| Content | Bohuslav Martinů is with Charlotte Martinů in Nice. A letter from Georges Neveux made him happy.
He himself is also not sure where he will end the second act [COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE UNKNOWN]. There needs to be a better interface between the negotiations, perhaps before the scene in which the prosecutor explains how happy he is. This would have interrupted the scene of the prosecutor's return, which is good, because it is too long for the music. Or the interruption could be made later - before the prosecutor flips through the address book to find his friends. Would like to have a lot of room for music in the third act so it's not too dialogue driven. The timing ["timing"] would be better decided when BM is clearer about the musicalization of the text and the boundaries between acts. He'd definitely cut the long scene somewhere in the middle. Even he doesn't know how much time that scene will take up on stage, probably not enough.
As for the change of scenery, the old woman can appear much earlier on the proscenium and stay there when the curtain falls. Sitting there, she would sing the aria "[Le] silence est reven[u]". That would take about 1.5 minutes. Once the lights were completely out, the woman could disappear. BM would write another 1.5 minutes of music, making a total of 3 minutes for the change.
The change after the dialogue (Kopak, Pacha, Plouchkin) would be handled the same way, again there would be 3 minutes for it. At the end of the dialogue, the curtain could slowly rise ["se hiver"?], the characters would move almost imperceptibly to their place in the office, and the prosecutor would return.
A painted curtain with a house front would probably be an unwelcome expense for the theatres. He had also thought of the prosecutor on the street, but had not found an opportune moment for it.
He received another letter from Wiesbaden; after all, they are very interested [in Juliet]. BM will keep Neveux informed.
They are doing very well in Nice. |