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The homage spectacle,
the grandiose ''azione teatrale''
of my entire troupe,
is in two parts.
First, the presentation
of a lofty allegory:
''The Birth of Pallas Athena''.
She is born of the head of Zeus! - How?
So the legend goes:
after he conceived the child with Metis,
he swallowed the mother ...
What?
He swallowed her? - Swallowed?
He ate her up like a pike, his tender beloved ...
Out of love? - How tender!
Out of love? - Out of hunger!
Out of fear of Juno!
The daughter grows within. - The mistress hidden from the wife!
A curious method of concealing his unfaithfulness!
As the child of his spirit,
she rises up
from the head of the god!
And Zeus? - Fully armored ...
- ls he then ... - ... greeted by choruses!
... after such a delivery? - The earth quakes ...
A terrible headache ... - ... the sun stands still!
... seems unquestionable! - Where is she? - Timpani ...
The mother disappears without a trace. - ... depict the excitement
... of the heavens! - She's heavy on his stomach.
A strange idea!
l believe they are laughing at me!
He was never alone, how could l? - He splits it open,
the skull of Zeus, so that it may get out,
the godly child ...
A singular kind of paternal joy!
Sicilian fruit! Pure pleasure!
Don't drink so much Spanish wine!
A strange idea! - The youth of today
has no respect!
You see us surprised by your imagination.
We doubt whether your daring design can be realized
in the theater. Don't take our pessimism too seriously.
lndulge us, we are amateurs.
The art of your direction will teach us better!
And what is the subject of the second part of the spectacle?
lt is heroic
and highly dramatic:
''The Fall of Carthage''. Back-drops
and scenery, wonderfully painted.
Machines and crowds in excited activity!
A city in flames, a sea of fire,
breathtaking! Transparent scenery,
polished rods of Bohemian glass, lit from behind in red!
Fire mirrors! Glass prisms! 4000 candles, 1 00 flambeaux!
Rings of pitch, torches small and large!
A pitching and rolling galley, of my construction.
Lightning and thunder right on stage!
The sails on fire! A burning wreck! Tidal waves in
the harbor! The palace collapses ... - Stop! We know how it ends!
The finale is a grand ballet
amongst the ruins. - But listen,
it will be very different.
Old rubbish! - Mechanical trickery! - Entrance marches! - Water music!
Useless processions! - Stupid pomp! - Apotheosis! - Flooding!
Oh no! They attack him! My attempt to save him has failed.
Extras and torches!
Let me get a word in!
An exquisite sight!
Old rubbish! - They pound him
like in a mortar. Soon there will be nothing left ...
l beg you! Listen to me!
A play without actors!
They bare their teeth and start to fight!
How pathetically seriously they take it all.
They tear him to pieces ...
l am ready to die,
poor disgraced me! - Words or music?
What a question!
La Roche is in trouble!
Calm down ...
Be quiet!
Empty, stale theater from a long-forgotten epoch!
Senseless, damaging and pathetic!
Olivier! Flamand! They're brutal!
He doesn't need your protection; he can take care of himself.
Farewell my beloved fay ...
See, he gathers his strength ...