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Hemligheter/Secrets Opera in two acts Music by Jonas Forssell Text by Magnus Florin First performance 12.02.2011 at Malmö Opera och Musikteater Act 1 Prologue (Emanuel Swedenborg can not sleep. He talks to the Spirits.) Emanuel You are spirits. Are you evil spirits? You are good spirits. You sleep. You rest peacefully because you are good. Now you wake up, notice me. You speak to me. You say you’ve visited the angels in heaven. You have seen the most wonderful things. I ask you: What did you see? You answer: Lustre of gold. I ask: And of silver? And precious stones? You answer: Of silver, of precious stones. I ask: How beautiful was it? How sweet? You answer I wouldn’t understand. You say the angels don’t care about the physical phenomena, only the inner realities. I am ugly. I am beautiful. I am evil. I am good. And so are you: ugly, beautiful, evil, good. You are not better than I am. Not worse.

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You are like us. There is no difference. You don’t know if you are spirits or human beings, if you are deceased or still alive. In Rome you are Italian, in London you are British. You are evil in Hamburg, in Amsterdam you are good. You are here at my side. I am spirit. You are we. We are spirits. We sleep. (Swedenborg falls asleep) Scene 1. (The Guard, Emanuel, Maria, the Choir. –The Royal Military Headquarters. Emanuel arrives to see King Karl. He wants money to print his publications and hopes to obtain it if he offers a new technical invention useful to the war. While waiting to see the King, he meets Maria, a Polish princess.) Guard -Your name? Your matter? Emanuel -Swedberg. Scientist. The king sent for me. Guard -The king won’t receive you. Emanuel -Tell him my name! Guard Your name...? The king inspects his troops. They’re marching westward in a minute. (The Guard disappears) Emanuel My matter is urgent! My knowledge could decide how the war ends! Maria Tańczyć, smok. Ropucha, nocnik. Królowa, sen. Papuga, raj. Tańczyć, smok. Królowa, sen. Emanuel -Who are you? Maria -Queen. Dream. Parrot. Paradise. Maria Jestem polską księżniczką. Maria -Mam na imię Marja. Emanuel -Emanuel. Scientist Maria -Then you know everything? Emanuel -No. Membranes, logarithms. In London, Paris.

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Maria -Everything, everywhere? Emanuel -I wrote so many words, but I know nothing. Emanuel Just a grain of sand... But this grain could upset a mountain. Can you hear? My knowledge grows! I’ll write more words. About everything. Everywhere. Swedberg! Scientist! Emanuel -Life is so short. Is this your home? Maria -Home is gone. I roam about. Maria Sometimes gravel, sometimes marble. Mud, ivory. And where are you? Maria -Do you understand where you are? Emanuel -I’m at home here. Maria -In the brain. Emanuel -The brain is full of unprinted words. Emanuel A revelation here, a calculation there. A never seen invention. Air-pump, water-meter. Money from the king. Steam engine, mechanical wagon. A submarine to fool the foes. It’s expensive to print ten thousand words. The king must pay. Maria -If you know everything, tell me… Emanuel -Not everything. Maria If a thief steals an apple from an apple tree do all the apples on that tree shrivel? Emanuel The thief steals... Apples shrivel... Those are truly peculiar words. Maria I’m a Sunday’s child. Just like you. You have a secret.

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One day you will be famous, creating a machine that reveals the soul. Emanuel The soul is just movements in the brain. It can be seen in a microscope. You are a princess? Maria My father was crowned by your king. We lived in a castle. The war started, we fled. Ropucha, nocnik. Królowa, sen. Now I’ll become queen in Versailles. Maria -Farewell. Soon you will be… Emanuel -Soon I will be…? Maria -I’m a Sunday’s child. Just like you. Emanuel -I wrote so many words, but I know nothing. Maria -You have a secret. You will be famous. Emanuel -My grain of sand could upset a mountain. Maria Soon you will be… Wait and see. Guard The king will receive you! Scene 2. (Emanuel, Karl. –Emanuel is received by King Karl and wants to introduce his airship.) Karl -A boot – do you know what that is? Emanuel -Your Majesty, a boot… Karl -Polhem likes you. Do you know everything? Emanuel -Not everything, but… Karl A boot on the foot, in the saddle, gallop. Do you know what a rapier is? Emanuel Most gracious King, let me introduce... This war... My invention might help to win... Karl Biffs and blows! I, I, I! Snow and ice! I eat ice! Watch out!

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The troops are gathered! Bombing blows! No distress. Not a word about Bender! Let’s march towards Norway! Fredrikshald in November... Biffs and blows! I, I, I! Snow and ice! I eat ice! I like you! What do you wish for? Tell me! Emanuel Your Majesty, ten thousand unprinted words... The printing houses in Amsterdam... Karl Small beer and bacon! Let’s go westward! Fit as a fiddle, not a word about Bender! Scotland is beautiful in December. Could you walk across the Danish Strait? Emanuel -The freezing point for fluids... Karl -I eat ice! Ice floe on ice floe! Karl Hole in ice, sharp ice, ice-cold ice! I eat ice! Karl -Show me your invention. Now! Emanuel -It’s an airship! A balloon that… Karl A balloon? Karl -Go away! Emanuel -A flying ship that... Karl Take your ball of air! You are air! Merely a puff of dust. I am ice! I eat ice! Scene 3. (The Guard, Emanuel, Emerentia, Karl, Maria. –Emanuel proposes to Polhem’s (15 year old) daughter Emerentia by presenting her a ring and promising her a house of stone. He hopes that the marriage will confirm his position as Polhem’s right hand man.) Guard -Who’s there? Emanuel -I’m looking for Miss Emerentia.

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Guard -And bringing a little gift? Emanuel -A ring. A house of stone in Stockholm. Guard Another suitor... Line up! Maria -Queen. Dream. Parrot. Paradise. Emanuel -You? Here? Now? Maria -So, you would like to marry? Emanuel -Polhem’s daughter. I’ve aspirations... Maria And calculations! The princess, half of the kingdom and money to print all your words. Maria -But soon you will be... Emanuel -Soon I will be...? Maria Wait and see. Emerentia -La Poule. La Pastourelle. Emanuel -Miss Emerentia. May I talk to you alone? Emerentia Beautiful lieutenants. Handsome generals. Day and night. Me and King Karl. Emerentia -La Poule. La Pastourelle. What do you want? Emanuel -I bring you a ring to seal a sacred bond. Emerentia -Only a ring? Emanuel -A golden ring and a house of stone. Emerentia It’s hot, Emanuel. Touch my brow. Advise me in an affair of the heart. Whom of the three men should I give... You are good at numbers. One, two, three... Emanuel It is all mathematics. The body is a machine with bellows, levers, tackles and blocks. We are membranes. When the blood flows into the vessels, they tighten and vibrate. Emerentia A strange suitor, holding lectures. Emerentia -I think you are cold. Emanuel -The whole world trembles and shivers.

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Emanuel Like aspen leaves or the strings on a lute. Like the light on an ether wave. Emerentia -And the dreams? Emanuel -Vibrating atoms, speaking while you sleep. Emanuel They are melodies of the night. An orchestra under your pillow. One person imagines the thoughts of the other. One membrane shivers by the other membrane’s shivering. Emerentia Touch me. Are my membranes shivering? Emanuel It is all.... A cunning spirit tries to force me to say the wrong things. It is all ... I think something beautiful, but my mouth utters the wrong words. It is all… bellows! Emerentia At first it was fun, then just dull. I’ve forgotten where you started and the end makes no sense. Can you force sunrays out of cucumbers? How much does a soul weigh? Do something practical. Advise me in an affair of the heart. Whom should I give...? Who should I take? The Courtier or the Superior Forester? Or even King Karl? One or two or three? What does my Emanuel say? Whom should I give, who should I take? The Courtier, the Forester or King Karl? Scene 4. (Emanuel, Karl. –Emanuel offers Karl a useful invention for the war and is rewarded: he is appointed ”Member of the Mining Board” and is given noble status.)

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Karl What does my Emanuel say? Give me a new blunderbuss, a new cannon! Emanuel -A rifle, shooting ten bullets in one second. Karl -Why not one hundred bullets or a thousand? Emanuel -A thousand bullets in one second? Karl -Yes, that would be marvellous. Karl I appoint you: Member of the Mining Board. Marmalade and mass executions for breakfast. Torturing children for lunch. Lamb, chicken. Hang the stripped men in trees. French wines. Women abducted. Listen! It’s so quiet. No one knows what we’re heading for. We all have our thread of life. Long or short. Go now! I am bored. We’ll march off in one second! Knight, nobleman, dubbed by the King. A thousand bullets... Karl -The King’s rapier doesn’t joke! I eat ice! Emanuel -Your Majesty, my unprinted words... Karl Ice-cold ice! Ice floe on ice floe! Knight Swedenborg. Noble Member of the Mining Board. Emanuel -Most gracious King... Karl -Ice! Scene 5. (Emanuel, Emerentia, Karl, Maria. –Emanuel continues his proposal, which is rejected. Karl comforts him, telling him the war is more important than a woman. Maria asks Emerentia and Karl to wait and see.) Emerentia Should I take King Karl?

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Me and King Karl? Emanuel -Take me, a Knight, and my house of stone. Emerentia -Knights are too knightly, stones too silent. Emanuel -Take my ring of gold and sapphire. Emerentia -Gold is cold, sapphires are stupid. Emanuel -A velvet dress, barons, candelabras? Emerentia -Dresses are dull, barons have bellies. Emerentia -And candelabras are confining. Emanuel -Imagine if you get... Emerentia -What? Emanuel -An airship, a soaring boat! Emerentia Marry my father instead. He likes you. My dear not-fiancé. My not dear not-husband, good luck with your bellows. Your ring is nothingness. (Karl enters) Emerentia Your Majesty! Tonight... La Poule, la Pastourelle! Karl Women… Ice! I eat ice! Emerentia Where are my suitors? Soon I’ll be happily wedded to all of you! Maria Poczekaj chwilę. Wait a moment. I zobaczysz. And you will see. Karl -Who the devil is she? Emanuel -A Polish princess. Her father... Karl Ice! Poland is none of your business! What the devil do you want with women? They are too beautiful, too ugly. Too stupid. And too wise. Too long and too short. Women have such bloody big mouths! Women never know what they want! Ice! I eat ice!

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We’ll march off in one second! Men, horses, cannons! Half a second! Maria Poczekaj chwilę. Wait a moment. I zobaczysz. And you will see. Scene 6 (Emanuel, Maria, the Spirits. –Emanuel, with his ten thousand words, needs money to have his works printed. He tells Maria about his dead sister and has a vision of meeting the Spirits.) Emanuel I have paper and ink, knowledge and truth. And I have very little time. My ten thousand words... I want to print them fast. But it is expensive. Bills, invoices from the printing houses in Amsterdam. Maria Jestem polską księżniczką. Emanuel Roaming Polish princess, are you alone? Where are your parents, your siblings? Maria I think they are doing well in Versailles. Do you have sisters and brothers? Emanuel Once upon a time there was a sister... She got very ill. She was going to die and she knew it. She said: In heaven I will pray for you, my brother. I asked: What else will you do? She said: In heaven I will play the harp for you until you come to join me. I said: You can’t play the harp, can you?

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She said: I’m sure I can and if not I will learn it in due course. So my sister said. Maria? Do you understand? Maria Rozumiesz? Do you understand? Where you are? Emanuel Maria? Spirits? You are spirits? But spirits don’t exist, do they? You are spirits? Are you evil spirits? Are you good spirits? You tell me you are among the angels in heaven. I ask you: What do you see? You say: Glitter of precious metals. I ask: Of silver? Of gold? Is it bright and beautiful? You answer that I wouldn’t understand. You say: The world stands still, awaiting. A scale balancing between good and evil. You carry the heaven inside you and the hell. But if I weigh heavier into the bad? Then you won’t fall. Because God holds his finger on the scale correcting the balance. You can make amends. After death you enter the world of the spirits to wait and see. All recently deceased must wait and see. I ask: What will they see? You answer: See if they’re going to heaven or hell.

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I ask: How long must they wait? You say: Some hardly have time to arrive before they are taken to heaven or hell. Others must wait a long time. I ask: How long? Spirits Tańczyć, smok. Ropucha, nocnik. Królowa, sen. Papuga, raj. Tańczyć, smok. Królowa, sen. Emanuel You are spirits? But spirits don’t exist, do they? Maria Do you understand now? Rozumiesz? Where you are? Scene 7. (Emanuel, the Guard, Fredrik, Maria: later Karl and Emerentia. –Emanuel is still looking for money to print his ten thousand words. He wants to sell his stonehouse to Fredrik, in order to get money.) Guard -Who’s there? Emanuel -Emanuel Swedenborg. Scientist. Emanuel Noble Member of the Mining Board. Theosophist. Member of the Parliament. I am looking for the Board’s President, the Chamberlain, Count Fredrik Gyllenborg. Guard -Your matter? Emanuel -A proposal for a small profitable business. Fredrik -A small profitable business? Emanuel -A house of stone in Stockholm is for sale. Fredrik A horrid business! Sell a house in order to print incomprehensible words! Dear Emanuel, you are so peculiar. You know all about membranes and vibrations, but not how to buy a Member of the Congress. You know about calculations, but not how to transport a drunken bishop to the Chamber.

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Not how to bribe a judge, tickle a peasant or soften up a general. Gratuities here… ...bonuses there. A little bit for me and a little bit more. That’s how the system works. I’m neither an angel nor a devil. Sometimes I wear a halo, my wife says, when I bring her presents. Golden mirrors, perfumes, laces. It makes her so happy. Irregularities? Evil accusations! Cheating? Malicious slander! We have run out of notes? Let’s print new ones! It’s only paper! But paper is money and money is power. And one has got to live. Dear Emanuel, you are so amusing and yet so boring. Why don’t you get married? Like me! Nothing here, nothing there, but... Look! French coins in the ears! Living is expensive. You write and write. And the Amsterdam printing houses print and print. Expensive for you! You bring honour to the Nobility, you vote with responsibility and sense. Look! French notes in the nose! Give me a little smile? Pardon, I’m tired. Help, don’t hit me! Oh, I thought you had a stick. Emanuel, what do you want? Why do you glower at crystal and silk? Are we so strange? Ivory and marble...

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...is that spider’s web and moss for you? Porcelain and gold is fog and smoke? Am I a monster and my wife a troll? Speak! It’s so silent when you are silent! And who are you? Pardon, my lady! I’m delighted to greet an... enchanting... Maria Jestem polską księżniczką. Fredrik -Pardon? What? Emanuel -A Polish princess. Emanuel -Soon she’ll be queen in Versailles. Fredrik -Princess? Queen? In my parlour? Fredrik Please... You look weak. Let me support you. Lean against me... Like this... Fredrik -Who knows what is to come. Pardon? Emanuel -Wait a moment. Emanuel -And you will see. Do you understand? Fredrik -Understand what? Is this an inquiry? Karl Where are my cooks? Turkeys, partridges! Every drop of blood is a brave soldier! Emerentia Advise me in an affair of the heart. A young woman forgot who to choose. The Courtier, the Forester or perhaps you? Karl Ice floe on ice floe. I bite ice! Thin ice, thick ice, ice-cold ice! I eat ice! Scene 8 (Elisabeth, Fredrik, Emanuel. Later Maria, Karl and Emerentia. Elisabeth talks about her life. Fredrik buys Swedenborg’s house and commissions him to arrange money from King Louis XV in France) Elisabeth Velvet, silhouette. Silk, sorrow. Fredrik Love and money. A good combination. I have the money and she...

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I must hurry! Meetings at the Secretary, the Bank and at the Board. No time for details. Elisabeth -Velvet, silhouette. Silk, sorrow. Fredrik -Take care of our friend, my love. I’ll be... Emanuel But my ten thousand unprinted words? My house of stone, my proposal? Elisabeth I’m sorry, my husband is… May I say Emanuel? How are the membranes doing? The textures? Emanuel -One membrane trembles... Elisabeth -...from the trembling of the other. Elisabeth I’m no scientist. I run this household, with affected maids who avoid the cellar. I cut silhouettes for my album, but under the lace pillow I’ve hidden a book. My secret. I’m reading the world history. Right now I’m in the Rome of the martyrs. I’m in the Africa of the slaves. Hottentots, Blackamoors, Red Indians. I like music and to dance. I’d like to speak French. Mon chèr monsieur Emanuel! We are in the woods, you and I. We look at the stars. No, we’re on a ship! A storm, thousand waves! We founder! No, we’re in a cave, hiding from wild beasts. There are sad pictures on the wall. Someone was abducted and disappeared. Elisabeth -I’m dizzy, I faint... I cough blood! Emanuel -Shall I get a doctor? Elisabeth!

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Elisabeth Silly, I was just joking. I’m happy. I’ve got Fredrik and our children. They used to be so small, but now... Do you have children? No, I’m sorry, you have got yours to... You are so silent? Can you hear me? Do I move my lips? Emanuel, tell me what I am saying! Emanuel + The vibrations of the air reach my ear, Elisabeth transmitted through the auditory nerve. Emanuel -They go through the brain, reach the soul. Elisabeth -The soul? In the brain? Emanuel The mental is also matter. The brain is a sphere of spirals... ...moving in expanding circles, twisting like matter, which... Fredrik Tell that to the Germans, don’t bore my wife. She is fastidious and wants pearls, not dust. I will buy your house of stone and I pay you tomorrow. What was yours is now mine. One has to live, or at least survive, and beam like the sun. Rose water and varnish! I have the keys to the Royal Council and the Secret Cabinet. I have my secrets too. The castle, the Parliament, the brothels. Such things. My poor enemies. One falls from the window, another gets flogged, a third banished... ...a fourth burns up, a fifth is run over. Disgusting, such open fractures. The sixth changes his mind, is friendly and loyal.

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Happy tunes! Special courts of justice. Crisis at the Bank, at the exchange office. Fredrik -And I must handle it all... Emanuel -What about my payment? Elisabeth Excuse my husband, he’s so… Shouldn’t you get married, Emanuel? You are so handsome. Or should I say wise? I was so young. Velvet, silhouette. I was merely a girl. Silk, sorrow. Fredrik already a gentleman. Mother and father found that I should, so I married him. Now you’re quiet again. Elisabeth -What do you think that I think? Emanuel -That one person can sense... Elisabeth -...the other person’s soul. Emanuel -That the world has a soul. Emanuel That cupboards creak when injustice enters the room. That the soul has a secret cabinet. That you lean against glass, are happy and sad. That flowers sprout out of dust. Emanuel -That you are bought and sold. Elisabeth -I fall and I break. Silk, velvet, violence. Emanuel -One membrane trembles... Fredrik -Is he on the go again? Elisabeth -Emanuel is funny, he reads my thoughts. Fredrik -Then he knows that you love me. Fredrik We married for love. The money was included in the purchase. A perfect wife. She is... ...good. Never coquettish. Crisis at the draper’s office. Emanuel -One membrane trembles... Fredrik -Calm down, Emanuel.

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Fredrik You’ll get what you want. I am the state. When I die, this house will fall over. Emanuel -One membrane trembles… Elisabeth -...from the trembling of the other. Fredrik Tonight we’ve invited the Board for supper. Won’t you wear your white dress, my love? It’s going to be unbearable. Lewenhaupt and Ehrenpreis, these old crotchety oxen. Elisabeth -Stockbreeding, social life. It’s the same. Emanuel -He struts about like a turkey. Elisabeth You talk about my husband. Your friend. You have no idea how he struggles. Elisabeth -No one else could manage it. Emanuel -I beg your pardon. Elisabeth I might be old-fashioned. The woman doesn’t rule over the man. She should be still. Velvet, silhouette. The man is the head of the woman. She’s his pride. Silk, sorrow. After all, at home I am in charge, and so is everything at its best. Fredrik Won’t you ask King Louis for more money? Bring your calculations to Versailles. Sell them dear, bring rustling papers back and I’ll blow my nose with the French notes. Administration costs. The bishops are thirsty, the counts are hungry. Take your trembles to Versailles. Sell them dear to Louis. You’ll get the money for the printing houses, for your ten thousand words. And a pretty penny for me...

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Maria -Poczekaj chwilę. I zobaczysz. Fredrik -Pardon? Karl Turkeys, partridges. Every drop of blood is a brave soldier. I eat ice! Ice floe! Ice floe. Hole in ice, ice-cold ice! I eat ice! Maria Poczekaj chwilę. I zobaczysz. Emerentia Advise me in an affair of the heart. Beautiful lieutenants, handsome generals. La Poule, la Pastourelle. Day and night. Whom should I give? Who should I take? Maria Poczekaj chwilę. I zobaczysz. Elisabeth Velvet, silhouette. Silk, sorrow. Maria Poczekaj chwilę. I zobaczysz. Elisabeth Velvet, silhouette. Silk, sorrow. Scene 9 (Emanuel, Maria, the Spirits. –Emanuel has a new vision of an encounter with the spirits. He imagines the heavenly marriage and that he, in heaven, might find his lost sister again.) Emanuel Spirits, you do exist. When I need you, you appear. You tell me about life after death. You tell me in heaven a woman can leave her husband and find another man. That’s the marriage made in heaven. A brother who has lost his sister might find her again.

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Here on earth man is incomplete. Everyone can feel that. In heaven it is different. Is that the secret? Spirits? Spirits? Maria Rozumiesz? Emanuel Maria? Maria Do you understand where you are? Maria Do you understand your secret now? Intermission Act 2 Scene 10. (Emanuel, Maria, Louis XV. –Audience in Versailles. Emanuel meets Maria, now queen of France. He meets Louis and carries out Fredrik’s instructions.) Guard Ivory, marble. Kneel before the Queen. Emanuel Mam na imię Marja. Jestem polską księżniczką. Maria Królowa. Tańczyć, smok. Ropucha, nocnik. Tańczyć, smok. Królowa, sen. Guard Agate, crystal. Guard Kneel before the King.

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Emanuel -Your Majesty, the longitudes... Guard -Only speak when you are deemed worthy. Guard Now you are worthy and may speak. Emanuel The solution of the longitude is the position of the moon. If one factor... (King Louis leaves the room) Maria His Majesty has matters to attend to. Flounces, powder, rose water... Louise-Julie, Pauline-Felicité... Thighs, bosoms, genitals... Marie-Anne, Charlotte-Rosalie... Mirrors, brothels... Oh, a migraine! Emanuel Your Royal Highness... Maria? Maria The migraine is already gone. I bear, by order, ten children, in a room decorated with biblical motifs. I walk in the park among the statues, followed by a chorus of old noble spinsters. We sing: Królowa, papuga… Emanuel, did you say something about money? Emanuel Your Highness, the subsidies for the party do not cover the needs. Maria The incessant Swedish delegations do not amuse the King. (King Louis enters the room) Emanuel Your Majesty, if one factor is constant, the other one... (King Louis exits again)

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Maria When he yawns, his ears turn yellow. Now he is resting on the couch. Thighs, bosoms, genitals. Madame de Coislin, thighs. Madame de Mirapoix, bosoms. Madame d’Estrades, genitals. Mademoiselle R... Servants paint the girls’ cheeks red. I sew, I am pious, I embroider. Stitch by stitch. Needle, thread. Statues are falling, peacocks turn grey. Fountains run dry, mirrors blacken. And the girls’ cheeks disappear. (King Louis enters the room) Emanuel Your Majesty, my ten thousand words, the printing houses in Amsterdam... (King Louis exits again) Maria The King grants you the printing contribution and sends his regards to Count Gyllenborg. Scene 11. (Emanuel, the Spirits, Maria. Emanuel together with the Spirits. He once again tells of his sister.) Emanuel I’m a small boy. I tell my sister: I don’t need to breathe! She answers: Everyone needs to breathe. No, not I! (Emanuel holds his breath for a while, then exhales.) Emanuel She answers: Be careful, Emanuel, it’s dangerous.

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But I know... When the brain is dwelling in deep thoughts, the lungs breathe slowly. Sister! Come, board my ship, floating on the membranes of the air. Let us go for a trip! There is a cloud. There is a moon. Everything down there is so small and we are high above. The wind in the sailcloth. Listen. Breathe deep. A single breath in a thousand years. Spirits, you do exist. Maria Rozumiesz? Maria -Do you understand now? Emanuel -Rozumiesz. Maria Your secret. Emanuel -Rozumiesz. Maria -Do you understand now where you are? Scene 12. (Emanuel, the Guard, Maria, Fredrik, Elisabeth, Karl, Emerentia, Louis XIV. -Emanuel is told by Maria that he is dwelling in a transfer station in the land of the dead, where the recently deceased (the persons of this drama) live their lives before they leave for their destinations. The Guard silently follows the course of events.) Fredrik Crisis at the bank, at the exchange office. And I must handle it all... Elisabeth Under the lace pillow I keep my book. My secret. I’m reading the world history. Right now I’m in the Rome of the martyrs.

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I’m in the Africa of the slaves. Hottentots, Blackamoors, Red Indians. Karl I bite into ice! Hole in ice, sharp ice! Ice-cold ice! I eat ice! Emerentia My dear not-fiancé. My not dear not-husband. Good luck. Keep your ring, it’s nothingness. Maria You were born so beautiful and became so miserable. Now you’ll be born again and come to heaven or to hell. Do you understand? They are no longer alive, yet they live. They wait a while and then they see. Do you understand? They don’t die. They exit through one gate and re-enter through the same gate. They take off their clothing, put on the same clothes again. And they wait a while. A hand is turned, and as it is turning they must wait. After that, they will see. Emanuel -What will they see? Maria -If they will go to heaven or to hell. Emanuel -Who judges them? Maria -Everyone judges himself. Maria -They find out who they are and where to go. Emanuel -Aren’t they afraid? Maria They are not aware. They all think they are alive. But sometimes they know. Sometimes they understand where they are. Karl I was God’s policeman on earth. Mostly on horseback, never showing weakness.

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I held my hand in the flame. The Turks grew tired of me. I had such pains, but I smiled. I was used to victories. I tortured children. At my coronation, the crown fell from my head. When I died, the people laughed. Emerentia I was a little girl, then I grew up. I married a judge. Or was he a governor? My mother wanted it. Or was it my father? I bore eleven children. Two died. I raised my girls to not play cards or curl their hair. I took care of house and home. Hard-boiled eggs are bad for the stomach. I sang to my boys: Once there was a cow... Elisabeth When we married, Fredrik was thirty-one. I was only fifteen. I was so merry. My father was wealthy, and Fredrik needed the money. I had children, little Gyllenborgs. I defended Fredrik through thick and thin. I wrote songs to honour freedom. Fredrik I stood up for the system and the system stood up for me. I was an intriguer, my tongue like butter. My words were made-up bats, perfumed rats. I was poison in a golden box. Thank God that I’m dead. An excessive whirl of money, a shameless luxury, a poisoning expense. Arson, that’s me. When I died, the investigation was withdrawn.

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What happened to Elisabeth? I have forgotten. And to the children? I have forgotten. Now I don’t know anymore... Crisis at the bank, at the exchange office. And I must handle it all... Elisabeth I wrote songs about freedom. I was a literary lady. I was sad. The woman never ruled the man. He was the head of the woman, she was his pride. Now I don’t know anymore... After all, at home I’m in charge. And so is everything at its best. Emerentia Once there was a cow, who slept in the trough... I fell from the roof and limped badly the last twenty years. I had such pains. Then I died. Now I don’t know anymore... Who should I take? The Courtier, the Forester or King Karl? Karl When I died, the people laughed. I slept in the trench, took supper in a hail of bullets. I was curious. The bullet went in here, and out there. I was only thirty-six. Now I don’t know anymore... I eat ice! We’ll march off in half a second! (Louis, Emerentia, Elisabeth, Karl and Fredrik leave the stage.) Scene 13. Emanuel, Maria, the Spirits, Guard. –Emanuel wants to leave the world of the Spirits.)

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Emanuel Now I understand. I am in the world of the Spirits. Here the recently deceased are prepared. The good ones go to heaven, The bad ones to the hell. Emanuel -But why do they think they are alive? Maria -It is just like that. Emanuel How can their souls have bodies? Aren’t their ears buried? How can they hear? Maria -It is just like that. Emanuel -I must share this. Maria -When? With whom? Emanuel -With everyone! When I get home! Spirits -Who are you? You are weightless. Emanuel -I’m just a visitor. Emanuel At times in the shadow, at times in light. I am matter, I am air and soon I’ll go home. So many things to do. Thousands of new words for the printing houses in Amsterdam. Maria Wait a moment. And you will see. Emanuel I’m sorry. I must look after my words and my garden. Currants and parsley. I must hurry to the printing houses. Life is so short. I must leave. Swedenborg! Scientist! Guard I know who you were. I know. You had an airship. A ring and a house of stone.

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An airship, a house of stone and the solution of the longitude. You became famous, the whole world knew your name. Some say you were a fool. A visionary who sank in the swamp of his own thoughts. Emanuel It isn’t true? Is it true? Guard Wait a moment. And you will see. Scene 14. (Emanuel, Guard, Maria, Fredrik, Elisabeth, Karl, Emerentia, Louis. –Time for the departure to respective destinations for Fredrik, Emerentia, Karl, Elisabeth, Louis and also Maria.) Fredrik Personally I prefer hell. It’s not honourable, as it is in heaven. But if you’re a devil, you’ll enjoy it. I’ll be content in my cavern of piss and shit. To me it smells of roses and apricot. Can I stay for a while? Talk to Emanuel? Or just sit silent. Emerentia I think I will go to heaven. A neat little heaven. It suits a girl who grew up, got married and fell from the roof. I didn’t do any harm. I might not have done a lot of good, but I didn’t hurt anyone. What do you mean, Emanuel? I neither curled my hair, nor did I play cards. Will I go to a little heaven?

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Karl I want to squat in the inferno, be the devil himself, in the arsehole of a damned body. I want to rule hell! Everyone obeys me! I’m burnt by fire. It feels good! Bullets pass through my skull. It feels good! I’ll conquer heaven! Do you hear me? We’ll march off in half a second! Elisabeth If possible, I’d like to stay with Fredrik. Otherwise, with my parents. What do you say, Emanuel? Is it possible? And is it possible to relive one’s life? I would want to restart when I was fifteen. Such a joyful time. I was so merry. Maria I was a Polish princess. My name was Maria. I roamed about. I bore ten children. Look at my stomach, Emanuel! If a thief steals an apple from an apple tree do all the apples on that tree shrivel? I was all the apples. Home is gone, I roam about. Sometimes marble, sometimes mud. What do I resemble, Emanuel? Angel? Devil? I am an angel, am I not? Rozumiesz? Do you understand where you are? Emanuel My roaming Polish princess, I think I begin to understand. (The Guard escorts Fredrik, Elisabeth, Louis, Emerentia, Karl and Maria out.)

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Scene 15. (Emanuel, Guard, Spirits. –The Guard returns. Only the Guard and Emanuel remain. The Guard turns out to be Emanuel’s deceased sister. Now they reunite.) Emanuel I am homesick. The red currants must be ripe by now. And the parsley gets too thick if no one looks after it. I want to sit in my garden, drink a cup of coffee, eat a bun. Read a little, write a little, taste some red currants. Unless it rains. Then I will go inside. I’ll play some organ and think of my sister, who disappeared. I am homesick! But the currants disappear and my home is nowhere. Guard Once there was a brother. Once there was a sister. You were the brother, I was the sister. Emanuel -The sister disappeared. She was so ill. Guard -The brother remained. I was so ill. Emanuel -She was going to die, and she knew it. Guard -I died. I said: In heaven I’ll pray for you. Emanuel- -What else will you do? Guard -In heaven I’ll play the harp for you... Emanuel + Guard ...until you come to join me. Emanuel -You can’t play the harp, can you?

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Guard -I’m sure I can and if not I’ll learn it. Guard My brother Emanuel, do you understand? Emanuel + A brother who has lost his sister Guard might find her again. On earth, man is incomplete. Everyone of us can feel that. In heaven it is different. Is that the secret? That is the secret everyone knows. Emanuel I don’t need to breathe! Guard -Everyone needs to breathe. Emanuel -No, not I! Emanuel Sister! Come, board my ship, floating on the membranes of the air. Guard -Your airship. Emanuel -Let us go for a trip. Emanuel -There is a cloud, there is a moon. Guard -And another one and another one. Emanuel + Everything down there is so small Guard and we are high above. Emanuel You take the helm. The wind in the sailcloth. Listen. Life is so short. A needle falling from the fir-tree. Guard Now we are among the stars. Guard + Emanuel Little Bear, Berenice’s Hair, Leo Minor. Guard Look! Life is long.

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A needle falling from the fir-tree. Emanuel + Breathe deep! Guard One single breath in a thousand years. One single breath in a thousand years. Spirits Poczekaj chwilę. I zobaczysz. The End English translation by Birgitta Rydholm, Berlin 2010