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Tanz der Vampire -
Libretto Translation
Book and Lyrics
by Michael Kunze. The usual translation disclaimer applies.
6. "Mirror Library"
During Alfred's song, the scene has changed back to the library, except
everything is arranged in a mirror image of the previous set.
Alfred (like the beginning):
I have strength, I have courage.
And whatever I have
I have only for Sarah.
For you I'd give…
The song blends with Professor Abronsius' litany - he has come out of
the library. He hasn't noticed Alfred's absence.
Abronsius (partly at the same time):
Plagiarism, surrogates,
Fables, encyclopaedias,
Catechism, seminar papers,
Legends, genealogies,
And annals, dates, chronicles,
Eulogies, elegies
And pamphlets, epics, critiques,
In folios, in quartos and Gothic print.
Alfred:
Professor, I've found her!
Abronsius:
Robespierre, Homer and Seneca,
Da Vinci and Cervantes
And the wonderful opuses
Of Bocaccio and Dante.
And the Marquis de Sade and Don Juan.
Frivoles and Galantes.
And Lord Byron, Goethe, Eckermann,
Giordano Bruno, Lessing, Thomas Moore.
Alfred:
But she doesn't want to be rescued.
Abronsius:
Millions of books remain, written by people in earlier times,
Had they not written them,
We would not have their knowledge.
And we would have to march through life
Damned to ignorance.
All books are guarantors
For progress and human culture.
Have you taken that to heart, my boy?
Alfred:
Yes, but what should we do now?
Abronsius:
The answer to every question in the world can be found in a book.
Alfred:
In a book? In which one?
Abronsius (as he exits):
One begins with…
Aristotle, Empedocles,
Aeneas, Parmenides.
And Nichomachos, Diogenes,
Antiochus, Maimonides.
Marcus Aurelius and Augustus,
Tacitus, Tibull and Plato.
Peregrinus and Aquinus.
Caesar, Cicero and Cato…
Professor Abronsius has gone back inside the library. Alfred takes a
book at random from the shelf.
Alfred (reading the title):
"Advice for lovers. How to win a heart."
On the off-chance, he opens the book, and reads with mounting interest.
Alfred:
"When love is in you,
Then the music sounds out.
When your moment is here
Your eyes speak for you.
And the person you like
Understands what you say and looks after you.
Your heart reveals
That love is in you,
It no longer wants to be silent.
Shoe honestly what is concealed within you,
No wish is dangerous
When love awakes.
And the person you love
Will sense what you give
And the hope of happiness
Unites you.
When love is in you,
Then don't hold back."
(Spoken): "Sometimes
a kiss says more than a thousand words…"
Alfred hears a voice which sounds like Sarah's. He lets the book drop
and listens.
Herbert's voice:
Ah-ah-ah…
Alfred exits with the book in his hand. The background music continues
to play.
Alfred:
Sarah?!
Transition to…
7. "Mirror-Bathroom"
Alfred follows the voice to a bathroom which is a mirror image of the first
bathroom. He is slightly confused at how the room has changed. But then he
hears, as on his first visit, the splashing of water behind the curtain and
once again…
Herbert's voice:
Ah-ah-ah…
Alfred draws the curtain to one side. The bathtub is empty. Herbert
sits on the edge, playfully letting the water run through his hand.
Alfred:
Oh…excuse me…
He wants to leave the bathroom quickly.
Herbert:
Stay! I want to…read…with you. Father is quite enthusiastic about you.
I think we should be friends…
Alfred:
But…I have to…
Herbert begins to sing softly and gently.
Herbert:
You must be nice to me.
I want to understand you.
Why are you so pale? Are you ill?
Alfred:
I'm fine, thank you very much!
Herbert:
But no, you have a fever, my friend!
You should be in bed.
No, what do I see?
You're shaking with fear, mon Chéri.
Alfred:
No, I never shake!
Herbert:
But yes, you are fearful, my friend!
Alfred (trying to change the subject):
I've heard there is a ball somewhere?
Herbert:
You've got a nice bum!
Alfred:
A ball!
Herbert:
And your eyes!
Alfred:
My eyes?
Herbert:
Your eyelashes are so soft,
Like threads of pure gold.
Alfred is still holding the book in his hand.
Herbert:
Yes, tonight there's a ball.
I invite you.
Wine and music and candlelight!
It will be gigantic, romantic!
With you in my arms,
I'll be in seventh heaven!
Herbert draws Alfred close to him and dances a waltz with him. Now
Herbert sings the main melody.
Herbert (still dancing):
Oh, show me, what are you reading?
Alfred:
A book -
Herbert:
Stories, so!
I know, it shows,
You're in love, my friend!
The tender melody suddenly takes on a more aggressive and threatening
character. The tempo increases. Alfred realises what the audience has seen for
a long time - that Herbert can't be seen in the mirror. Alfred panics.
Herbert:
So, it's true!
I am also in love.
Guess who with!
Yes, I love you…
When love is in me,
I cannot resist.
Herbert finally grabs Alfred by the shoulder. He opens his vampire
teeth, ready to bite Alfred in the throat. At the last moment, Alfred saves
himself by pushing the book between Herbert's teeth.
Chase music. Alfred flees into the auditorium while Herbert tries to
remove the book from his teeth. Fearfully looking around for his pursuer,
Alfred returns to the stage, where Herbert is waiting for him. Herbert flings
himself at Alfred.
Alfred:
No! Professor! Professor!!
At the last moment, Professor Abronsius comes back. He hits Herbert
with his umbrella.
Abronsius:
Ha, what do I see? Aren't you ashamed of yourselves - both of you?!
Heaven-crucifix-damn once again!
Herbert flees. Alfred gets up off the floor.
Abronsius:
Tut tut! And you, really. A budding scientist! I'm surprised at you.
Did you provoke him or what?
Alfred:
Provoke him? Not at all. It was all him.
Abronsius:
Yes, yes!
Alfred:
If you hadn't been here…
Abronsius:
Come on!
Alfred:
To where?
Abronsius:
Up to the battlements!
Both exit. Scene change.
8. Tower and cemetery
Alfred and Abronsius go up more bridges to the castle's tower. Below,
in the castle courtyard, is a cemetery with snow-dusted gravestones and
memorial slabs.
Alfred:
Professor! Professor! Alibori's theory is correct. The one about the
reflection in the mirror.
Abronsius:
That's not Alibori's theory. I developed the reflection theory. Alibori
stole it.
Alfred:
We were both in front of the mirror. But I only saw myself. Of
him…nothing.
Abronsius:
I wish I had been there.
Alfred:
I'm tired and cold and we have to look for Sarah.
Abronsius:
There is
Orion…The only thing as magnificent as the starry sky above us is the universe
of logic inside us.
Alfred:
Are we safe here?
Abronsius:
Dead safe.
Suddenly Count
von Krolock appears behind Professor Abronsius and Alfred.
Count von Krolock (to Abronsius):
Hey, ho, hey!
Very apt, Professor!
Just one bite and
it's over.
Too much
curiosity is deadly, Professor.
You must become
what you study!
Abronsius:
You underestimate
science, von Krolock. I will pickle you in alcohol and add you to my collection
of exhibits.
Count von
Krolock:
Ha ha ha!
Abronsius:
Soon you'll be
banished to horror novels!
Count von Krolock
can no longer be seen. His voice comes from various directions.
Count von
Krolock's voice:
Where are you
fleeing to?
What are you
afraid of, Alfred?
What you seek can
only be found here.
Abronsius:
He'll fight you!
Count von
Krolock:
You're wrong,
Professor!
Alfred's soul has
belonged to me for a long time.
The bridge on
which Alfred and Professor Abronsius are standing moves upwards.
Alfred:
Good lord!
Abronsius:
Interesting…
Alfred and Professor Abronsius can no longer be seen. The background
music turns into the introduction to a resurrection dance.
The courtyard, bathed in ghostly light, looks sinister. Some memorial
stones begin to move. The vampires crawl out of the graves and shake life into
their dead limbs.
Vampires:
Eternity is
Permanent boredom.
A miserable cycle,
No beginning, no end.
Because it always repeats itself,
The same as before.
No jubilation, no horror,
Only the empty, stupid eternity.
No trace of torture,
Always just this bloody eternity.
The stone fort
On the abyss of terror!
Get out of the horror
Into the glitter of the world!
Soon our poison will paralyze
The brains of the people.
Soon we will be the masters of the Earth.
It's getting dark!
The stone path
Leads to the cave of shadows!
Get out of the graves
Into the life of the town!
In goes the fear,
Into the souls of the people!
Soon, at the end, they'll have only doubts.
We'll make them fall down.
Down!
Down!
Down!
The dance ends. The vampires disappear through the auditorium.
Count von Krolock appears in the cemetery. He wanders through the rows
of graves.
Count von Krolock:
Finally night! No stars to see.
The moon is hiding
Because it is terrified of me.
No light in the ocean,
No false ray of hope.
Only the silence, and in me,
The silhouette of my pain.
The corn was golden and the sky was clear
In 1670
During the summer.
We lay in the whispering grass.
He hand on my skin
Was tender and warm.
She didn't know that I was lost.
I still believed in myself,
Believed that I was winning.
But on that day it happened for the first time,
She died in my arms.
As always, when I reached out for life,
I couldn't keep hold of anything.
I want to be a flame
And become ashes,
And haven't yet burned.
I want to be high and climb higher
And sink deeper into nothingness.
I want to be an angel
Or a devil
And am just
A creature
That always wants
What it can't have.
If there could be just one moment
Of happiness for me
I would accept all the grief.
But all hope is in vain
Because the hunger never stops.
One day, when the Earth dies
And the last person with it,
Then nothing will remain
Except a barren desert,
Of an insatiable greed.
The only thing to stay behind is
The big emptiness.
An insatiable greed.
The priest's daughter let me in at night
In 1730
After the prayers.
I wrote a poem with her heart-blood
On her white skin.
And the emperor's pageboy on Napoleon's baggage train…
In 1813
He stood in front of the castle.
That his grief
Did not break my heart
I cannot excuse.
Reach out for life
I feel like it shatters.
I want to understand the world
And know everything
But not know myself.
I want to become free and freer
And get rid of my chains.
I want to be a saint
Or a sinner
And yet am just
A creature
Which creeps and lies
And must always tear apart
What it loves.
We all believe that everything becomes better
So we accept the grief.
I want to eventually be satisfied
But the hunger never stops.
Many believe in humanity
And many in money and glory
Many believe in art and science
In love and in heroism.
Many believe in gods
Of many different kinds,
In miracles and in signs,
In Heaven and Hell,
In sin and virtue,
And in the Bible and breviary.
But the true power
That rules over us
Is the disgraceful,
Endless,
Consuming,
Destroying,
And eternal, insatiable greed.
To the audience:
You mortals of tomorrow,
I prophesise
Here and now:
Before the next millennium begins
The only God, whom everyone serves
Is the insatiable greed.
Alfred and Professor Abronsius can be seen again. They were witnesses to the Count's emotional outburst. Count von Krolock exits quickly.
Alfred:
They have feelings! Like us.
Abronsius:
Feelings? Nonsense. Duty calls!
Both exit. Scene change.
9. Ballroom
The empty castle ballroom is
illuminated by the gleaming light from many candelabras. Professor Abronsius
and Alfred have sneaked in. They hear Koukol coming and hide behind a curtain.
The vampires march in, in a sort of procession.
Professor Abronsius and Alfred knock unconscious two vampires who are going past the curtain, and pull them into their hiding place. Eventually all the vampires are gathered together. The music rises. Count von Krolock enters. He comes down the spiral staircase and greets his guests.
Count von Krolock:
Welcome brothers
To this room.
Last time
We met here,
Our meal was a farmer,
Emaciated and pale.
You were sorrowful
But I said to you,
"When one year is meagre,
The next year will be rich."
Professor Abronsius and Alfred come out from behind the curtain. They have put on the clothes and wigs of the vampires they overpowered, and mingle, unrecognised, with the other vampires.
Count von Krolock:
We, who live eternally,
Are consumed by an addiction to fresh blood.
Count von Krolock and Herbert:
Do we ever have enough?
Vampires:
We never have enough!
Count von Krolock:
Every victim that we feed on
Increases our number
Count von Krolock and Herbert:
Do we ever have enough?
Vampires:
We never have enough!
Nothing fills us up
The craving is never quiet.
The emptiness in us
Grows every day.
The fear of emptiness
Follows us all the time.
Von Krolock:
But I am your hope!
As I predicted,
A guest has arrived
Adorned and ready
To devote herself to the darkness.
A beauty with eyes of the night
An enchanted star child,
Tender like the wind
And ready for me,
Casts a spell over our midnight ball!
But she belongs only to me!
Don't worry! I thought of you as well.
Since last night
Here in my labyrinth,
And designated for you,
Two mortals have been damned to stay!
Damned!
Count von Krolock presents Sarah
in her new ballgown and the red boots.
Professor Abronsius has to hold
Alfred back. The vampires also go towards Sarah, but Count von Krolock stops
them with an imperious gesture.
Alfred looks fearfully at Professor Abronsius. The professor is unimpressed.
Vampires:
God is dead
He will no longer be sought
We are cursed to live eternally
It draws us nearer to the sun
But we fear the light.
We believe only lies
Despise sacrifice.
What we don't hate,
We don't love.
The vampires watch, drooling
with lust, as Count von Krolock draws nearer to Sarah.
Then the moment is here. Count von Krolock opens his mouth, while Sarah leans far back. He bites her throat. Professor Abronsius has to stand by the horrified Alfred.
Vampries:
She has awoken to life!
Forever's gonna start tonight.
Forever's gonna start tonight!
Count von Krolock:
You set out to lose your heart,
Now you're losing your mind.
Sarah and Count von Krolock:
Total eclipse.
A sea of emotion and no land.
Sarah:
Once I believed in the bright spell of love
Count von Krolock:
Now it's shattering your world.
Sarah and Count von Krolock:
Total eclipse,
We're falling and nothing can hold us.
Led by Count von Krolock and Sarah, the vampires begin to dance a minuet. Alfred and Abronsius also take part. The turns and partner changes in the dance bring Alfred and Abronsius together with one another and with Sarah. At these moments, they communicate with each other.
Alfred (to Sarah):
Sarah! It's me! I'll save you!
Abronsius (to Alfred):
Pst! He did bite her, but she's still alive.
Abronsius (to Sarah):
A good blood transfusion, my child, and two or three days' rest, and you'll be as fresh as a daisy again!
Alfred (to Sarah):
Sarah! Venice…the gondolas, the palaces, the sea…
Abronsius (to Alfred):
We'll take her in the middle, I'll count to three and then we'll run to the door.
The vampires dance in front of the mirror. When they realise that only Alfred, Abronsius and Sarah are reflected in the mirror, they stand still. The music breaks off in the middle of a bar.
Count von Krolock:
Are you ready?
Abronsius:
One, two, three! Three! Three!!
As discreetly as possible,
Alfred and Abronsius lead Sarah to the door. The vampires have recovered from
the surprise. Count von Krolock calls…
Count von Krolock:
Suck them dry!
Chase music. Alfred seizes a candelabra in order to defend Sarah. Professor Abronsius holds up the other candelabra at right angles to the first, forming a cross. With howls of fury, the vampires retreat.
Count von Krolock:
Boo!
The vampires tear their ball
clothes to pieces. Alfred and Professor Abronsius use the confusion to flee
from the room with Sarah.
Professor Abronsius, Alfred and Sarah run through the auditorium and exit.
Count von Krolock:
Koukol! Get rid of that thing! Put it away!
Koukol dismantles the candelabra
cross.
Count von Krolock:
In the name of Hell, of the fires and of blood, get her back!
Koukol takes up the chase.
Scene change.
10. Somewhere in the
Transylvanian Wilderness.
On the way from the auditorium
back to the stage, Alfred, Sarah and Abronsius have gained a lead on their
pursuer, Koukol. We see them twice as they hurry across the stage. The third
time, Professor Abronsius, Alfred and Sarah are alone on the stage. Professor
Abronsius sees the glowing eyes of a wolf behind a mound and instructs Alfred
and Sarah to come with him in another direction. As soon as they have
disappeared, Koukol appears. While he looks around, the wolves come towards him
from all directions.
A bloodcurdling cry ends the
chase music. Koukol has been torn to pieces by the wolves.
Scene change.
The music becomes lyrical. Far
from the place where Koukol met his tragic end, the happy escapees journey
through the now starlit night. Professor Abronsius, busy with his notebook,
goes on ahead of the lovers and eventually takes his place at the front of the
apron, where he gives all his attention to his notes.
Behind him, Alfred and Sarah
stand in the centre of the stage: two lovers under the spell of the moonlit
winter landscape. A hint of Puccini:
Alfred:
Sarah, you are weak,
Rest in my arms!
Everything will be alright,
We're safe.
I'll stay awake for you
And protect you from ghosts.
Our nightmare is over,
Daybreak is not far away.
Sarah and Alfred:
Everything will be different now
Never again locked up
Never again alone.
Sarah:
Go where I like
Alfred:
Show what I feel
Sarah:
Bathe every day
Alfred:
Fear and cold will be over
Sarah and Alfred:
On the other side of the forests
On the other side of the mountains
Sarah:
Everything will be new.
Sarah and Alfred:
Outside is freedom
There, where the horizon begins
There's a land
Where all miracles are possible.
Alfred:
No wall that can separate us,
No barrier that we can't overcome.
Alfred and Sarah:
Stay with me,
Because with you
I can go to the stars,
See into the future!
Alfred takes Sarah in his arms. She looks over his shoulder to the audience. She opens her mouth and we see that she has grown vampire teeth.
Alfred and Sarah:
Outside is freedom
There's nothing that can separate us
Outside is freed-
The music rises. Sarah bites Alfred's throat. A drop of blood falls onto his hand.
Alfred:
What is that?
Sarah:
Blood, darling. Lick it up!
He does this.
Alfred:
Not bad at all.
Alfred and Sarah sink into a
deep embrace. The lighting steers our attention to Professor Abronsius, who has
temporarily stopped work on his notes and looks happily at the audience.
Abronsius:
We have escaped,
My mind has triumphed
And protected humanity from ruin.
The scientists at Königsberg University
Will be green with envy
When the Nobel Prize is awarded to me.
He writes another sentence in
his notebook.
Through my research
I have proven
There are living dead
Here at least.
They leave
Their coffins at night
And suck blood out of the throats of the living.
Professor Abronsius puts his
notebook in his pocket, gets up and walks away. Alfred and Sarah follow. The
three exit through the auditorium, while the vampires come onto the stage.
Luckily our good sense can
Overcome them. We are safe
Thanks to intellect and science.
Our targets are clear, our methods work
We are practical and enlightened.
Progress is unstoppable,
The world is no longer what it was.
Alfred, Sarah and Professor Abronsius have disappeared. On the stage and in the auditorium, the vampires seize power.
A female vampire:
Take what you want
Or it will be taken from you.
Be a pig
Or someone will bawl you out.
Rake in the money
And buy the world!
Don't be soft!
The rules are rough.
Two female vampires:
Show your fist
Or you will be hit.
Push yourself forward
Or you will be overlooked.
When you want to decide,
Instead of asking others,
You must learn to go over to corpses.
All:
We want to rush out of the darkness into the sun
Because limits hold us no longer.
Our targets are clear
Our methods work
We are dead, yet we live
As long as you feed us!
We are coming!
And soon the world will belong to us
(And soon the world will belong to us)
We come out of the night.
Watch out!
We want glitter and glory.
Watch out!
We want anything and everything.
Watch out!
The vampires invite you to dance
The vampires invite you to dance.
Set Heaven alight
And give Lucifer roses!
The world belongs to the liars
And the ruthless.
Join hands with the murderers!
Crawl in the dust in front of the great!
The world belongs to the crawlers
And the merciless.
Group 2 (simultaneously):
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
Group 3 (simultaneously):
Set Heaven alight
And give Lucifer roses!
The world belongs to the liars
And the ruthless.
Join hands with the murderers!
Crawl in the dust in front of the great!
The world belongs to the crawlers
And the merciless.
Set Heaven alight
And give Lucifer roses!
The world belongs to the liars
And the ruthless.
All:
We want to do what is fun for us
And to be how we are.
We'll hide ourselves no longer,
The dance of the wild hearts begins!
Groups 1 and 4 (simultaneously):
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires in the auditorium dance back to the stage. Dance sequence.
All:
We want to rush out of the darkness into the sun
Because limits hold us no longer.
Our targets are clear
Our methods work
We are dead, yet we live
As long as you feed us!
We are coming!
And soon the world will belong to us
(And soon the world will belong to us)
We come out of the night.
Watch out!
We want glitter and glory.
Watch out!
We want anything and everything.
Watch out!
The vampires invite you to dance
The vampires invite you to dance.
Group 2 (simultaneously):
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
Group 3 (simultaneously):
Set Heaven alight
And give Lucifer roses!
The world belongs to the liars
And the ruthless.
Join hands with the murderers!
Crawl in the dust in front of the great!
The world belongs to the crawlers
And the merciless.
Set Heaven alight
And give Lucifer roses!
The world belongs to the liars
And the ruthless.
All:
We want to do what is fun for us
And to be how we are.
We'll hide ourselves no longer,
The dance of the wild hearts begins!
Groups 1 and 4 (simultaneously):
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
The vampires invite you to dance
We want anything and everything.
All:
We drink blood,
We have no morality.
We don't give a shit what happens to this world.
We drink blood,
We have no morality.
We don't give a shit what happens to this world.
We drink blood,
We have no morality.
We don't give a shit what happens to this world.
We drink your blood and then we eat your soul, [Originally in English]
Nothing's gonna stop us, let the bad times roll! ''
We drink your blood and then we eat your soul, ''
Nothing's gonna stop us, let the bad times roll! ''
The vampires invite you to dance!
Blackout.
-THE END-
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