Britten - The turn of the screw - Complet - St eng - De - Esp - Fr

It is a curious story. I have it written in faded ink, a woman's hand governess to two children long ago. Untried, innocent, she had gone first to see their guardian in London; a young man, bold, offhand and gay, the children's only relative. The children were in the country with an old housekeeper. There had been a governess, but she had gone. The boy, of course, was at school, but there was the girl, and the holidays, now begun. This then would be her task. But there was one condition: he was so much engaged; affairs, travel, friends, visits, always something, no time at all for the poor little things. She was to do everything, be responsible for everything, not to worry him at all, no, not to write, but to be silent, and do her best. She was full of doubts. But she was carried away: that he, so gallant and handsome, so deep in the busy world, should need her help. At last "I will", she said. At last "I will", she said. Nearly there. Very soon I shall know, I shall know what's in store for me. Who will greet me? The children ... the children. Will they be clever? Will they like me? Poor babies, no father, no mother. But I shall love them as I love my own. All my dear ones left at home, so far away. So far away, and so different. If things go wrong, what shall I do? Who can I ask, with none of my kind to talk to? Only the old housekeeper, how will she welcome me? I must not write to their guardian, that is the hardest part of all. Whatever happens, it is I, I must decide. A strange world for a stranger's sake. O why did I come? No! I've said I will do it, and for him I will. There's nothing to fear. What could go wrong? Be brave, be brave. We're nearly there. Very soon I shall know, very soon I shall know. Mrs. Grose! Will she be nice? Will she be cross? Why doesn't she hurry? Why isn't she here? Will she like us? Quiet, children! Lord! How you do tease! Will she be this, will she be that, a dozen times I do declare. You'll see soon enough. Now quietly, do! Miss Flora, your pinafore! Master Miles, your hair! Keep still, dearie, or you'll wear me out. Now show me how you bow. How do you curtsey? Bow! Curtsey! Here she is now. You must be Mrs. Grose? I'm so happy to see you ... so happy to be here. How do you do, Miss. Welcome to Bly. This must be Flora? And Miles? How charming they are ... I'm happy, so happy that you've come, Miss. How beautiful too. They're good children, yes, they're good, Miss. They're lively, too lively for an ignorant old woman. The house and park are so splendid, far grander than I am used to. Master Miles is wonderful at lessons, and Miss Flora's sharp too. They'll do better now, they'll do better with a young thing. Come along! Come along! Do! I shall feel like a princess here. We want to show you the house. We want to show you the park. Don't stay talking here any more. Quiet, children! Lord! How you do tease. In a trice they'll be dragging you all over the park. No, they must show me everything! For Bly is now my home. Miss! Miss! A letter for you. Here! A good young lady, I'll be bound, and a pretty one too. Now all will be well, we were far too long alone! Mrs. Grose! He's dismissed his school. Who? - Little Miles. What can it mean, never go back? Never? - Never! O, but for that he must be bad! - Him bad? An injury to his friends. - Him an injury? I won't believe it! Tell me, Mrs Grose, have you ever known Miles to be bad? A boy is no boy for me if he is never wild. But bad, no! No! I cannot think him really bad, not Miles. Never! Never! Not Master Miles. He can be wild, but not bad. See how sweetly he plays, and with how gentle a look he turns to his sister. Yes! The child is an angel! It is nonsense, never a word of truth. It is all a wicked lie. What shall you do, then? I shall do nothing. And what shall you say to him? I shall say nothing. Bravo! And I'll stand by you. O Miss, may I take the liberty? How beautiful it is. Each day it seems more beautiful to me. And my darling children enchant me more and more. My first foolish fears are all vanished now. Those fluttering fears when I could not forget the letter, when I heard a far-off cry in the night, and once a faint footstep passed my door. Only one thing I wish, that I could see him, and that he could see how well I do his bidding. His bidding ... The birds fly home to these great trees, here too I am at home. Alone, tranquil, serene. Ha! 'Tis he! No! No! Who is it? Who is it? Who can it be? Some servant? No, I know them all. Who is it, who? Who can it be? Some curious stranger? But how did he get in? Who is it, who? Some fearful madman locked away there? Adventurer? Intruder? Who is it, who? Who can it be? Who can it be? Tom, Tom, the piper's son, stole a pig and away he run. Pig was eat and Tom was beat, Tom ran howling down the street. Now I'll steal the pig. Go on then, go on! Tom, Tom, the piper's son, stole a pig and away he run. Now chase me, chase me. I'll catch you, I'll catch you. Pig was eat and Tom was beat, Tom ran howling down the street. Let's do it again. Children! Are you ready? Run along then. Tom, Tom, the piper's son, stole a pig and away he run. Ah! My dear! You look so white and ***. What happened? I have been frightened. - What was it? A man looked through the window, a strange man. But I saw him before, on the tower. No one from the village? - No. A gentleman, then? - No! Indeed no! What was he like? His hair was red, close-curling, a long, pale face, small eyes. His look was sharp, fixed and strange. He was tall, clean-shaven, yes, even handsome. But a horror! - Quint! Peter Quint! Dear God, is there no end to his dreadful ways? Peter Quint ... who is that? Dear God! Is there no end? Tell me, Mrs. Grose! Do you know him, then? Tell me! Mrs. Grose, what has happened here, in this house? Quint, Peter Quint, the master's valet. Left here in charge. It was not for me to say, Miss, no indeed, I had only to see to the house. But I saw things elsewhere I did not like. When Quint was free with everyone, with little Master Miles. Miles? Hours they spent together. Miles? Yes, Miss, he made free with her too, with lovely Miss Jessel, governess to those pets, those angels, those innocent babes. And she a lady, so far above him. Dear God! Is there no end! But he had ways to twist them round his little finger. He liked them pretty, I can tell you, Miss. And he had his will, morning and night. But why did you not tell your master? Write to him? Send for him to come? I dursn't. He never liked worries. 'Twas not my place. They were not in my charge. Quint was too clever. I feared him. And feared what he could do. No, Mr. Quint, I did not like your ways! And then she went. She couldn't stay, not then. She went away to die. To die? And Quint? He died too. - Died? Fell on the icy road, struck his head, lay there till morning, dead! Dear God, is there no end to his dreadful ways? I know nothing of these things. Is this sheltered place the wicked world where things unspoken of can be? Dear God! Only this much I know: things have been done here that are not good, and have left a taste behind them. That man: impudent, spoiled, depraved. Mrs. Grose, I am afraid. Not for me, for Miles. He came to look for Miles, I'm sure of that, and he will come again. I don't understand. But I see it now, I must protect the children. I must guard their quiet, and their guardian's too. See what I see, know what I know, that they may see and know nothing. Lord, Miss! Don't understand a word of what you say. But I'll stand by you, Lord, Miss, indeed I will. Many nouns it is we find to the masculine are assigned: Amnis, axis, caulis, collis. Fustis, ignis, orbis, ensis. Panis, piscis, postis, mensis. Torris, unguis and canalis. Vectis, vermis, and natalis. Sanguis, pulvis, cucumis. Lapis, casses, manes, glis. And mis and lis and lis and whis and lis and tis! Many nouns it is we find to the masculine are assigned. That's good, Miles, you've learned that well! Now say for me ... Can't we stop now? Let's do history! Boadicea on her chariot! Look at me! Don't tease, dear! We must do Miles' Latin. Come now! What else do you remember? Now think. Malo: I would rather be Malo, in an apple-tree Malo, than a naughty boy Malo, in adversity. Why, Miles, what a funny song! Did I teach you that? No, I found it. I like it. Do you? O rivers and seas and lakes! Is this lake in my book? No dear, it's far too small. Small? It's huge! It's a great wide sea! Then you must name it. Come Flora, what seas do you know? Adriatic and Aegean ... - Yes! Baltic, Bosnian and the Caspian ... - Good! Black and Red and White and Yellow ... - And? Medi-medi-terra-nean! - Go on! And ... and ... and ... the Dead Sea. And this one? Is the Dead Sea. How can a sea be dead? They call it dead because nothing can live in it. Then I wouldn't go in it, and neither would Miles. Go to sleep, my dolly dear. Go to sleep. Sing to her dear. Dolly must sleep wherever you choose. Dolly must sleep wherever I choose. Today by the dead salt sea, tomorrow her waxen lids may close on the plains of Muscovy. And now like a Queen of the East she lies with a Turk to guard her bed. But next, when her short-lived daylight dies, she's a shepherdess instead. But sleep dear dolly, O sleep and when you are lost in your journeying dream. The sea may change to a palace again, for nothing shall stay the same ... That's right, my darling. How good you are. Go to sleep. Flora! Come along! We must go now, and find Miles. Hullo! Where are you, you two? There he is! Go to him! Miss Jessel! It was Miss Jessel! She returns too, she too, she too. And Flora saw, I know she saw, and said nothing. They are lost! Lost! I neither save nor shield them. I keep nothing from them. O, I am useless, useless. What can I do? It is far worse than I dreamed. They are lost! Lost! Lost! Lost! Miles! Miles! Miles! Miles! I'm here ... O, I'm here! I am all things strange and bold, the riderless horse snorting, stamping on the hard sea sand. The hero highwayman plundering the land. I am King Midas with gold in his hand. Gold, O yes, gold! I am the smooth world's double face, Mercury's, Mercury's heels feathered with mischief and a God's deceit. The brittle blandishment of counterfeit. In me secrets, and half-formed desires meet. Secrets, O secrets! I am the hidden life that stirs when the candle is out. Upstairs and down, the footsteps barely heard. The unknown gesture, and the soft, persistent word. The long sighing light of the night-winged bird. Bird! - Miles I'm listening. - Miles! I'm here. Flora! Miles! Flora, Flora! Miles! Flora! Come! I'm here ... Their dreams and ours can never be one. They will forsake us. O come to me! Come! Tell me, what shall I see there? All those we have wept for together. Beauty forsaken in the beast's demesne. The little mermaid weeping on the sill, Gerda and Psyche seeking their loves again, Pandora with her dreadful box, as well. What goes on in your dreams? Keep silent, I know and answer that too. Pandora with her box as well! Their knowledge and ours can never be one. They will despise us, despise us. O come to me, come! On the paths, the woods, the banks, by the walls in the long, lush grass, or the winter leaves, fallen leaves, I wait, I wait ... On the paths, in the woods, on the banks, by the walls, in the long, lush grass, or the winter leaves, fallen leaves, I wait, I wait ... On the paths, in the woods, on the banks by the walls, in the long, lush grass, or the winter leaves, fallen leaves ... Come to me! I shall be there. I shall be there. Mrs. Grose! Go to Flora! Why, whatever's going on? Miles! Miles! What are you doing here? You see? I am bad, I am bad. Aren't I? I am bad, I am bad, aren't I? Why did you call me from my schoolroom dreams? I call? Not I! You heard the terrible sound of the wild swan's wings. Cruel! Why did you beckon me to your side? I beckon? No, not I! Your beating heart to your own passions lied. Betrayer! Where were you when in the abyss I fell? Betrayer? No, not I. I waited for the sound of my own last bell. And now what do you seek? I seek a friend. - She is here. - No! Self-deceiver! Ah! Quint, Quint, do you forget? Do you forget, Quint? I seek a friend, obedient to follow where I lead, slick as a juggler's mate to catch my thought. Proud, curious, agile, he shall feed my mounting power. Then to his bright subservience I'll expound the desperate passions of a haunted heart, and in that hour ... "The ceremony of innocence is drowned". I too must have a soul to share my woe. Despised, betrayed, unwanted she must go forever to my joyless spirit bound, "The ceremony of innocence is drowned". Day by day the bars we break, break the love that laps them round, cheat the careful watching eyes, "The ceremony of innocence is drowned". The ceremony ... - Is drowned. The ceremony ... - Is drowned. Of innocence ... "The ceremony of innocence is drowned". Lost in my labyrinth, I see no truth, only the foggy walls of evil press upon me. Lost in my labyrinth, I see no truth. O innocence, you have corrupted me, which way shall I turn? I know nothing of evil, yet I feel it, I fear it, worse, imagine it. Lost in my labyrinth, which way shall I turn? Lost in my labyrinth, which way shall I turn? Lost in my labyrinth, which way shall I turn? O sing unto them a new song: Let the congregation praise him. O ye works and days: Bless ye the Lord. O ye rivers and seas and lakes: Bless ye the Lord. O amnis, axis, caulis, collis, clunis, crinis, fascis, follis: - Bless ye the Lord. Praise him and magnify him for ever. O Miss, a bright morning ... to be sure. Yes ... - O ye tombstones and trees: Praise him. Bright as the Sunday morning bells, how I love the sound. O ye bells and towers: Praise him. And the dear children, how sweet they are together. O ye paths and woods: Praise him. Come Miss. Don't worry, it will pass I'm sure. O ye frosts and fallen leaves: Praise him. They're so happy with you. O ye dragons and snakes, worms and feathered fowl ... You're so good to them. Rejoice in the Lord. We all love you, Miss. O Mrs. Grose, bless ye the Lord: May she never be confounded. Dear, good Mrs. Grose, they are not playing, they are talking horrors. Oh! Never! Why are they so charming? Why so unnaturally good? I tell you they are not with us, but with the others. With Quint and that woman? With Quint and that woman. - But what could they do? Do? They could destroy them! Miss! You must write to their uncle. That his house is poisoned, the children mad, or that I am? I was charged not to worry him. Yes. He does hate worry. I shall never write to him. O ye paths and woods ... - It will pass I'm sure. Can you not feel them round about you? They're so happy with you. They are here, there, everywhere. - You're so good to them. They are here ... - We all love you so. And the children are with them ... - Never you mind. They are not with us. - We'll be all right, you'll see. Come, Miss! It is time we went in. Come to church, my dear, it will do you good. Flora! Miles! Come along, dears. Do you like the bells? I do. They're not half finished yet. - No. Then we can talk and you can tell me when I'm going back to school. Are you not happy here? I'm growing up, you know. I want my own kind. Yes, you're growing up. So much I want to do, so much I might do ... But I trust you, Miles. You trust me, my dear, but you think and think ... of us, and of the others. Does my uncle think what you think? Praise him and magnify him for ever! It was a challenge! He knows what I know, and dares me to act. But who would believe my story? Mrs. Grose? No, she's no good. She has doubts. I am alone, alone. I must go away now, while they are at church, away from those false little lovely eyes. Away from my fears, away from the horrors, away from this poisoned place, away, away! She is here! Here, in my own room! Here my tragedy began, here revenge begins. Nearer and nearer she comes, from the lake, from the stair. Ah, here I suffered, here I must find my peace. From the stair, from the passage. Peace did I say? Not peace but the fierce imparting of my woe. From the passage, into the very heart of my kingdom. I shall come closer, closer ... I shall come closer, closer, and more often. There she sheds her ghastly influence. She shall not! She shall not! I won't bear it! So I shall be waiting, waiting for the child. Why are you here? Alas! Alas! It is mine, mine, the desk. Alas! Alas! They are mine, mine, the children. Alas! Alas! I cannot rest. I will never abandon them. I am weary and I cannot rest. Begone! Begone! You horrible, terrible woman. I can't go, I can't. But I can no longer support it alone. I must write to him, write to him now. Sir ... dear Sir ... My dear Sir, I have not forgotten your charge of silence ... of silence. But there are things that you must know, and I must see you, must see and tell you at once. Forgive me. That is all. Malo ... than a naughty boy Malo in ... I say, what are you waiting for? Why, Miles, not yet in bed? Not even undressed? O I've been sitting, sitting and thinking. Thinking? Of what were you thinking? Of this *** life, the life we've been living. What do you mean by that? What life? My dear, you know. You're always watching, watching, watching. I don't know, Miles, for you've never told me. You've told me nothing, nothing of what happened before I came. I thought till today that you were quite happy. I am, I am. I'm always thinking, thinking. Miles, I've just written to your guardian. What a lot you'll have to tell him. So will you, Miles. Miles, dear little Miles, is there nothing you want to tell me? Miles, are you listening? Miles, what happened at school? What happened here? Miles, I am here, I am here! Miles, if you knew how I want to help you ... Miles, I'm waiting ... ... how I want you to help me save you. Oh, what is it? What is it? Why, the candle's out! 'Twas I who blew it, who blew it, dear! So! She has written. What has she written? What has she written? She has told all she knows. What does she know? What does she know? It is there on the chair, there on the chair. There ... Easy to take! Take it! Easy to take! Easy to take! Take it! Take it! O what a clever boy. Why, he must have practised very hard. I never knew a little boy so good. Yes, there is no mistake, he is clever. They both are. They've come on wonderfully well with you, Miss. My dear, with such children anything is possible. I've done it! I've written it! It's ready for the post. That's right, Miss. Go on, dear. Mrs. Grose is enjoying it. We're all enjoying it. O what a clever boy! I never knew a little boy so good. And Miss Flora, playing at cat's cradle. There's a nimble-fingered little girl! Cradles for cats are string and air. Are string and air. If we let go there's nothing there. Nothing there. But if we are neat and nimble and clever. And clever ... ***-cat's cradle will go on for ever. ***-cat's cradle will go on for ever. ***-cat's cradle ... - ***-cat's cradle ... Will go on for ever. Mrs. Grose, are you tired? Well, my head do keep nodding. It's this warm room. Shut your eyes, then, and you shall have a cradle. Ah, Miles ... And Master Miles' playing ... Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Ah, Miles! Miles, Miles! Flora, Flora! Mrs. Grose! Wake up! She is gone. What? Who, Miss? - Flora's gone, gone out to her. Come, we must go and find her! Lord, Miss! But you'll leave the boy? O I don't mind that now, he's with Quint! He's found the most divine little way to keep me quiet while she went. Come! Come! Flora! Flora! There she is! Fancy running off like that, and such a long way too, without your hat and coat. You are a naughty girl. Whatever made you leave us all? And where, my pet, is Miss Jessel? Flora! Ah! She is there! Look! She is there! Look! You little unhappy thing! Look! Mrs. Grose! She is there! Indeed Miss, there's nothing there. Only look, dearest woman, don't you see, now, now! She isn't there, little lady. Nobody is there. But look! I can't see anybody, can't see anything, nobody, nothing. I don't know what you mean. We know all things, they know nothing ... You're cruel, horrible, hateful, nasty. Why did you come here? She isn't there. Take me away! Take me away! I don't like her! Silence! Silence! Me? I can't see anything, anybody. Yes, it's all a mistake, and we'll get home as fast as we can. Yes! Go! Go! Go! Ah! Flora, Flora, do not fail me! Flora! Take me away, take me away from her! Hateful, cruel, nasty, horrible! Go! Nasty, horrible My friend, you have forsaken me! At last you have forsaken me. Flora, I have lost you, she has taught you how to hate me. Am I then horrible? Horrible? No! No! But I have failed, most miserably failed, and there is no more innocence in me. And now she hates me! Hates me! Hates me! Mrs. Grose! O Miss, you were quite right, I must take her away. Such a night as I have spent ... No, don't ask me. What that child has poured out in her dreams ... Things I never knew nor hope to know nor dare remember. My dear, I thought I had lost you, thought you couldn't believe me. I must take her away. Yes, go to their uncle. He knows now that all is not well, he has had my letter. My dear, your letter never went, it wasn't where you put it. Miles ... Miles must have taken it. Must have taken it. All the same, go, and I shall stay and face what I have to face with the boy. O Miles, I cannot bear to lose you! You shall be mine, and I shall save you. So, my dear, we are alone. Are we alone? Oh, I'm afraid so. Do you mind? Do you mind being left alone? Do you? Dearest Miles, I love to be with you. What else should I stay for? So, my dear, for me you stay? I stay as your friend, I stay as your friend. Miles, there is nothing I would not do for you, remember. Yes, yes. If I'll do something now for you. Do tell me what it is then, you have on your mind. Miles! I still want you to tell me. Now? Yes, it would be best, you know. Beware of her! What is it, Miles? Do you want to go and play? Awfully! I will tell you everything. I will! No! But not now. Miles, did you steal my letter? Did you steal my letter? Miles, you are mine! Did you? Did you? No. Yes. I took it. Why did you take it? To see what you said about us. Be silent! Miles, dear little Miles, who is it you see? Who do you wait for, watch for? Do not betray our secrets. Beware, beware of her! I don't know what you mean. Who is it, who? Say, for my sake. Miles, you're mine! Is he there, is he there? Is who there, Miles? Say it! Don't betray us, Miles! Nobody, nothing! - Who? Who? On the banks, by the walls, remember Quint! Who made you take the letter? At the window, on the tower, when the candle is out ... Who do you wait for, watch for? He leads, he watches ... Only say the name! Only say the name! He waits ... Only say the name and he will go for ever, for ever. Peter Quint, you devil! Ah, Miles! - Ah, Miles! You are saved. - We have failed. You are saved. - We have failed. Now all will be well. - Now I must go. Now all will be well. - Now I must go. Together we have destroyed him.