life…
WOMAN
(disappointed) ooo…ah…
1. & 2. ANGELS
(singing the lullaby) mmm…ooo…
WOMAN
That’s not me! A total cliche! A fake!
1. ANGEL
Better a good fake than a bad original.
XVIII, XIX, XX
English Language Live Concert Recording
XVIII
German Language Studio Recording
WOMAN
Through seven havens must I travel
Bedewed in sundust I will awake from slumber
THERAPIST
The transference, something’s not working with the transference.
WOMAN I know.
THERAPIST
How do you know?
WOMAN
I know even though I don’t know why I know
I enter his little head and wander
It’s a maze of train traffic, railroads, tunnels
THERAPIST
We must call it quits.
WOMAN
A one-way street…he is a prenatal one-way street.
XIX
German Language Studio Recording
New Years Eve. Conductor and Husband toast with champagne. They speak concurrently.
TEXTVAMP: (repeat as often as needed)
HUSBAND
Criminal offending is measured in terms of prevalence, incidence and timing.
CONDUCTOR
Allegro di bravura, allegro di molto…
HUSBAND
Prevalence refers to the static aspect of an outcome…
CONDUCTOR
Doppio movimento…passionatamente…
HUSBAND
Degrees of severity vary between felony, misdemeanor and infraction…
CONDUCTOR Mezzo…mezzo, mezza voce
HUSBAND
Recidivism can also be studied from a dynamic perspective: how long does it take before a subject recidivates…
CONDUCTOR Maestoso…magnificat…
HUSBAND
…treating recidivism as a terminal event…
CONDUCTOR Attaca subito!
HUSBAND
The multivariate approach allows us to compare…
CONDUCTOR Fortezza, fortezza!
HUSBAND
This study represents the ‘successful’ segment of the unsuccessful population…
CONDUCTOR
Con bocca chiusa (he hums)…
Textvamp gets softer.
WOMAN
I need him near me and I need him away
There’s a force that attracts me to him and a force that repels Should I be pulled in too close I would burn in a furnace Should I pull too far away I would freeze in an ice flow
Textvamp gets louder.
Textvamp gets quieter.
I need him near me
And I need him away
Should I be pulled in too close I would burn in a furnace Should I pull too far away I would freeze in an ice flow I travel in orbit like a moon caught between two planets
1. ANGEL
Burn!
2. ANGEL Freeze!
1. ANGEL Risk it!
2. ANGEL
Nothing’s as it seems.
WOMAN
Is it all just a dream?
A mirage thin as air
Like the shimmering of moonlight upon a tranquil sea?
1. ANGEL Find out…
XX
German Language Studio Recording
CONDUCTOR Get a divorce!
HUSBAND
I’ll get wood for the fireplace.
The Woman feels torn between both men.
WOMAN Ah-
CONDUCTOR I love you.
WOMAN
Would you like red or white wine? …When in doubt, rule for the defense.
CONDUCTOR Ti amo, ti amo…
WOMAN Ah-
HUSBAND
It’s chilly, I’ll get you your shawl.
WOMAN Ah-
CONDUCTOR
Maria, mi amor, I want all of you!
WOMAN
Ah-
Trampled to bits, cut down and bloody, defiled and murdered by love
My neck broken in two in the arena
The guilty party has been sentenced to hanging at dawn
Stop it! That’s enough! I don’t want to see anymore!
2. ANGEL
I think it’s thrilling!
Trampled to bits, cut down and bloody, defiled and murdered by love
WOMAN
Love is slavery!
1. ANGEL
Love frees the slaves.
XXI
German Language Studio Recording
English Language Live Concert Recording
SON
I disappointed you, Mother. I’m no genius. I didn’t inherit your talent.
I didn’t become an artist, a doctor, or a professor. I’m just a little music teacher. I have no big savings account, nor any stocks. I know I’ve disappointed you, Mother.
WOMAN
Live every day without tomorrows
What matters most is the moment now
1. ANGEL
(whispered concurrently) Now, now evermore now
WOMAN
Leave tomorrow, it’ll be tomorrow
For the body will turn to dust
But all of my love born for you shall live forever
His hair has the color of my hair
And his eyes shine like treasured rubies
Hidden in secret
I can taste the sorrow
Over all that we could never tell each other
Still I know our hearts will meet again in the silence
Live every day without tomorrows
What matters most is the moment now
Leave tomorrow, it’ll be tomorrow
For the body will turn to dust
But all of my love born for you shall live forever
1. ANGEL
Look! Your body is being reanimated.
WOMAN
That doctor is hamfisted! (calls) Body! I am here, I am with you, you are not alone!
1. ANGEL
Death is a long green line.
XXII, XXIII, XXIV
English Language Live Concert Recording
XXII
German Language Studio Recording
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR (2. ANGEL)
My dear Mrs. Stone…
My dear Mrs. Stone…
The Woman at a meeting with the Opera House’s Artistic Director
My dear Mrs. Stone. You know I hold you in the highest regard.
And that’s why I find it so difficult…I mean, it is absolutely not my own opinion. But the director doesn’t think you are right for the piece…he wants to cast the role with someone younger.
HUSBAND
They won’t get away with this. High monetary compensation! Contract violation! Damages! If necessary we’ll drag them to court!
WOMAN
Mirror, mirror in my hand
Who is the youngest in all the land
Snow White, far over the mountains in the hidden forest
She is much younger than you
2. ANGEL
Someone ate off of my plate. Someone drank out of my cup.
DOCTOR (1. ANGEL)
We’ll fix it good, my dear lady…
WOMAN
Flat, flat, stretch it flat
Taut, pull it tight
Let age be cured like an illness
DOCTOR
No problem, my dear lady. You won’t recognize yourself.
WOMAN
Snow White, far over the mountains
In the hidden forest
Has the smoothest face lifting in all the world
XXIII
German Language Studio Recording
WOMAN
Who am I
Who am I not
Eenie meenie minie moe
Catch a lady by the toe
Don’t turn around – we’re all falling down
I am dead and was never more alive.
1. ANGEL
Here today, dead tomorrow. And so they lived unhappily ever after.
2. ANGEL
Your husband and your son are sitting by your hospital bed.
WOMAN
Go home. You look so tired.
2. ANGEL
They’ve been waiting all night.
WOMAN For what?
1. ANGEL
The doctors have been operating for hours. They are determined to conquer death.
WOMAN
They’re cutting up my body
Razor sharp metal incisions
Ah-
No, I will not be afraid
No more!
No more!
Ah-
She calms down, conquering her fear.
1. ANGEL
(into cell phone) Understood.
WOMAN
What is that?
It pulls me back
Suddenly so heavy
A buzzing inside my head
I turn around in dizzying velocity like caught in a downward spiral
1. ANGEL
You may go back.
WOMAN
I don’t want to go back
The world is like a prison, the body is a jailor
1. ANGEL It’s a gift.
WOMAN
Nothing is as it was
1. ANGEL
All is just as it was. You have only dreamed.
WOMAN
Am I dreaming or is someone dreaming me?
2. ANGEL
Both. It depends.
1. ANGEL Love is slavery.
2. ANGEL
Love frees the slaves.
XXIV
German Language Studio Recording
WOMAN
I am the wave
And I am the ocean
I am that which always was
Which always is
And always will be
I am all
And not at all
WOMAN & BOTH ANGELS
One two three outside now
No one has to hide now
Right of me and left of me need not be
WOMAN
One two three I’m coming
Lighting change. The woman is alone.
WOMAN
Do I live and only have dreamed that I died?
Or am I dead and only have dreamed that I’m living?
The End
Notes from a Composer 