Chapter V: Part 5

We must go to Sala's house, father.

WEGRAT

Dead...?

FELIX

Father! (_He takes hold of Wegrat's hand and kisses it_) My father!

JULIAN (_has left the room slowly in the meantime_)

WEGRAT

Must things of this kind happen to make that word sound as if I had heard it for the first time...?

CURTAIN

INTERMEZZO

(_Zwischenspiel_)

A COMEDY IN THREE ACTS

1904

PERSONS

AMADEUS ADAMS } A musical conductor

CECILIA ADAMS-ORTENBURG } His wife, an opera singer

PETER } Their child, five years old

ALBERT RHON

MARIE } His wife

SIGISMUND, PRINCE MARADAS-LOHSENSTEIN

COUNTESS FREDERIQUE MOOSHEIM } An opera singer

GOVERNESS } } At the Adamses COUNT ARPAD PAZMANDY }

_The scene is laid in Vienna at the present day._

INTERMEZZO

THE FIRST ACT

_The study of Amadeus. The walls are painted in dark gray, with a very simple frieze. A door in the background leads to a veranda. On either side of this door is a window. Through the door one sees the garden, to which three steps lead down from the veranda. A cabinet stands between the door and the window at the right; a music-stand holds a corresponding position to the left of the door. Antique bas-reliefs are hung above the cabinet as well as the stand. The main entrance is on the right side in the foreground. Farther back at the right is a door leading to Cecilia's room. A door finished like the rest of the wall leads to the room of Amadeus at the left. A tall book case, with a bust of Verrochio on top of it, stands against the right wall. In the corner back of it are several columns with tall vases full of flowers. A fireplace occupies the foreground at the left. Above it is a large mirror. On the mantelshelf stands a French clock of simple design. A table surrounded by chairs is placed in front of the fireplace. Farther back along the same wall are shelves piled with sheet music, and above them engravings of Schumann, Brahms, Mozart, and other composers. A bust of Beethoven occupies the farthermost corner at the left. Halfway down the stage, nearer the left wall, stands a piano with a piano stool in front of it. An armchair has been moved up close to the piano on the side toward the public. A writing desk holds a similar position at the right. Back of it are an easy-chair and a couch, the latter having been moved close to the table._

AMADEUS (_thirty years old, slender, with dark, smooth hair; his movements are quick, with a suggestion of restlessness; he wears a gray business suit of elegant cut, but not well cared for; he has a trick of taking hold of the lapel of his sack coat with his left hand and turning it back; he is seated at the piano, accompanying Frederique_)

FREDERIQUE (_twenty-eight, is dressed in a bright gray tailor-made suit and a red satin waist; wears a broad-brimmed straw hat, very fashionable; her hair is blonde, of a reddish tint; her whole appearance is very dainty; she is singing an aria from the opera "Mignon"_) "Ha-ha-ha! Is 't true, really true?" (_While singing she is all the time making a motion as if she were beating the dust out of her riding suit with a crop_)

AMADEUS (_accompanying himself as he gives her the cue_) "Yes, you may laugh. I am a fool to ruin my horse ..."

FREDERIQUE

"Maybe you would like ..."

AMADEUS (_nervously_)

Oh, wait!... You don't know yet why I have ruined my horse.... "To ruin my horse for a quicker sight of you ..."

FREDERIQUE (_with the same gesture as before_)

"Maybe you would like me to weep?"

AMADEUS

"Oh, I regret already that I came."

FREDERIQUE (_as before_)

"Well, why...."

AMADEUS

G sharp!

FREDERIQUE (_as before_)

"Well, why don't you go back? Soon enough I shall see you again."

AMADEUS

You should say that ironically, not tenderly. "Soon enough I shall see you again...."

FREDERIQUE (_as before_)

"Soon enough I shall see you again...."

AMADEUS

Not angrily, Countess, but ironically.

FREDERIQUE

Call me Frederique, and not Countess, when you are working with me.

AMADEUS

Now, that's the tone Philine should use. Hold on to it.... And that's the right look, too.... If you could do that on the stage, you might almost be an artist.

FREDERIQUE

Oh, mercy, I have sung Philine more than twenty times already.

AMADEUS

But not here, Freder ... Countess. And not when Mrs. Adams-Ortenburg was singing the part of Mignon. (_He leans forward so that he can look out into the garden_)

FREDERIQUE

No, she isn't coming yet. (_With a smile_) Perhaps the rehearsal isn't over.

AMADEUS (_rising_)

Perhaps not.

FREDERIQUE

Is it true that Mrs. Adams-Ortenburg has been requested to sing in Berlin next Fall?

AMADEUS

Nothing has been settled yet. (_He goes to the window at the right_) If you'll permit.... (_Opens the window_)

FREDERIQUE

What a splendid day! And how fragrant the roses are. It is almost like....

AMADEUS

Almost like Tremezzo--yes, I know.

FREDERIQUE

How can you--as you have never been there?

AMADEUS

But you have told me enough about it. A villa standing at the edge of the water--radiantly white--with marble steps leading straight down to the blue sea.

FREDERIQUE

Yes. And sometimes, on very hot nights, I sleep in the park, right on the sward, under a plane tree.

AMADEUS

That plane tree is famous.--But time is flying. It would be better to go on with the singing. (_He seats himself at the piano again_) The polonaise--if you please, Countess. (_He begins the accompaniment_)

FREDERIQUE (_singing_)

"Titania, airiest queen of fairies,
Has descended from her blue cloud throne,
And her way across the world is wending
More quickly than the bird or lightning flash..."

AMADEUS (_interrupts his playing and lets his head sink forward_) No, no--it's no use!... Please tell the director that he will have to look after your part himself. As for me, I have certain regards even for people who go to the opera in Summer. They should not be forced to accept _anything_. Tell the director, please, that I send him my regards and that--there are more important things to occupy my time. (_He closes the score_)

FREDERIQUE (_quite amicably_)

I believe it. How's your opera getting along?

AMADEUS

For the Lord's sake, please don't pretend to be interested in things of that kind! Why, nobody expects it of you.

FREDERIQUE

Will it soon be finished?

AMADEUS

Finished...? How could it be, do you think? I have to conduct two nights a week at least, and there are rehearsals in the morning, not to mention singers that have to be coached.... Do you think a man can sit down after an hour like _this_ and invite his muse?

FREDERIQUE

After an hour like _this_...? I don't think you feel quite at your ease with me, Amadeus.

AMADEUS

Not at my ease? I? With you?--I don't think you have imagined in your most reckless moments, Countess, that my wife might have anything to fear from you.

FREDERIQUE

You are determined to misunderstand me. (_She has gone to the fireplace and turns now to face Amadeus_) You know perfectly well why you pretend to be cross with me. Because you are in love with me.

AMADEUS (_looks straight ahead and goes on playing_)

FREDERIQUE

And that chord proves nothing to the contrary.

AMADEUS

That chord.... Tell me rather what kind of chord it is. (_He repeats it in a fury_)

FREDERIQUE

A flat major.

AMADEUS (_in a tone of boredom_)

G major--of course.

FREDERIQUE (_close by him, with a smile_)

Don't let that semi-tone spoil our happiness.

AMADEUS (_rises, goes toward the background and looks out into the garden_)

FREDERIQUE

Is it your wife?

AMADEUS

No, my little boy is playing out there. (_He stands at the window, waving his hand at somebody outside; pause_)

FREDERIQUE

You take life too hard, Amadeus.

AMADEUS (_still at the window, but turning toward Frederique_) I can't lie--and I don't want to. Which is not the same as taking life hard.

FREDERIQUE

Can't lie...? And yet you have been away from your wife for months at a time--haven't you? And your wife came here while you were still conducting somewhere abroad, didn't she?... So that....

AMADEUS

Those are matters which you don't quite comprehend, Countess. (_He looks again toward the main entrance_)

FREDERIQUE

No, your wife can't be here yet. She won't give up her walk on a wonderful day like this.

AMADEUS

What you have in mind now is pretty mean, Frederique.

FREDERIQUE

Why so? Of course, I know she takes a walk with you, too, now and then.

AMADEUS

Yes, when my time permits. And often she goes out with Sigismund. To-day she's probably with him--and that's what you wanted to bring home to me, of course.

FREDERIQUE

Why should I? You know it, don't you? And I assure you, it has never occurred to me to see anything wrong in it. He's a friend of yours.

AMADEUS

More than that--or less. He used to be my pupil.

FREDERIQUE

I didn't know that.

AMADEUS

Ten years ago, while still a mere youngster, I used to live in his father's palace. It's hard to tell where I might have been to-day, had it not been for old Prince Lohsenstein. You see, we men have generally another kind of youth to look back at than you ...

FREDERIQUE

... women artists.

AMADEUS

No, countesses, I meant to say. For three years I spent every summer in the palace at Krumau.[1] And there--for the first time in my life--I could work in peace, all by myself, with nothing more to do than to instruct Sigismund.

[1] A small Bohemian city near the border of Upper Austria. On
a high rock, with a wonderful view along the river Moldau,
stands the Schwarzenberg castle, which the author seems to
have had in mind.

FREDERIQUE

Did he want to become a pianist?

AMADEUS

Not exactly. He wanted to join some monastic order.

FREDERIQUE

No? Is that really true?--Oh, it's queer how people change!

AMADEUS

They don't as much as you think. He has remained a man of serious mind.

FREDERIQUE

And yet he plays dance music so charmingly...?

AMADEUS

Why shouldn't he? A good waltz and a good hymn are just as acceptable to the powers above.

FREDERIQUE

How delightful those evenings in your house used to be! No farther back than last winter.... The Count and I frequently talk of them.--Have you ceased to invite Prince Sigismund, as you have me?

AMADEUS

He was here only a fortnight ago, my dear Countess--and spent the whole evening with us. We had supper in the summer-house, and then we came in here and sat chatting for a long while, and finally he improvised some variations on the Cagliostro Waltzes before he left.--And what my wife and he say to each other during their walk, when I am not with them, will no more be hidden from me than I would hide from her what you and I have been talking of here. That's how my wife and I feel toward each other--if you'll please understand, Frederique!

FREDERIQUE

But there are things one simply _can't_ say to each other.

AMADEUS

There can be no secrets between people like my wife and myself.

FREDERIQUE

Oh, of course ... but then ... what you have been saying to me will be only a small part of what you must tell your wife to-day, Amadeus. Good-by.... (_She holds out her hand to him_)

AMADEUS

What's in your mind now, Frederique?

FREDERIQUE

Why resist your fate? Is it so very repulsive after all? What you are to me, nobody else has ever been!

AMADEUS

And you want me to believe that?

FREDERIQUE

I shall not insist on it. But it is true nevertheless. Good-by now. Until to-morrow, Amadeus. Life is really much easier than you think.... It might be so very pleasant--and so it shall be! (_She goes out_)

AMADEUS (_seats himself at the piano again and strikes a few notes_) It is getting serious ... or amusing perhaps...? (_He shakes his head_)

ALBERT RHON (_enters; he is of medium height; his black hair, slightly streaked with gray, is worn long; he is rather carelessly dressed_)

AMADEUS

Oh, is that you, Albert? How are you?

ALBERT

I have come to ask how you are getting along with our opera, Amadeus. Have you done anything?

AMADEUS

No.

ALBERT

Again nothing?

AMADEUS

I doubt whether I can get a chance here. We'll have to wait until the season is over. I have too much to do. We are now putting on "Mignon" with new people in some of the parts....

ALBERT

If I'm not very much mistaken, I saw Philine float by--with a rather intoxicated look in her eyes.... Oh, have I put my foot into it again? I beg your pardon!

AMADEUS (_turning away from him_)

That's right. She was here. Oh, that damned business of private rehearsals! But I hope it won't last much longer. The coming Winter is going to decide my future once for all. I have already got my leave of absence.

ALBERT

So you have made up your mind about that tour?

AMADEUS

Yes, I shall be gone for two months this time.

ALBERT

Within Germany only?

AMADEUS

I'll probably take in a few Italian cities also. Yes, my dear fellow, they know more about me abroad than here. I shall conduct my Third Symphony, and perhaps also my Fourth.

ALBERT

Have you got that far already?

AMADEUS

No. But I have hopes of the Summer. Once more I mean to do some real work.

ALBERT

Well, it's about time.--I have made out the schedule for our walking tour, by the by. And I brought along the map. Look here. We start from Niederdorf, and then by way of Plätzwiesen to Schluderbach; then to Cortina; then through the Giau Pass to Caprile; then by way of the Fedaja[2]....

[2] The names used in this passage occur a number of times in
the various plays, indicating that their author probably has
been drawing on experiences obtained during his own walking
tours through the Dolomites. As far as Cortina, the route is
identical with the one mentioned by _Wegrath_ in "The Lonely
Way." The Giau Pass is a little known footpath across Monte
Giau, showing that the intention of _Albert_ is to avoid the
routes frequented by tourists.

AMADEUS

I leave all that to you. I rely entirely on you.

ALBERT

Then it's settled that we'll don knapsack and alpenstock once more, to wander through the country as we used to do when we were young...?

AMADEUS

Yes, and I am looking forward to it with a great deal of pleasure.

ALBERT

You need simply to pull yourself together--a few weeks of mountain air and quiet will get you out of this.

AMADEUS

Oh, I haven't got into anything in particular. I am a little nervous. That's all.

ALBERT

Can't you see, Amadeus, how you have to force yourself in order to use this evasion toward me, who, of course, has no right whatever to demand any frankness? Can't you see how you are wasting a part of your mental energy, so to speak, on this slight disingenuousness? No, dissimulation is utterly foreign to your nature, as I have always told you. If you should ever get to the point where you had to deceive one who was near and dear to you, that would be the end of you.

AMADEUS

Your worry is quite superfluous! Haven't you known us long enough--me and Cecilia--to know that our marriage is based, above all else, on absolute frankness?

ALBERT

Many have good intentions, but their courage often deserts them at the critical moment.

AMADEUS

We have never yet kept anything hidden from each other.

ALBERT

Because so far you have had nothing to confess.

AMADEUS

Oh, a great deal, perhaps, which other people keep to themselves. Our common life has not been without its complications. We have had to be parted from each other for months at a time. I have had to rehearse in private with other singers than Philine, and (_with an air of superiority_) other men than Prince Sigismund must have discovered that Cecilia is pretty.

ALBERT

I haven't said a word about Cecilia.

AMADEUS

And besides, it would be quite hopeless for Cecilia or me to keep any secrets. We know each other too well--I don't think two people ever existed who understood each other so completely as we do.

ALBERT

I can imagine a point where the understanding would have to end, and everything else with it.

AMADEUS

Everything else maybe--but not the understanding.

ALBERT

Oh, well! If nothing is left but the understanding, that means the beginning of the end.

AMADEUS

Those are--chances that every human being must resign himself to take.

ALBERT

You don't talk like one who has resigned himself, however, but like one who has made up his mind.

AMADEUS

Who can be perfectly sure of himself or of anybody else? We two, at any rate, are not challenging fate by feeling too secure.

ALBERT

Oh, when it comes to that, my dear fellow--fate always regards itself challenged--by doubt no less than by confidence.

AMADEUS

To be safe against any surprise brings a certain sense of tranquillity anyhow.

ALBERT

A little more tranquillity would produce a decision to avoid anything that might endanger an assured happiness.

AMADEUS

Do you think anything is to be won by that kind of avoidance? Don't you feel rather, that the worst and most dangerous of all falsehoods is to resist temptation with a soul full of longing for it? And that it is easier to go unscathed through adventures than through desires?

ALBERT

Adventures...! Is it actually necessary, then, to live through them? A painter who has risen above pot-boiling, and who has left the follies of youth behind him, can be satisfied with a single model for all the figures that are created out of his dreams--and one who knows how to live may have all the adventures he could ever desire within the peaceful precincts of his own home. He can experience them just as fully as anybody else, but without waste of time, without unpleasantness, without danger. And if he only possess a little imagination, his wife may bear him nothing but illegitimate children without being at all aware of it.

AMADEUS

It's an open question whether you have the right to force such a part on anybody whom you respect.

ALBERT

It is not wise to let people know what they mean to you. I have put this thought into an aphorism:

If you grasp me, you rasp me;
If I know you, I own you.

MARIE (_entering from the garden with little Peter_)

Peter wants me absolutely to come in. I wanted to wait for Cecilia in the garden.

AMADEUS

How are you, Marie?

MARIE

I'm not disturbing you, I hope?

GOVERNESS (_comes from the garden with the intention of taking the boy away_) Peter!

PETER

No, I want to stay with the grown-ups.

AMADEUS

Yes, let him be with us for a while.

GOVERNESS (_returns to the veranda, where she remains visible_)

MARIE

Well, have you been working a lot?

AMADEUS

Oh, we have just been talking.

ALBERT

Do you know why she asks? Because she is in love with Mr. von Rabagas.

AMADEUS

With whom?

ALBERT

Don't you remember him? He's that interesting young chap who appears in the first act as one of the King's attendants. She used, at least, to fall in love only with the heroes of my plays, but nowadays she can't even resist the subordinate characters.

AMADEUS

That should make you proud.

ALBERT

Proud, you say? But at times you can't help regretting that you must put all the beauties and virtues of the world into the figures you create, so that you have nothing but your wee bit of talent left to get along with personally.

CECILIA (_enters from the right_)

PETER

There's mamma!

CECILIA

Good afternoon. (_She shakes hands with everybody_) How are you, Marie? This is awfully nice. If I had only known.... I went for a short walk. It's such a wonderful day.--Well, Peter (_kissing him_), have you had your meal yet?

PETER

Yes.

GOVERNESS (_entering from the veranda_)

Good afternoon, Madame. Peter hasn't had his nap yet.

MARIE

Does he still have to sleep in the daytime? Our two children have quit entirely.

ALBERT

Instead they play a most exciting game every afternoon--one invented by themselves. They call it "drums and bugles."

MARIE

You must come and see us soon, Peter, so that you can learn to play that game.

PETER

I've got a music-box, and I'll take it along so we can make more noise.

CECILIA

Now you have to go. But first you must say good-by nicely.

PETER

I'll say "adieu." Good-by is so common.

[_Everybody laughs. Peter goes out with the Governess. Marie and Cecilia move slowly toward the fireplace and sit down in front of it._

MARIE

Of course, I have come to ask for something.

CECILIA

Well, go on.

MARIE

There's to be a concert at which they want you to assist.

CECILIA

This season?

MARIE

Yes. But it will be in the country, not in the city ... for a charitable purpose, of course. The committee would be so happy if you would sing two or three songs.

CECILIA

I think I can.

MARIE

And I shall feel very grateful, too.

CECILIA

Don't you find undertakings of that kind a lot of trouble?

MARIE

Well, you must have something to do. If I had any gifts like the rest of you, I am sure I should never bother with "people's kitchens" or "charitable teas"--and then, I suppose, I should feel more indifferent about people, too.

CECILIA (_with a smile_)

About _people_, too?

MARIE

Oh, I didn't mean it that way.

ALBERT

You see, Marie, there is something like the charm of meadows and fields in your sweet prattle, and you should never desert it for the thickets of psychological speculations.--Come on, child. These people want their dinner.

CECILIA

No, we won't eat for an hour yet.

AMADEUS

We generally work a little before we eat. To-day we might run through the songs for that concert, for instance.

CECILIA

That would suit me perfectly.

MARIE

Oh, I feel _so_ thankful to you, Cecilia!

CECILIA

And when shall we see each other again?

ALBERT

Oh, that reminds me! We have just been talking about the Summer. Amadeus and I mean to go on a walking tour. How would it be if you two were to go somewhere with the children--some place in the Tirol, say--and wait for us there?

MARIE

Oh, that would be fine!

CECILIA

Did you hear that, Amadeus?

AMADEUS (_who has been standing a little way off_)

Certainly. It would be very nice.... You can wait for us in the Tirol.

CECILIA

Could you come and see me to-morrow afternoon, Marie? Then we might settle the matter.

MARIE

Yes, indeed. I am always glad when you can spare me a little of your time.--Until to-morrow, then!

ALBERT

Good-by. (_He and Marie go out_)

AMADEUS (_is walking to and fro_)

CECILIA (_who is sitting on the couch, follows him with her eyes_)

AMADEUS (_after a turn to the window and back, speaking in a peculiarly dry tone_) Well, how did it go? Have you got the finale into shape at last?

CECILIA

Oh, in a manner.

AMADEUS

The day before yesterday it had not yet been brought up to the proper level. I find, for one thing, that they don't let you assert yourself sufficiently. Your voice should be floating above the rest, instead of being submerged in the crowd.

CECILIA

Won't you come to the rehearsal to-morrow--just once more--if you can spare the time?

AMADEUS

Would it please you...?

CECILIA

I always feel more certain of myself when you are within reach. You know that, don't you?

AMADEUS

Yes--I'll come. I'll call off my appointments with Neumann and the Countess.

CECILIA

If it isn't too great a sacrifice....

AMADEUS (_with assumed brusqueness_)

Oh, I can make her come in the afternoon.

CECILIA

But then there will be no time left for your _own_ work. No, better let it be.

AMADEUS

What had we better let be?

CECILIA

Don't come to the rehearsal to-morrow.

AMADEUS

Just as you say, Cecilia. I won't intrude, of course. But a moment ago you said that you felt more certain of yourself when I was within reach. And as far as my work is concerned, I don't think--Albert and I were just talking of it--nothing will come of it until the season is over.

CECILIA

That's what I suspected.

AMADEUS

But during the summer I'll complete my Fourth. I must have something new to conduct this year. And it's only a question of the final passages, for that matter. All the rest is as good as finished--in my mind at least.

CECILIA

It's a long time since you let me hear anything of it.

AMADEUS

It hasn't quite reached the point where it can be played. But, of course, you know the principal themes ... the Allegro ... and then the Intermezzo.... (_He goes to the piano and strikes a few notes_)

CECILIA

So you are going next November?

AMADEUS

Yes, for three months.

CECILIA

And during October I shall be in Berlin.

AMADEUS

Oh ... is there any news in that matter?

CECILIA

Yes, I have practically closed. Reichenbach came to see me at the opera-house. I'm to appear in three parts. As Carmen under all circumstances. The other two are left to my own choice.

AMADEUS

And what do you...?

CECILIA

Tatyana,[3] I suppose. I have heard that they have such a splendid Onyegin.

[3] Tatyana and Onyegin are characters in the opera "Eugène
Onyegin," by Tschaikovsky, which is founded on Pushkin's
famous poem of the same name.

AMADEUS

Yes, Wedius. I know him. He was in Dresden when I was there.--Carmen, then, and Tatyana, and...?

CECILIA

I am still considering.... Perhaps we might talk it over?

AMADEUS

Of course. (_Pause_)

CECILIA

It's going to be a busy Winter.

AMADEUS

Rather. We won't see much of each other.

CECILIA

We'll have to correspond.

AMADEUS

As we have done before.

CECILIA

We're used to it.

AMADEUS

Yes. (_Pause_) Tell me by the way: do you actually want to assist at that charity concert?

CECILIA

Why not? I couldn't say no to Marie. Have you any objection?

AMADEUS

No--why should I? But we might use the half hour that's left to go over something. (_He goes to the music-stand_) What do you want to sing?

CECILIA

Oh, something of yours, for one thing ...

AMADEUS

Oh, no, no.

CECILIA

Why not?

AMADEUS

There's nothing within yourself that prompts you to sing it anyhow.

CECILIA

Just as you say, Amadeus.--I don't want to intrude either.

AMADEUS (_bending forward and searching among the music_) How would Schumann be--"The Snow-drop?" Or ... "Old Melodies" ... and "Love Betrayed"....

CECILIA

Yes. And perhaps von Wolf's "Concealment," and something by Brahms. "No more to meet you, was my firm decision...."

AMADEUS

Yes, I was just holding it in my hand. (_As if casually, and very dryly_) So you went for a walk with Sigismund after all?

CECILIA

Yes. He sent his regards to you.

AMADEUS (_smiling_)

Did he? (_As he brings the music sheets to the piano_) Why doesn't he come here instead?

CECILIA

One of the things I like about him is that he won't.

AMADEUS

Is that so?--Oh, well!--I'll send him my regards, too. But it's really too bad that he won't come here any more. It was very nice to hear him play his waltzes--those evenings were really very pleasant.... I just happened to mention them to the Countess this afternoon.

CECELIA

Oh, you did?--And I have just seen her picture.

AMADEUS

Her picture?

CECILIA

I went with Sigismund to the Art Gallery.

AMADEUS

Oh.--They tell me it's a great success.

CECILIA

It would be a wonder if it were not. The artist spent six months on it, they say....

AMADEUS

Is that too much for a good picture?

CECELIA

No, but for the Countess.--She will probably sing Philine pretty well, by the way.

AMADEUS

You think so? I fear you are mistaken.... (_Pause_) Well, Cecilia, what were you talking of to-day--you and Sigismund?

CECILIA

What were we talking of...? (_Pause_) It's so hard to recall the words.... (_As she goes slowly to the fireplace_) And they have such a different sound when recalled in that way.

AMADEUS

True indeed. (_Coming nearer to her_) And I don't suppose it's the words that matter.... Well, Cecilia, can it be possible that you have nothing more to tell me?

CECILIA

Nothing _more_...? (_Hesitatingly_) Don't you think, Amadeus, that many things actually change character when you try to put them into words?

AMADEUS

Not for people like us.

CECILIA

That may have been true once. But ... you know as well as I do ... that things are no longer as they used to be.

AMADEUS

Not quite, perhaps. I know. But this shouldn't be a reason for either one of us to refuse telling the other one. Scruples of that kind would be unworthy of ourselves. This is _we_, Cecilia--you and me! So you may tell me fearlessly what you have to tell.

CECILIA (_rising_)

Don't try to encourage me, Amadeus.

AMADEUS

Well...?

CECILIA (_remains silent_)

AMADEUS

Do you love him?

CECILIA

Do I love him...?

AMADEUS (_urgently_)

Cecilia...!

CECILIA

Am I to tell you _more_ than I think is true? Wouldn't that be a lie, too--as good or as bad as any other one?... No, I don't think I love him. It is nothing like it was when I became acquainted with you, Amadeus.

AMADEUS

_That_ time is long past.--And you have probably forgotten what it was like. On the whole, it must be the same thing, I suppose. Only you have grown a little older since then, and you have been living with me for seven years.... No matter how far apart we may have been, you have been living _with me_--and we have a child....

CECILIA

Well, perhaps that's what makes the difference--but there _is_ a difference.

AMADEUS

What really matters is nothing new, however. You feel attracted to him, don't you?

CECILIA (_speaking with genuine feeling and almost tenderly_)

But perhaps there is still something that holds back--that could hold me back, if it only wanted.

AMADEUS (_after a pause, brusquely_)

But it doesn't want to ... it doesn't dare to want it. What sense could there be in it? Perhaps I might prove the stronger to-day--and the next time, perhaps--but sooner or later the day must come nevertheless, when I should suffer defeat.

CECILIA

Why?... It ought not to be necessary!

AMADEUS

And then, even if I remained victorious every time--could that be called happiness for which I must fight repeatedly and tremble all the time? Could that be called happiness in our case, who have known what is so much better?... No, Cecilia, our love should not be permitted to end in mutual distrust. I don't hold you, Cecilia, if you are attracted elsewhere--and you have known all the time that I would never hold you.

CECILIA

Maybe you are right, Amadeus. But is it pride alone that makes you let me slip away so easily?

AMADEUS

Is it love alone that brings you back when almost gone? (_Pause; he goes to the window_)

CECILIA

Why should we spoil these hours with bitterness, Amadeus? After all, we have nothing to reproach each other for. We have promised to be honest with each other, and _my_ word has been kept so far.

AMADEUS

And so has mine. If you want it, I can tell you exactly what I and the Countess talked of to-day, as I have always done. And for _me_, Cecilia, it will even be possible to recall the very words.

CECILIA (_looking long at him_)

I know enough. (_Pause_)

AMADEUS (_walking to and fro until he stops some distance away from her_) And what next?

CECILIA

What next...? Perhaps it's just as well that our vacations are soon to begin. Then we may consider in peace, each one by himself, what is to come next.

AMADEUS

It seems almost as if both of us should have expected this very thing. We have made no common plans for the summer, although we have always done so before.

CECILIA

The best thing for me is probably to go with the boy to some quiet place in the Tirol ... as you and Albert suggested.

AMADEUS

Yes.

CECILIA

And you...?

AMADEUS

I...? I shall make that walking tour with Albert. I want to be scrambling about in the mountains once more.

CECILIA

And finally descend into some beautiful valley--is that what you mean?

AMADEUS

That--might happen.

CECILIA (_dryly_)

But _first_--we should have to bid each other definite good-by, as there is no return from _that_ place.

AMADEUS

Of course, there isn't! No more than from your place.

CECILIA

From mine...?

AMADEUS

Oh, it might happen that you felt inclined to ... change your plans ... and instead of staying with Marie ... prefer the undisturbed ...

CECILIA

I won't change my plans. And you had better not change yours.

AMADEUS

If that be your wish....

CECILIA

It is my wish. (_Pause_)

AMADEUS

Can it be possible that now, all at once, the moment should have come?

CECILIA

What moment?

AMADEUS

Well--the one we used to foresee in our happiest days even--the one we have expected as something almost inevitable.

CECILIA

Yes, it has come. We know now that everything is over.

AMADEUS

Over...?

CECILIA

That's what we have been talking of all the time, I suppose.

AMADEUS

Yes, you are right. At bottom it is better that we put it into plain words at last. Our moods have been rather too precarious lately.

CECILIA

Everything will be improved now.

AMADEUS

Improved...? Why?... Oh, of course ... perhaps you are right. I feel almost as if things had already begun to improve. It's strange, but ... one ... seems to breathe more freely.

CECILIA

Yes, Amadeus, now we are reaping the reward of always having been honest. Think how exhausted most people would be in a moment like this--by all sorts of painful evasions, labored truces, and pitifully sentimental reconciliations. Think of the hostile spirit in which they would be facing each other during their moment of belated candor. We two, Amadeus--we shall at least be able to part as friends. (_Pause_)

AMADEUS

And our boy?

CECILIA

Is he your sole worry?

AMADEUS

No, there are many things. How is it going to be arranged anyhow?

CECILIA

That's what we shall have to discuss carefully during the next few days--before we go away. Until then everything must remain as before. It can perfectly well remain as it has been during the last year. That involves no wrong to anybody. (_Pause_)

AMADEUS (_seats himself at the piano; the ensuing pause is laden with apprehension; then he begins to play the same theme--a Capriccio--which was heard earlier during the scene_)

CECILIA (_who has been approaching the door to the veranda, turns about to listen_)

AMADEUS (_stops abruptly_)

CECILIA

Why don't you go on?

AMADEUS (_laughs quickly, nervously_)

CECILIA

Wasn't that the Intermezzo?

AMADEUS (_nods_)

CECILIA (_still at some distance from him_)

Have you made up your mind what you are going to call it? Is it to be _Capriccio_?

AMADEUS

Perhaps _Capriccio doloroso_. It is peculiar how one often fails to understand one's own ideas to begin with. The hidden sadness of that theme has been revealed to me by you.

CECILIA

Oh, you would have discovered it yourself, Amadeus.

AMADEUS

Maybe. (_Pause_) And whom will you get for the studying of your parts next year?

CECILIA

Oh, I'll always find somebody. Those numbers for the concert--you'll help me with those just the same, won't you? And I hope you'll be kind enough to give me the accompaniment at the concert too.

AMADEUS

That's a foregone conclusion.--But I should really like to know who is to assist you with your studies after this.

CECILIA

Do you regard that as the most important problem to be solved?

AMADEUS

No, of course not. The less so, as I don't quite see why I shouldn't go on helping you as before.

CECILIA (_with a smile_)

Oh, you think...? But then we should have to agree on hours and conditions.

AMADEUS

That was not meant as a joke, Cecilia. Seeing that we are parting in a spirit of perfect understanding, why shouldn't such an arrangement be considered tentatively at least?

CECILIA

Those things will probably settle themselves later on.... That we ... that you play my accompaniment at a concert ... or help me to study a part....

AMADEUS

Why later on?... (_He rises and stands leaning against the piano_) There can be no reasonable ground for changing our musical relationships. I think both of us would suffer equally from doing so. Without overestimating myself, I don't think it likely that you can find a better coach than I am. And as for my compositions, I don't know of anybody who could understand them better--with whom I would rather discuss them than with you.

CECILIA

And yet that's what you will have to come to.

AMADEUS

I can't see it. After all, we have nobody else to consider--at least, I have not.

CECILIA

Nor have I. I shall know how to preserve my freedom.

AMADEUS

Well, then...?!

CECILIA

Nevertheless, Amadeus.... That we must meet and talk is made necessary by our positions, of course.... But even in regard to our work things cannot possibly remain as hitherto. I'm sure you must realize that.

AMADEUS

I can't see it. And--leaving our artistic relations entirely aside--there is much else to be considered--things of more importance. Our boy, Cecilia. Why should the youngster all at once be made fatherless, so to speak?

CECILIA

That's entirely out of the question. We must come to an understanding, of course.

AMADEUS

An understanding, you say. But why make difficulties that could be avoided by a little good-will? The boy is mine as much as yours. Why shouldn't we continue to bring him up together?

CECILIA

You suggest things that simply can't be done.

AMADEUS

I don't feel like you about that.--On the contrary! The more I consider our situation calmly, the more irrational it seems to me that we should part ways like any ordinary divorced couple ... that we should give up the beautiful home we have in common....

CECILIA

Now you are dreaming again, Amadeus!

AMADEUS

We have been such good chums besides. And so we might remain, I think.

CECILIA

Oh, of course, we shall.

AMADEUS

Well, then! The things that bind us together are so compelling, after all, that any new experiences brought by our freedom must seem absolutely unessential in comparison. Don't you realize that as I do? And _we_ shouldn't have to consider what people may say. I think we have the right to place ourselves on a somewhat higher level. In the last instance, we must always belong together, even if a single tie should be severed among the hundreds that unite us. Or are we all of a sudden to forget what we have been to each other--as well as what we may and should be to each other hereafter? One thing remains certain: that no one else will ever understand you as I do, and no one me as you do.... And that's what counts in the end! So why shouldn't we....

CECILIA

No, it's impossible! Not because of the people. They concern me as little as they do you. But for our own sake.

AMADEUS

For our own sake...?

CECILIA

You see, there is one thing you forget: that, beginning with to-day, we shall have _secrets_ to keep from each other. Who knows how many--or how heavy they may prove?... But even the least of them must come between us like a veil.

AMADEUS

Secrets...?

CECILIA

Yes, Amadeus.

AMADEUS

No, Cecilia.

CECILIA

What do you mean?

AMADEUS

That's exactly what must not happen.

CECILIA

But--Amadeus!

AMADEUS

There must never be any secrets between us two. Everything depends on that--you are right to that extent. But why should there be any secrets between us? Remember that after to-day we shall no longer be man and wife, but chums--just chums, who can hide nothing from each other--who must not hide anything. Or is that more than you dare?

CECILIA

More than I dare...? Of course not.

AMADEUS

All right. We'll discuss everything frankly, just as we have been doing--nay, we shall have more things than ever to discuss. Truth becomes now the natural basis of our continued relationship--truth without any reservation whatsoever. And that should prove highly profitable, not only to our mutual relationship, but to each one of us individually. Because ... you don't think, do you, that either one of us could find a better chum than the other one?... Now we shall bring our joys and sorrows to each other. We shall be as good friends as ever, if not better still. And our hands shall be joined, even if chasms open between us. And thus we shall keep all that we have had in common hitherto: our work, our child, our home--all that we must continue to have in common if it is to retain its full value to both of us. And we shall gain many new things for which both of us have longed--things in which I could take no pleasure, by the way, if I had to lose you.

CECILIA (_drops him a curtsey_)

AMADEUS

That's how you feel, too, Cecilia. I am sure of it. We simply cannot live without each other. I certainly cannot live without you.--And how about you?

CECILIA

It's quite likely I should find it a little difficult.

AMADEUS

Then we agree, Cecilia!

CECILIA

You think so...?!

AMADEUS

Cecilia! (_He suddenly draws her closer to himself_)

CECILIA (_with new hope lighting her glance_)

What are you doing?

AMADEUS (_putting his arms about her_)

I now bid good-by to my beloved.

CECILIA

Forever.

AMADEUS

Forever. (_Pressing her hand_) And now I am welcoming my friend.

CECILIA

For all time to come--nothing but your friend.

AMADEUS

For all time...? Of course!

CECILIA (_draws a deep breath_)

AMADEUS

Yes, Cecilia, don't you feel much easier all at once?

CECILIA

The whole thing seems very strange to me--like a dream almost.

AMADEUS

There is nothing strange about it. Nothing could possibly be simpler or more sensible. Life goes right on ... and all is well.... Come on, Cecilia--let us run through those songs.

CECILIA

What songs...?

AMADEUS

Don't you care?

CECILIA

Oh, why not?--With pleasure....

AMADEUS (_seating himself at the piano_)

Really, I can't tell you how happy this makes me! There has practically been no change whatever. The uneasiness alone is gone ... that uneasiness of the last few weeks.... I have not had a very happy time lately. The sky has seemed so black above our house--and not only above _ours_. Now the clouds are vanishing. The whole world has actually grown light again. And I am going to write a symphony--oh, a symphony...!

CECILIA

Everything in due time.... Just now let us have one of those songs at least.... Oh, that one...?

AMADEUS

Don't you want it?

CECILIA

Oh, as it's there already....

AMADEUS

Now, then--I start. (_He strikes the first chord_) Please don't put a lot of sentimentality into the opening words. They should be reserved and ponderous.

CECILIA (_singing_)

"No more to meet you was my firm...."

AMADEUS

Very fine.

CECILIA

O Amadeus!

AMADEUS

What is it?

CECILIA

I am afraid you will become too lenient now.

AMADEUS

Lenient...? You know perfectly well that, as artist considered, you have no rival in my eyes, and will never have one.

CECILIA

Really, Amadeus, you shouldn't be flirting with all your pupils.

AMADEUS

I have the greatest respect for you.--Now let's go in!

CECILIA

"No more to meet...."

AMADEUS

What's the matter?

CECILIA

Nothing. I haven't tried to sing anything like this for a long time. Go right on!

AMADEUS (_begins playing again_)

CECILIA

"No more to meet you was my firm and sworn decision, and yet when evening comes, I...."

CURTAIN

THE SECOND ACT

_The same room as in the previous act. It is an evening in October. The stage is dark. Marie and the chambermaid enter together. The maid turns on the light._

MARIE

Thank you.--But if your mistress is tired, please tell her she mustn't let me disturb her.

CHAMBERMAID

She hasn't arrived yet. She's not expected until this evening.

AMADEUS (_enters from the right, with hat and overcoat on_) Who is it?... Oh, is it you, Marie! Glad to see you. Have you been here long?

MARIE

No, I just got here. I meant to call on Cecilia, but I hear....

AMADEUS

Then you can keep me company waiting for her. (_Handing overcoat and hat to the maid_) Please take these.

CHAMBERMAID (_goes out_)

AMADEUS

I have also just got home. I had to do a lot of errands. I start the day after to-morrow.

MARIE

So soon!--That'll be a short reunion.

AMADEUS

Yes.--Won't you sit down, please? (_Looking at his watch_) Cecilia should be here in an hour.

MARIE

She has had a tremendous success again.

AMADEUS

I should say so! Look here--the telegram I got this morning. (_He takes it from the writing desk and hands it to Marie_) It refers to her final appearance last night.

MARIE

Oh.... Twenty-seven curtain calls...!

AMADEUS

What?... Naw! That flourish belongs to the preceding word. Seven only! Otherwise she wouldn't be coming to-day.

MARIE (_reading again_)

"Have new offer on brilliant terms."

AMADEUS

On _brilliant_ terms!

MARIE

Then I suppose she'll do it at last?

AMADEUS

Do what?

MARIE

Settle down in Berlin for good.

AMADEUS

Oh, it isn't certain. "Have offer," she says, and not "have accepted offer." No, we'll have to talk it over first.

MARIE

Really?

AMADEUS

Of course. We consult each other about everything, my dear Marie--just as we used to do. And in a much more impersonal spirit than before. As far as I am concerned, I shall be quite free next year, and have no more reason to live in Vienna than in Berlin or in America.

MARIE

But it will be dreadful for me if Cecilia goes away.

AMADEUS

Well, these successes abroad may possibly force the people here to understand what they have in Cecilia, and to act accordingly.

MARIE

I hope so.--Besides, I think really that Cecilia has developed a great deal lately. To me her voice seems fuller and richer--with more soul to it, I might say.

AMADEUS

Yes, don't you think so? That's my feeling, too.

MARIE

But how she _does_ work! It had never occurred to me that a finished artist might be so industrious.

AMADEUS

Might, you say? Must, you should say.

MARIE

Last summer, when I came out mornings in the garden to play with my children, she would be practicing already--just like a young student. With absolute regularity, from nine until a quarter of ten. Then again before lunch, from twelve to half past. And finally another half hour in the evening.... If the weather was good or bad; if she was in good spirits or....

AMADEUS

Or...?

MARIE

She was always in good spirits for that matter. I don't think anything in the world could have kept her from practicing those runs and trills.

AMADEUS

Yes, that's her way. Nothing in the world could keep her from.... But then, what could there be to keep her from it last Summer? In that rustic retreat of yours, where you didn't see anybody ... or hardly anybody....

MARIE

Nobody at all.

AMADEUS

Well, you received a call now and then--or Cecilia did, at least.

MARIE

Oh, I see. You mean--Prince Sigismund. He could hardly be said to call.

AMADEUS (_smilingly, with an appearance of unconcern_)

Why not?

MARIE

He merely whisked by on his wheel.

AMADEUS (_as before_)

Oh, he must at least have stopped to lean against a tree for a few moments. He must even have taken time enough--and I am mighty glad he did--to photograph the little house in which you were living. (_He takes from the desk a small framed photograph and hands it to Marie, who is seated on the couch_)

MARIE (_surprised_)

And you have that standing on your writing desk?

AMADEUS (_slightly puzzled_)

Why shouldn't I?

MARIE (_studying the photograph_)

Just as it was--Cecilia and I sitting on the bench there--yes. And there's the hazel by the garden fence.... How it does bring back the memory of that beautiful, warm Summer day...

AMADEUS (_bending over the desk to look at the picture_)

I can make out you and Cecilia, but those three boys puzzle me hopelessly.

MARIE

In what way...? That's little Peter, who is doing like this ... (_She blinks_)

AMADEUS

Oh, is that it?

MARIE

And that's Max--and he with the hoop is Mauritz.

AMADEUS

So that's a hoop?... I took it for one of those cabins used by the watchmen along the railroad. The background comes out much better. The landscape actually looks as if steeped in Summer and stillness.... (_Brief pause_)

MARIE

It was really nice. The deep shadows of the woods right back of the house, and that view of the mountain peaks--oh, marvelous! And then the seclusion.... It's too bad that you never had a look at that darling place. We thought ... Cecilia did expect you after all....

AMADEUS (_has risen and is walking to and fro_)

I don't believe it.... And it didn't prove feasible, for that matter. The pull of the South was still on me.

MARIE (_smiling_)

You call that the South?

AMADEUS (_smiling also_)

Oh, Marie!

MARIE (_a little embarrassed_)

I hope you're not offended?

AMADEUS

Why should I be? I didn't make a secret of my whereabouts to anybody.

MARIE (_confidentially_)

Albert told me about the villa, and the park, and the marble steps....

AMADEUS

So he gave you all those details? And yet he wasn't there more than an hour.

MARIE

I think he intends to use the park for his last act.

AMADEUS

Is that so? If he would only bring it to me... I mean the last act. I want to take it with me on my tour.

MARIE

Do you think you'll find time to work?

AMADEUS

Why not? I am always working. And I have never in my life been more eager about it. I, too, am having a brilliant period. For years I have not been doing better. And I am no less industrious than Cecilia. With the difference that regular hours are not in my line--nine to nine-forty-five, twelve to twelve-thirty, and so on. But you ask Albert! When he threw himself on the bed exhausted, in that inn at the Fedaja Pass, I sat down and finished the instrumentation for the _Capriccio_ in my Fourth.

CHAMBERMAID (_enters with a couple of letters and goes out again_)

AMADEUS

You'll pardon me, my dear Marie?

MARIE

Please don't mind me. (_She rises_)

AMADEUS

A letter from Cecilia, written yesterday, before the performance. I have had letters like this every day.

MARIE

Go right on and read it, please.

AMADEUS (_having opened the letter_)

Oh, there's plenty of time. In another hour Cecilia will be telling me all that's in it.... (_He opens the other letter, runs through it, and flings it away_) How stupid people are ... _how_ stupid! ... Ugh! And mean! (_He glances through Cecilia's letter once more_) Cecilia writes me about a reception at the house of the Director.... Sigismund was there, too. Yes, you know, of course, that Sigismund has been in Berlin?

MARIE (_embarrassed_)

I ... I thought ... Or rather, I knew ...

AMADEUS (_with an air of superiority_)

Well, well--there is no cause for embarrassment in that. Don't you consider the Prince an uncommonly sympathetic person?

MARIE

Yes, he's very pleasant. But I can assure you, Amadeus, that he came only once to our place in the Pustertal,[4] and he didn't stay more than two hours.

[4] A valley along the river Rienz, marking the northern
limit of the Dolomite ranges in the Tirol.

AMADEUS (_laughing_)

And what if he had stayed a week...? Really, Marie, you're very funny!

MARIE (_shyly_)

May I tell you something?

AMADEUS

Anything you want, Marie.

MARIE

I'm convinced that you two will find each other again in spite of all.

AMADEUS

Find each other...? Who should? Cecilia and I? (_He rises_) Find each other? (_He walks to and fro, but stops finally near Marie_) A sensible woman like you, Marie--you ought to understand that Cecilia and I have never lost each other in any way. I think it's very singular.... (_He strolls back and forth again_) Oh, you must understand that the relationship between her and me is so beautiful--that now only it has become such that we couldn't imagine anything more satisfactory. We don't have to find each other again! Look here now--here are her letters. She has been writing me from eight to twelve pages every day--frank, exhaustive letters, as you can only write them to a friend--or rather, only to your very best friend. It is simply impossible to imagine a finer relationship.

ALBERT (_entering from the right_)

Good evening.

AMADEUS

You're rather late in getting here.

ALBERT

Good evening, Marie. (_He pats her patronizingly on the cheek_)

AMADEUS