London

Ein Musical in fünf Szenen

1. 01

   From the Lake to the Thames

   Bootssteg in Velden · Hyde Park, London · ca. 6:00

   Bootssteg in Velden, Morgennebel – dann Hyde Park, Sonne, Touristen

   Filmische Orchester-Popballade mit Klavier, Streichern und österreichischem Zithermotiv; Bariton-Sopran-Duett auf Deutsch und Englisch, ferne Glocken. Langsam, 68 BPM, vom emotionalen Höhepunkt zur erstarrten Stille.

   Stimmen: Leopold Stranzinger (warmer Bariton), Valerie (klare Sopranstimme)

   Original-Liedtext

   [Intro – Zither, Wasser, Glocken von Velden] (Leise Wellen am Steg) [Verse 1 – Leopold] Der Nebel liegt noch auf dem See, du packst den Koffer, sagst: „Papa, ich geh.“ Vier Töchter hab ich großgezogen, und du warst die, die nie gelogen. Ich hab dir Hotels gebaut aus Stein und Gold, doch was du suchst, hab ich nie gewollt. [Verse 2 – Valerie] Papa, I want to see the world beyond the lake, beyond the pearl of all the summers in Velden, I want a city that won't bend. London's calling, grey and wide, let me go, I'll be all right. [Pre-Chorus – beide] Und das Wasser fließt von hier bis zum Meer und weiter fort – and the river carries me to a far and foreign shore. [Chorus] From the lake to the Thames, from the mountains to the stone, every river finds its end, every daughter leaves her home. Vom See zur Themse, mein Kind, trägt dich das Wasser, trägt dich der Wind – from the lake to the Thames, will you ever come home? [Verse 3 – Valerie, Hyde Park] Morning sun on Serpentine, swans and joggers, all is fine, a gentleman with silver hair says: „You belong to something rare.“ He speaks of art, he speaks of stage, he turns my life into a page. [Instrumental Break – Streicher werden dunkel, Big-Ben-Glocke] (Kameraauslöser, Lachen, Stimmengewirr) [Verse 4 – Erzählerchor] A statue stands by the water's edge, white as marble, a silent pledge, „Innocence“ the bronze plate reads, the tourists smile, the tourists lean. A child reaches out to touch her hand – the wax is melting in the sun. [Bridge – Leopold, gebrochen] Das Telefon, es klingelt um vier, ein fremder Mann spricht Englisch zu mir. Ich hab gebaut, ich hab bezahlt, ich hab mit Schweigen den Teufel gemalt. Was ich verdient hab, das holt mich ein – doch warum, Gott, warum sie allein? [Final Chorus – voller Chor] From the lake to the Thames, from the mountains to the stone, every river finds its end, every daughter leaves her home. Vom See zur Themse, mein Kind, ich hol dich heim, mit Feuer und Wind – from the lake to the Thames, someone pays for this alone. [Outro – Zither allein] (Leopold, geflüstert:) Ich komm nach London. (Wasser, eine einzelne Glocke)
2. 02

   Yours Truly, Jack

   Viktorianisches Varieté · Whitechapel · ca. 6:00

   Ein leeres viktorianisches Varieté in Whitechapel, Gaslicht, rote Samtvorhänge

   Dunkles Theaterkabarett: viktorianischer Music-Hall-Walzer im Dreivierteltakt, der in schweren Gothic Rock kippt. Honky-Tonk-Klavier, Akkordeon, Blechbläser und verzerrte Gitarren; theatralischer Bariton und Sprechpassagen, unheimlich und verführerisch.

   Stimmen: Edmund Harcourt-Vane (theatralischer Bariton, mal charmant, mal brüchig)

   Original-Liedtext

   [Intro – verstimmtes Klavier, Spieluhr] (Spoken, elegant:) Ladies and gentlemen… do take your seats. The performance is about to begin. [Verse 1] I had a jet, I had a view, I had the City bowing too, three wives in white, five little heirs – but three of them were never theirs. I bought them diamonds, bought them schools, they wrote the script, I played the fool. [Verse 2] My father stood on Tower Bridge, a banker balanced on the ridge, my mother poured the evening tea and said: „Now, Edmund, look at me.“ I wanted Hamlet, wanted lines, she gave me spreadsheets, gave me fines. [Pre-Chorus – Tempo zieht an] They took my money, took my name, they took my children, took the blame and placed it gently on my head – so now I'll write the play instead. [Chorus – Rock, volle Band] From Hell, from Hell, I write to you, in red, in ink, in something true, the curtain's up, the house is black, yours truly – Jack! From Hell, from Hell, the city sleeps, the Thames remembers, never keeps, one more scene and no way back, yours truly – Jack! [Verse 3 – wieder Walzer, intim] A doctor said: „Lie down, be still, and tell me, Edmund, how you feel.“ I told her everything I'd lost – she sent the bill and named the cost. No witness there, just her and me, and now the world knows what they see. [Spoken Interlude] (Spoken, kalt:) Was it true? Does it matter? In the theatre, darling, the audience decides. And London… London has always loved a villain. [Chorus] From Hell, from Hell, I write to you, in red, in ink, in something true, the curtain's up, the house is black, yours truly – Jack! [Bridge – Chor flüstert die Schauplätze] Hyde Park – a statue. Whitechapel – a memory. The Globe – a tragedy. Southwark – a lesson. And the Bridge… the Bridge is mine. [Final Chorus – maximal] From Hell, from Hell, the city sleeps, the Thames remembers, never keeps, Inspector Kramer, don't look back – yours truly, yours truly, yours truly – Jack! [Outro – Spieluhr allein] (Spoken, leise:) Applause would be… appropriate.
3. 03

   Ophelia on the Stage

   Globe Theatre bei Nacht · London · ca. 6:00

   Das offene Rund des Globe Theatre bei Nacht, Regen, Blumen auf der Bühne

   Ätherische elisabethanische Folkballade mit Laute, Harfe, Blockflöte und sanftem Cello. Klare Frauenstimme, geisterhafte Chorechos und Regen; träumerische 62 BPM, tragische Orchesterwelle und einsame Stimme am Ende.

   Stimmen: Die Schauspielerin (zarte, klare Frauenstimme), Chor als Echo

   Original-Liedtext

   [Intro – Laute, Regen] (Regen tropft auf hölzerne Planken) [Verse 1] Thirty years ago I stood on these boards of English wood, a nervous boy came to recite, he shook and stumbled in the light. I laughed – God help me, I was young – a careless word on a careless tongue. [Verse 2] Tonight the Globe is open sky, the stars come down to watch me lie in water cold and flowers deep, rosemary for remembrance, sleep. He whispers lines I used to know, he takes his bow, he steals the show. [Chorus] Ophelia, Ophelia, the river is a stage, Ophelia, Ophelia, he's turning back the page, there's rosemary, there's rue for you, there's pansies for your thought – Ophelia on the stage tonight, the one he never got. [Verse 3 – Chor als Publikum] (Chor:) Morning comes, the actors call, they find her waiting, flowers and all, the playbill pinned along the rail – a single line, a perfect tale. [Bridge – Streicher steigen] Did one laugh make a monster grow? Did one word let the darkness show? Or was he waiting all those years for any stage, for any tears? I was a girl, a careless queen – but no one deserves this scene. [Chorus] Ophelia, Ophelia, the river is a stage, Ophelia, Ophelia, he's turning back the page, there's rosemary, there's rue for you, there's pansies for your thought – Ophelia on the stage tonight, the one he never got. [Outro – nur Harfe und Stimme] Goodnight, ladies… goodnight, sweet ladies… goodnight… goodnight.
4. 04

   Belgravia

   Salon in Belgravia · London · ca. 6:00

   Salon in Belgravia, Porzellan, tickende Standuhr – Rückblende und Gegenwart verschwimmen

   Kaltes Kammermusik-Duett mit Streichquartett, Cembalo und tickender Uhr. Eisiger Alt, Knabensopran und später erwachsener Bariton; minimalistische Spannung und Dissonanzen bis zur vernichtenden Enthüllung.

   Stimmen: Lady Margaret (kühler Alt), der junge Edmund (Knabenstimme), am Ende der erwachsene Edmund

   Original-Liedtext

   [Intro – Standuhr, Cembalo] (Teetasse auf Untertasse) [Verse 1 – Lady Margaret] Sit up straight, my darling boy, feelings are a poor man's toy, your father's weak, your father's tired, weak men are simply… not required. A Harcourt-Vane does not perform, he owns the stage, he owns the storm. [Verse 2 – der junge Edmund] Mother, may I join the play? Mister Hayes said I could say the lines of Puck, the lines of Lear – „Not in this house. Not in this year.“ And Father looks into his tea and never, never looks at me. [Chorus – Lady Margaret] Belgravia, Belgravia, white houses, silent hearts, Belgravia, Belgravia, we never play our parts, we smile on Sunday, sign on Monday, bury what we feel – in Belgravia, my darling, nothing here is real. [Verse 3 – der erwachsene Edmund, Gegenwart] Forty years and you're still here, eighty-four and without fear, I came to ask you, face to face, why Father jumped and left this place. You said: „His debts.“ You said: „His shame.“ You said it was my father's name. [Bridge – Lady Margaret, zum ersten Mal unsicher] There is a letter in the safe… I never thought you'd be so brave… He didn't jump for gold or debt – he jumped so you would not forget that someone loved you, someone tried – I said I'd send you far away to hide. Scotland, boarding school, and cold – he chose the river. He was bold. [Edmund – gebrochen, a cappella] He jumped… for me? [Final Chorus – beide gegeneinander] (Margaret:) Belgravia, Belgravia, (Edmund:) you took him, took my days, (Margaret:) white houses, silent hearts, (Edmund:) you wrote me in your plays, (beide:) we smile on Sunday, sign on Monday, bury what we feel – in Belgravia, Belgravia, nothing here is real. [Outro – nur die Standuhr] (Die Uhr bleibt stehen.)
5. 05

   Tower Bridge at Dawn

   Gläserner Gehweg der Tower Bridge · London · ca. 6:30

   Gläserner Gehweg der Tower Bridge im Morgengrauen, Dr. Imogen Pryce am Geländer, unten die Themse, Polizeiboote

   Episches Finale mit Sinfonieorchester und Chor, Mezzosopran-Bariton-Duett und deutschen Sprechpassagen. Big-Ben-Glocken und tiefe Herzschlag-Trommeln; vom zerbrechlichen Klavier zum mächtigen Höhepunkt und zur stillen Auflösung im Sonnenaufgang.

   Stimmen: Prof. Andrea Salivatorie (warme Mezzosopranstimme), Edmund (Bariton), Kommissar Richard Kramer (Sprechstimme, Deutsch), großer Chor

   Original-Liedtext

   [Intro – Herzschlag-Trommel, Wind, Glocken] (Kramer, gesprochen, Funk:) Alle Einheiten warten. Salivatorie geht allein rauf. Niemand schießt. Hört ihr? Niemand. [Verse 1 – Edmund] The glass is cold beneath my feet, the river's where the endings meet, my father stood just there, you see, and now it's her, and now it's me. The final act, the final line – for once the ending will be mine. [Verse 2 – Salivatorie] Edmund, I've read every page, I've walked through every bloody stage, but you forgot a single scene: the one where you are not the machine. Your father didn't fall from shame – he jumped to save you. Say his name. [Pre-Chorus – Duett] (Edmund:) Don't you dare – (Salivatorie:) I know the truth. (Edmund:) She lied to me – (Salivatorie:) she stole your youth. (beide:) And all the women that you made were only you, too long afraid. [Chorus – Chor setzt ein] Tower Bridge at dawn, the city holds its breath, between the life we've lost and the dignity of death, the river doesn't judge, the river carries on – so step back from the edge at Tower Bridge at dawn. [Spoken Interlude – Kramer, auf Deutsch] (Kramer:) Harcourt-Vane, hören Sie mir zu. Ich bin kein Kritiker. Ich bin Polizist. Und ich sag Ihnen: Ein Stück, in dem am Ende alle tot sind, das hat schon einer geschrieben. Das brauchen Sie nicht nochmal. [Bridge – Edmund, brüchig] I wanted applause, I wanted light, I wanted one man to say: „You're right.“ Five women gone, a city's fear – and no one, no one's clapping here. Father, was it worth the fall? Was I worth anything at all? [Salivatorie – leise] You were worth his life. Now give one back. [Final Chorus – voller Chor, Brücke klappt hoch, Sonnenaufgang] Tower Bridge at dawn, the city holds its breath, between the life we've lost and the dignity of death, the curtain's falling slow, the villain's lost his song – and a woman walks away at Tower Bridge at dawn. [Outro – Klavier allein, Möwen, Big Ben] (Salivatorie, gesprochen:) Vom See zur Themse … und wieder heim.

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