Martha Opera by Friedrich von Flotow

VOCAL TRIO When the tolling of the temple bell  Told me that dawn and my vigil's end had come at last  I felt as though I'd passed a hundred Autumn nights.  Scene 1  (Spring)  SARASHINA, VOCAL TRIO Each Spring when the flowers blossomed And were blown away I was sadly reminded That this was the season when my nurse had died. At the very beginning of the Fifth Month, As I gazed at the pure white orange blossoms Near the eaves of our house, The scene inspired me to write the poem: It is their scent alone That tells me what those scattered orange blossoms are. Else I should have thought they were Untimely flakes of snow. Scene 2.1 (Guard)  SARASHINA, SOPRANO, MEZZO Long ago there was a man of this province Who was presented to the Imperial Palace As a guard of watchfires in the fire huts. One day, when he was sweeping, in the Imperial gardens He chanted to himself: GUARD Why, oh why have I come to this? At home I have many A jar of wine, and over the jars hang the gourd ladles. They turn to the north when the south wind blows, They turn to the south when the north wind blows, They turn to the east when the west wind blows, They turn to the west when the east wind blows. But now I can see none of it. SARASHINA, MEZZO The Emperor's favourite daughter gazed at the man. She was curious about those gourd ladles and  How they turned above the jars. PRINCESS Come here, my man! Let me hear that song again! GUARD They turn to the north when the south wind blows, They turn to the south when the north wind blows, They turn to the east when the west wind blows, They turn to the west when the east wind blows. PRINCESS Take me there and let me see for myself!  SARASHINA, MEZZO Having seated the Princess on his back, he walked for Seven days and nights until they reached Musashi. The Emperor and Empress were distraught And looked for her everywhere. CLOWN They were informed that a guard had been seen rushing  From the Palace with a creature of great fragrance clinging  to his neck. SARASHINA, MEZZO A search was ordered,  they sent Imperial messengers In urgent pursuit. CLOWN It took them three months before  they finally tracked down the man in Musashi. SARASHINA, MEZZO The Princess summoned the Imperial messengers and said: Scene 2.2  PRINCESS What I did must have been fated. I was curious about  this man's house and told him to bring me here. And I have found this an excellent place to live in. If the man is punished for this deed,  what will become of me?  It is no doubt a karma from some previous existence  that has made me leave my traces in this province. Go back to the Capital and report this to the Emperor!  Go! Go!  SARASHINA The messengers returned and told  the Emperor what they had heard. SARASHINA, MESSENGER What she did must have been fated. She was curious... She told him to bring her there. Excellent place... It is no doubt a karma... Go... go... EMPRESS There is nothing further to be said. Even if we punish the man, We can no longer bring our daughter back to the Capital. ALL TOGETHER After that only women were appointed to guard  the fire huts. Scene 3.1 (Pilgrimages)  SARASHINA, SOPRANO, MEZZO I lived forever in a dream world. SARASHINA, VOCAL TRIO The height of my aspirations  was that a man of noble birth, Perfect in both looks and manners, would visit me just Once a year in the mountain village Where he would have hidden me. It occurred to me that my position in the world would  greatly improve if Father received a proper appointment.  FATHER But you and I seem to have bad karmas. SARASHINA, VOCAL TRIO Finally his new post was announced, But he was assigned to a very distant province. "All these years..." FATHER, SARASHINA, SOPRANO, MEZZO All these years, I have been looking forward  to the day when I would be appointed to one  of the nearby provinces. Then I should have been able to look after you properly. I could have taken you along to my province And shown you the sea and the mountains. FATHER The provinces are terrible places. I could not look after you as I wished. Things are even more difficult. SARASHINA, SOPRANO, MEZZO Thus he lamented day and night, making me so unhappy That I could no longer even notice the beauty  of the flowers and the leaves MOTHER Oh, after Father left,  we had fewer visitors than ever. SARASHINA, YOUNG LADY I sat forlornly in my room, wondering exactly Where he might be. As I was whiling away the time in gloomy musings, It occurred to me that I might go on some pilgrimages.  MOTHER Pilgrimages! How terrifying! If we go to Hase,  we may be attacked by brigands On Nara Slope and what will become of us then? Ishiyama is also very dangerous because  one has to cross the barrier mountain. Scene 3.2  FATHER  (distantly) The provinces are terrible places. MOTHER And Mount Kurama, Kurumayama - Oh, how that would scare me! You had better wait until your father returns And let him decide where it's safe to go. YOUNG LADY Mother was a very old-fashioned woman. SARASHINA Mother was a very old-fashioned woman. The most she would allow was a retreat in Kiyomizu. When we reached the temple I still could not pray  sincerely as I should.  Scene 4.1  Dream with the cat.  SARASHINA Late one Spring night  I heard a prolonged miaow. I looked up with a start and saw an extremely pretty cat. SARASHINA, YOUNG LADY Where on earth was it from... SARASHINA ... I wondered. SARASHINA, YOUNG LADY Just then  my sister came behind the curtain. SISTER Hush! Hush! SARASHINA, YOUNG LADY Not a word to anyone!  It's a darling cat. SARASHINA, SISTER Let's keep it! SARASHINAN, SISTER YOUNG LADY The cat was very friendly,  and we looked after her with great care... Until one day my sister fell ill SARASHINA ... And I decided to... SARASHINA, YOUNG LADY Keep our cat in the northern wing of the house.  YOUNG LADY She miaowed loudly. SISTER What's happened? Where's our cat? Bring her here! YOUNG LADY Why? Why? SISTER I've had a dream.  Our cat came to me and said: SISTER, YOUNG LADY SARASHINA, CAT I am the daughter of the Major Counsellor,  And it is in this form that I have been reborn.  Because of some karma between us,  Your sister grew very fond of me and so  I have stayed in this house for a time. SISTER When I awoke,  I realized that the words in my dream were The miaowing of our cat. SARASHINA, YOUNG LADY This dream moved me deeply  and I thereafter never sent the cat to the northern wing. SARASHINA, SISTER YOUNG LADY In the Fourth Month of the following year there was  a fire in our house and the cat was burnt to death. SARASHINA How pathetic that she should have died like this!  SISTER, YOUNG LADY It really is extraordinary! Scene 4.2 (Requiem)  ALL SINGERS Smoke... Smoke... watched... above... Pyre... pyre... pyre...  has vanished utterly... Smoke... pyre... above her pyre...  has vanished utterly  how can she have hoped to find the grave Among the bamboo grasses of the plain? How can she have hoped to find the grave Find... smoke... pyre.  Scene 5  (The moon) SARASHINA Night after night I lie awake, Listening to the rustle of the bamboo leaves, And a strange sadness fills my heart. VOCAL TRIO You promised to return. SARASHINA One bright moonlit night I lay thinking and gazing At the moon and not getting a wink of sleep all night. Oh moon, as now you glide towards the West. VOCAL TRIO, SARASHINA How long must I still wait till you fulfil that vow? Spring did not forget the tree, Whose branches once were white with frost.  SARASHINA When I awoke,  the moon hung near the western ridge  Of the hills, and it seemed to me that  it's face was wet with tears.  Sadly I see the year is drawing to an end  And the night is giving way to dawn,  while moonbeams wanly shine upon my sleeves. SOPRANO, MEZZO, SARASHINA If only I could share this moon With one whose feelings are like mine - This moon that lights the mountain village In the Autumn dawn! Scene 6 (Mirror-dream)  SARASHINA, SOPRANO Mother... ordered... a mirror...  to be made for Hase... For Hase Temple. H-A-S-E Temple. She decided to send a priest...  to send a priest... In her place... and gave him... the following instructions. MOTHER, SARASHINA You must pray for a dream  about my daughter's future. SARASHINA, SOPRANO On his return... the priest reported... to Mother: PRIEST I prayed devoutly before the altar, then I went to sleep... And dreamt that a noble-looking lady appeared. SARASHINA Raising the mirror...  PRIEST Raising the mirror...  that you had dedicated to the temple she said: DREAM LADY Very strange! Look what is reflected here... PRIEST She pointed to the mirror... DREAM LADY The sight fills one with grief. PRIEST, SARASHINA In the mirror she saw a figure... Rolling on the floor in weeping and lamentation. DREAM LADY Very sad, is it not? DREAM LADY But now: look at this! SARASHINA Then she showed the other... PRIEST, SARASHINA Other side...  Beyond the room one could see the...  Plum blossoms and cherry blossoms in the garden,  and the singing warblers were flying from tree to tree. DREAM-LADY To whom shall I show it, To whose ears shall I bring it - This dawn in the mountain village, This music of the hototogisu as he greets another day? This makes one happy, does it not?... PRIEST ... Said the lady, and that was the end of my dream. SARASHINA, SOPRANO Though the priest's dream... concerned my own future... I paid no attention to it at the time, But composed the poem: SARASHINA Fate... fate is no friend of mine - Such was my bitter thought. But life has now become a happy thing indeed. Scene 7 (Dark night)  YOUNG LADY, WAITING LADY Together we scoured the windswept coast, but found no shells that we could use,  and only our sleeves were spattered by the surf had  she not hoped to find some seaweed growing in the bay,  this diver never would have searched the windswept shore,  peering for some gap among the waves. SARASHINA On a very dark night  I and another lady-in-waiting  stayed near the door of the chapel. As we lay there, chatting and listening to the priests,  a gentleman approached.  He talked in a quiet, gentle way  and I could tell that he was a man of perfect qualities.  GENTLEMAN There is a special elegance and charme,  about dark nights Like this.  Do you ladies not agree? If everything were lit up by the moon  the brightness would only embarrass one. SARASHINA Each has its own delight... GENTLEMAN Each has its own delight. YOUNG LADY ... Own delight. GENTLEMAN On Spring nights  the sky is beautifully shrouded with mist. WAITING LADY ... Beautifully, beautifully... YOUNG LADY ... The moon... GENTLEMAN The moon then is not too bright  and its light seems to be floating away in the distance. YOUNG LADY ... The sky... GENTLEMAN When Autumn comes the sky is still misty,  but the lucent moon shines through so clearly  that one feels one could pick it up in one's hand.  But then there is a Winter night when  the sky is chill, the air bitter cold,  and the piles of snow reflect the moonlight. YOUNG LADY The hazy Springtime moon - That is the one I love, When light green sky and fragrant blooms Are all alike enwrapped in mist. WAITING LADY It seems your hearts have all been drawn to Spring. Am I alone to gaze at Autumn moons?  (Overlapping Gentleman and Sarashina.)  GENTLEMAN At times when I am deeply moved by something,  Whether it be sad or happy,  the particular aspect of nature at the moment,  the look of the sky or the moon or the blossoms, Sinks deeply into my heart. SARASHINA Then he started speaking about the sadness of the world, And there was something  so sensitive about his manner that, For all my usual shyness,  I found it hard to remain stiff and aloof. SARASHINA, VOCAL TRIO Should I be spared to live beyond tonight,  spring evenings will remain within my heart  in memory of how we met.  SARASHINA After he had left us,  it occurred to me that he still had no idea who I was. Scene 8 (Remembrance)  SARASHINA In the Eighth Month of the following year  I accompanied the Princess to the Imperial Palace. Among those present was the gentleman  I had met on that rainy night;  but, having no idea that he was there, I stayed in my room. Late at night I pushed open the sliding door  and looked out. I heard footsteps approaching the veranda... YOUNG LADY And then the voice of a man... GENTLEMAN ... If everything were lit up by the moon The brightness would only embarrass one. YOUNG LADY ... Each has its own delight... GENTLEMAN I have never forgotten that rainy night, Not even for a moment. I thought it was the rain, That valley stream which flows between the trees.  YOUNG LADY How could it stay so clearly in your mind? There was nothing but the patter of the rain on leaves. GENTLEMAN If we should ever have another such rainy night, I should like to play the flute for you. I shall play my very best. SARASHINA I wanted to hear him and waited for a suitable time.  It never came. SARASHINA, VOCAL TRIO It was the flute's fault, for it passed too soon  And did not wait for Reed Leaf to reply.  Scene 9 (Fate)  SARASHINA Fate... fate is not a friend of mine... I remembered that, when Mother  had dedicated a mirror at Hase Temple,  the priest had dreamt about  a weeping figure rolling on the floor. Such was my present state, that was the end of it all.