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A city.
Rivers of humanity move on foot and by machine, each nameless face with a
story. Somewhere a window opens on one strange affair.
Man. Woman. Masochism.
We meet Severin: a man in midlife who has never found his calling. Perhaps
a latent poet, he is intelligent but unaccomplished, vaguely waiting for a
purpose. Enter Wanda: a young woman hungry for life. She is intrigued by Severin,
but shirks his advances toward a relationship, preferring her own freedom.
“I live in the moment” she says, and “I will be yours for
as long as I love you, but not a moment longer.”
When a committed relationship is refused to Severin, he senses in Wanda a
potential to fulfill another, darker dream. He confesses to Wanda his desire
to worship her. Wanda agrees to take Severin as her slave. Although hesitant
at first, Wanda discovers in herself the capacity for extreme and unanticipated
cruelty. Torture is a form of medicine, and love a ritual of annihilation.
Deeds that transpire hence, however, make it difficult to know who is really
in control. VENUS in FURS was originally commissioned by the Golden Fleece
and premiered on March 2004 in New York.
The current production is a re-working of the opera with continuous streaming
video and an electronic scoring. Designed, produced and directed by Yoav Gal
and Heather Green
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VENUS in FURS
- libretto
By Yoav Gal, libretto
based on “Venus in Furs” by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Wanda, soprano. A woman in her early twenties. Cosmopolitan,
intelligent and curious , perhaps a little spoiled, a princess.
Severin, tenor, Wanda’s lover. An aging bohemian,
not very successful. A dilettante. He sees in Wanda a potential to
fulfill his sensual desire of being dominated by a strong woman.
The Greek, speaking part. Immaculately dressed, proud
and manly lover of Wanda.
Wanda and Severin are neighbors and later lovers. Their relationship
is loving and sincere yet fraught with tension.
Place: a city, Wanda’s bedroom, the street or hallway adjacent
to Wanda and Severin’s apartments.
Time: the present.
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Scene: Wanda’s
bedroom.
Wanda, wearing her furs, is untying Severin, who is strapped to a chair
with rope orduct tape. She does it firmly yet lovingly
Wanda
When the world is asleep we are awake… When the world is awake
we are asleep.
(top)_________________________________________
Severin
you are beautiful
Wanda
you are beautiful
Severin
I love you
Wanda
I love you
Severin
My lovely mistress
Wanda
My handsome slave
Severin
Beautiful creature
Wanda
Dazzling Animal
Severin
you are beautiful
Wanda
you are beautiful
Severin
My insatiable female trembling in hunger
Both
over her prey.
Wanda
You are the one I have found in the dark ness
You are the one I have found to be with me in the dark
You are the one I have found in the bedroom
I want to be dark with you for ever
my beautiful slave
Severin
My beautiful mistress
Wanda
sweet possession of mine
Severin
I love you
Wanda
I love you
Severin
You’re a goddess to me
Wanda
You're a plaything of mine
Severin
I am in your hands
Severin
I love you
Wanda
I love you
Wanda
You are the one I have found in the darkness you are the one I want
you to stay with me in the dark
You are the one who envelopes me like moonlight, the one who pierces
me with your stars.
I am the night sky and you are the stars.
Are you scared of the night? Are you scared of the dark ness?
Severin
You are terrifying
Wanda
You are my precious pet you are the one, you are the one I've found
in the darkness you are the one, you are the one
Severin
Be my Venus tonight
Wanda
you are my sweet possession
Severin
Please put on you fur
(top)______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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W & S
my beautiful my beautiful creature my beautiful creation my mistress
my slave you are my beautiful creature beautiful vulture heavenly plaything.
Insatiable female trembling with hunger over her pray.
Severin
My mistress
Wanda
my slave
Both
The blood flows, the blood flows, the blood flows, because I love you
The blood flows, the blood flows, the blood flows, because I love you
Insatiable female trembling with hunger over her prey.
(top)_______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Scene: Street or hallway.
Severin
This is how I met her
I was seized with panic
I dropped my movies
We had a conversation
About movies
She said she liked the “scary ones”
It was that kind of an evening
I was lonely, horny, and disturbed
Wanda
I think I like you
I always wanted to know a real dreamer
And you look like a genuine pervert to me
Severin, did I scare you? places hand on him
Severin
Yes Wanda, you are so beautiful
Wanda
Strong sensations are hard for you to contain
I can tell
You are so sensitive
Don’t put up a defense against me
Severin
But I feel that I must
Wanda
No, I don’t believe in protecting yourself
against your own feelings
Look at me, I am nature’s child
I like being happy
And I live for pleasure
I live in the moment
Severin
So you don’t like commitment much?
Wanda
I do, as long as I love
But not a moment longer
Severin
But Wanda
I want to love you forever
Wanda
While we are together I will be your most dedicated lover
I like giving pleasure and happiness
I like it as much as receiving
Severin
Pleasure? Happiness?
Those are two different things!
Wanda
No, to me they are one
You, Severin, can remain self conflicted
And a tortured soul
But I am simple, and happy, and free
Severin
You don’t mind breaking a man’s heart
Wanda
I mind only those things I can influence
If you choose to be hurt it’s your own problem
With which I cannot help you
Love is like nature itself
Changeable, fleeting
I choose honesty over virtue
You have to have an enormous ego
To want to possess me
No, I don’t pity those broken hearts
Severin
You are cruel
Wanda
Nature is cruel
Severin
Wanda, you are so beautiful
You must have a small army of fools who adore you
Like the goddess you are
Wanda
I don’t deny it
Severin
But of course, a true goddess requires a little help
with life’s little bothersome tasks
a true goddess must have slaves
Wanda
But why do you ask?
Do you want to be my slave?
Severin
There is no equality in love
And you won’t let me possess you
So I admit to you
Between being a ruler and being ruled
I find being ruled to be much more sensually satisfying
There is nothing more attractive to a man
then a gorgeous and despotic woman
She lords over her lovers with enjoyment
and replaces them according to a whim
But where would I find such a woman?
Who can calmly dominate
With ease and self possession
A goddess, mind you, not a power hungry nag
Wanda
Beware of what you wish for, Severin
That goddess might be standing right in front of you
You know already that I can be cruel
Severin
I know that you are beautiful
Wanda
So you were truly scared of me before?
Severin
Indeed I was
Wanda
And now?
Severin
Now I am more afraid of you then ever.
(top)_______________________________________________________________________________ |
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Severin
you are beautiful
Wanda
you are beautiful
Severin
I love you
Wanda
I love you
Severin
My lovely mistress
Wanda
My handsome slave
Severin
Beautiful creature
Wanda
Dazzling Animal
Severin
you are beautiful
Wanda
you are beautiful
Severin
My insatiable female trembling in hunger
Both
over her pray.
(top)___________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Both
my beautiful my beautiful creature my beautiful creation my mistress
my slave you are my beautiful creature beautiful vulture heavenly plaything.
Insatiable female trembling with hunger over her pray.
Severin
My mistress
Wanda
my slave
Both
The blood flows, the blood flows, the blood flows, because I love you
The blood flows, the blood flows, the blood flows, because I love you
Insatiable female trembling with hunger over her prey.
(top)_______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Severin
Wanda, Where did you get this fur? Tell me the truth…
You have a new lover
You are sleeping with him
He’s giving you gifts
You ask me to crawl on my knees over broken glass, and I do, I suffer
for you,
While you laugh and you stab me with needles.
And your new lover, you shower with love. He’s bathing in kisses
and sunlight
But for me you have pain.
Wanda, you hurt me, I’m dying for you
You ask me to walk through a blizzard naked and barefoot and blue. Then
from your little hands I receive a luxurious bath of snow
You shame me in public You hurt me at home
Wanda, shouting and slapping him in the face
Shut up!
(top)_______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Wanda, produces a piece of paper
Severin Kusiemski
Ceases with the preset day being the lover of Ms. Wanda Dunajew
And renounces all the rights appertaining thereunto
Both
He, on the contrary
Binds himself on his word of honor
That hereafter he would be her slave
Until such time that she herself sets him at liberty again
As the Slave of Ms. Dunajew he is to bear the name Gregor
And he is, unconditionally, to comply with every one of her commands
He is always to be submissive to his mistress
And is to consider every sign of favor as an extraordinary mercy
Ms Dunajew is entitled to punish her slave as she deems best
Even for the slightest inadvertence or fault,
And also is herewith given the right to torture him as the mood may
seize her
Or merely for the sake of whiling away the time
Should she so desire, she may kill him whenever she wishes
In short, he is here unrestricted property
Should Ms Dunajew ever set her slave at liberty
Severin Kusiemski agrees to forget everything that he has experienced
Or suffered as her slave
And promises never under any circumstances and in no wise
To think of vengeance or retaliation
Ms Dunajew on her behalf agrees as his mistress
To appear as often as possible in her furs
Especially when she proposes some cruelty towards her slave
Severin
All the obligations are on my side only.
Wont you allow a few conditions on yourself?
Wanda
Conditions? Are you afraid already? Remember that from now on you will
be mine entirely. There can be no limit to my power over you.
You are my plaything, which I can break to pieces if I want.
You are nothing, I am everything.
But let us hear your conditions.
Severin
First of all, I would have it included in our contract that you will
never completely abandon me, and then that you will never give me over
to the mercies of any of your admirers.
Wanda
Oh Severin, don’t you know me yet? How can you imagine that I
will be so crude?
Severin
Wanda, forgive me. It was an ugly thought. I trust you completely. Forgive
me.
I want to sign this contract right away.
Wanda
Wait, there is one more thing.
Wanda hands Severin another note:
This one you will have to copy in your own handwriting
Severin (no accompaniment)
“Having been for many years weary of existence and the disappointment
that it brings, I have willfully ended my useless life”.
Severin copies the note and sings the contract in silence
Wanda
Now give me your money and your passport.
Severin hands her his wallet
Why do you look so worried my love? Don’t you love me anymore?
Severin
I do love you Wanda, I love you more then ever.
On bent knees, Severin takes Wanda’s foot in his hand, takes off
her shoe and kisses the foot. Wanda kick him with a smile and he falls
back.
(top)_______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Two or three females enter. They tie Severin up, rip off his clothes,
whip him, and finally drag him off stage. In the mean time Wanda (on
stage, and in a sexy manner) changes into her most beautiful fur and
puts on other fetish accoutrements. This is a horrifying, yet comic
dance.
(top)____________________
Wanda is alone on stage
Wanda
Look how you're standing there
As if I brought you to the gates of hell
And I must be a demon I'm a demon I'm a demon
I must have led you down here by the hand
But it was you who did it
It’s you who made me what I have become
And you must take all the blame, take the blame,
You wanted me to hurt you
So I did,
You stifled my love
With your insane devotion with your fanatic adoration
You wanted me to be cruel, to be cruel
You used to be my lover, but now you are my slave
A slave (x3)
I used to love you Severin
You are a gentle soul
Do you remember all these conversation
We used to talk so endlessly
And you were interesting
And you were sensitive and smart
A little queer, I know, a little queer,
But that just made you more attractive
And you were smart
And you have never ever bored me
No, never ever bored me,
You bore me now.
You should have held me strongly
You should have held me by my arm
By the hair
But you are not a man, not a man
You are a slave, a fool
You are a fool! You’re a fool!
A fool… a fool….
You know I loved you Severin
Yet you were good and kind
Too good perhaps, too good
Perhaps if you were not so good
If you had been a little mean, a man, for goodness sake, a ,man
Perhaps I could have loved you still
If you were not so morally astute, you wouldn’t be so sick I’m
sure
You’re sick, you know, you are a sick and retched man.
Why do you stare at me like that, you slave, why can’t you be
a man?!
Be a man (x3)
A man (x2)
I used to love you Severin
(top)_________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Severin
This is how I met her
I was seized with panic
I dropped my movies
Wanda, I want to love you forever
Wanda
Listen to me Severin, I want to be yours for as long as I love you
Severin
A month?
Wanda
Perhaps even two
Severin
And then
Wanda
Then you become my slave
Severin
And you?
Wanda
Why do you ask?
I am a goddess, and sometime I descend from my Olympian heights to you
Softly, very softly, and secretly
Severin
I love you
Wanda
Do you really want to do it?
Severin
Yes, I swear to you, whenever and wherever you wish it
Wanda
Beware of what you wish for, Severin. This goddess may learn to enjoy
her new position. I may find within myself a cruelty, which now I do
not know exists.
Severin
I cannot help it Wanda, the worst you treat me the more I worship you.
Wanda
So you will put your life completely in my hands?
Severin
I will
Wanda
But can we really do it
Severin
We will write a contract
I want your power over me to be sanctified by law. I want my life to
be completely in your hands.
I want nothing that can save me or protect me from you
I want to feel entirely dependant on your absolute will, upon your whim
And then what happiness when sometime you are gracious
And the slave may kiss the lips which carry life and death to him
(top)______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Music and scene as in Prelude. Wanda straps Severin to a chair with
rope duct tape, and gags him. She does it firmly yet lovingly.
Wanda
When the world is asleep we are awake… When the world is awake
we are asleep.
Once Severin is firmly bound, Greek enters. Wanda kisses him, leans
on his shoulder and hands him the whip.
Greek
Spoken: Are you sure you want me to whip this man?
Wanda
Yes I am sure
Greek
Spoken: You are cruel indeed.
Wanda
I like to be amused.
To Severin
Do you hate me already? Well, I hope that this will be a final cure
for your condition.
Severin struggle against the ropes, vainly trying to attack Wanda. Wanda,
worried, takes a step back.
Greek,
tests the ropes.
Spoken: Alright Wanda, now watch me break him in.
CURTAIN
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