prisoner of the state (2019) 75'
soprano, tenor, baritone, bass; men's chorus; 2+pic.2.2(bcl).2+cbn/4.2[in C].2.0/timp/3 perc/strings
New York Philharmonic, de Doelen Concert Hall, Barbican Centre, l’Auditori, Bochum Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Bruges, and Malmö Opera.
program note
For the past 40 years I have wanted to make my own version of Fidelio. There is none of Beethoven’s music in my piece, but prisoner of the state is built on the skeleton of Fidelio. I began with the various versions of Beethoven’s libretti, filtering out the things I felt were dramatically confusing or off the topic, searching for moments that I thought were odd or interesting, or which gave me opportunities to go a little deeper into environment or character or narrative. I compiled Beethoven’s 1805 and 1814 texts, and then I wrote my own libretto to comment on them. The characters of the original, the story, the performance history — all of these became meaningful for me to think about, to comment on, and to adapt.
My process was to simplify the parts of the libretto that I kept, and to comment on them, by adding language from other, outside texts that might deepen our understanding of the original. For example, after The Governor orders The Jailer to help him kill The Prisoner I have added an aria that is a paraphrase of Machiavelli’s famous dictum “it is better to be feared than to be loved.” To describe the prison’s structure I have added a paraphrase of English philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s theory behind the invention of the “modern” prison, modern being 1791. To The Prisoner’s aria I have added references to Rousseau; to The Guards’ definition of punishment I have added references to Hannah Arendt. I was curious just who Beethoven thought prisoners were in 1805, when Fidelio premiered, and I searched for contemporaneous lists of crimes and criminals; I found a list from 1805 of those crimes for which English prisoners could be transported to Australia and I used part of it as a way for the prisoners to introduce themselves to us.
Last but not least, the title comes from Beethoven’s original libretto:
Leonora (to Rocco, the Jailer): I often see you coming out of the underground vaults of this castle, almost breathless and exhausted. Why don’t you let me accompany you? Rocco: You know I have the strictest orders not to let anyone near the Prisoners of the State.
— David Lang
Libretto
prisoner of the state words and music by david lang
Cast
THE ASSISTANT THE JAILER
THE GOVERNOR THE PRISONER
GUARDS
CHORUS OF PRISONERS
ORCHESTRA on stage
Libretto
Prologue
soprano, dressed as a man bass
tenor
baritone
4 men who are always with the prisoners
a large group of men, chained to the walls – the prisoners have a good view of everything that is happening on stage. sometimes they may seem more like judges than prisoners
NOTE – The original intention for ‘prisoner of the state’ was that it should be presented with the orchestra on stage, as part of the action. Other stagings are, of course, possible. With the orchestra on stage it may prove helpful to amplify or reinforce the singers. If the orchestra is in a pit this may not be necessary.
completely dark – dank, clammy, with sounds of dripping water as the audience enters
A small light comes up on a pile of chains, under which, gradually revealed, is THE ASSISTANT
1. The Assistant
THE ASSISTANT (wearily, and directed to the audience) I was a woman once
It was so long ago
I barely remember it
But I remember it
I was a woman once
I did what women do
I lived as women live
I felt as women feel
I dressed the way a woman does I was a woman once
I wore my hair the way a woman does
I sang the way a woman does
I breathed the air the way a woman breathes the air And I loved the way a woman loves
When they took my love away I died the way a woman dies
I don’t remember his face
I don’t remember his name
(i)
I don’t remember his love
But I remember
I was a woman once
ASSISTANT (spoken directly to the audience)
Now the Jailer will enter and the prisoners will wake up When they are done singing the Jailer will be looking for me
2. The Jailer, Guards, Chorus of Prisoners
THE JAILER (enters silently, walks downstage, followed by GUARDS, looking straight at the audience) PRISONERS are not immediately apparent
THE JAILER, then GUARDS Prisoners!
Wake up!
Prisoners!
Wake up!
So cold
So dark
So still
So silent
The darkness of the grave
The stillness of the grave
No other living thing down here But you
Cold (so cold) Dark (so dark) Still (so still) Silent
It is the law!
The Law is heavy! The Law is silent! The Law is cold!
The Law is darkness!
CHORUS OF PRISONERS We are awake
We are awake
We are awake
We are awake
(Cold) We are so cold
(Dark) We are so dark
(Still) We are so still
(Silent)
No other living things down here But us
Heavy
Silent
Cold
Dark
We are heavy We are silent We are cold
We are darkness
(ii)
We are awake
THE JAILER This
GUARDS This
THE JAILER
Is the house of correction
GUARDS Correction
CHORUS OF PRISONERS We are corrected
THE JAILER This
GUARDS This
THE JAILER
Is the house of inspection
GUARDS Inspection
CHORUS OF PRISONERS We are inspected
THE JAILER
We inspect you all We see who you are What you are Where you are
We see you
In prisons
In work houses In factories
In schools
We see you
GUARDS We see you
CHORUS OF PRISONERS We are seen
They say I stole a loaf of bread They say I stole a piece of cloth They say I stole a lady’s glove
They say I lied to the police
They say I counterfeited coin They say I forged a signature They say I burned a building down
They say I sold myself for sex They say I swore a false oath
(iii)
They say I ran from all my debts
They say I stole a cow
They say I coveted my neighbor’s wife
They say I said the wrong thing To the wrong person
At the wrong time
In the wrong place
They say I had a knife (But I didn’t)
They say I had a gun (I did have a gun) They say I hit a man
(I never hit that man) They say I killed a man (I did kill that man)
It was the wrong thing The wrong person The wrong time
The wrong place
3. The Assistant, The Jailer
THE JAILER Where is the boy?
THE ASSISTANT Here, Sir!
THE JAILER Where?
THE ASSISTANT Here, Sir!
THE JAILER
Have you been here long?
THE ASSISTANT No, Sir!
THE JAILER
What took you so long?
THE ASSISTANT
It took so long to carry these chains, Sir!
THE JAILER
What did they cost?
THE ASSISTANT Here is the bill, Sir!
THE JAILER
Excellent! You paid much less than I would have
THE ASSISTANT I try my best, Sir!
(iv)
THE JAILER
I will make sure you are well rewarded
THE ASSISTANT
Please, Sir, don’t think I do this for a reward, Sir!
THE JAILER Why else then?
THE ASSISTANT
(no answer)
THE JAILER
Why else then are you here?
That’s why I’m here, boy
Don’t do a good deed unless you are seen doing it
THE ASSISTANT Yes, Sir!
THE JAILER
Don’t do any deed at all, unless you will be paid
THE ASSISTANT Yes, Sir!
THE JAILER
Unless you will be paid
4. The Jailer
THE JAILER
In this world Without gold
You can’t live
You can’t be happy Without gold
In this world
With gold in your pocket
Power and love, power and love
Without gold
Someone else will get the power and the love The power and the love
Luck is a slave to gold Love is a slave to gold Life is a slave to gold In this world
You pay for luck
You pay for love
You pay for life itself
When you see a man
With luck, with love, with life You know he has the gold He has the gold
When you love someone
Add what is in your empty pockets to hers And if it’s nothing, all you have nothing
(v)
If all you have to eat is love You will always be hungry
In this world
Your true love
Your real love,
The love you hold the tightest in your arms, Is gold
In your arms
In your purse
In your pockets
In your bed
If you want to live You will need gold When I get enough I’ll be gone
5. The Assistant, The Jailer, Chorus of Prisoners, Guards
THE ASSISTANT
There is one thing I would ask you, Sir…
THE JAILER Yes?
THE ASSISTANT
Why don’t you ever let me go with you To the vaults, to the prison underground?
THE JAILER
You know what’s there
You know
I’m under orders
No one can ever see the prisoner of the state
CHORUS OF PRISONERS The prisoner of the state
THE JAILER
I’m under orders
You must never see the prisoner of the state That is one prison cell you’ll never see
THE ASSISTANT
Has that man been a prisoner for very long, Sir?
THE JAILER
Two years, at least two years
THE ASSISTANT Two years
Two long, long years
THE ASSISTANT
He must be very dangerous, Sir
CHORUS OF PRISONERS (sarcastically) So dangerous
(vi)
THE JAILER
Or he has powerful enemies
It doesn’t matter – he won’t be here much longer
The Governor has ordered that he get less food each day Less bread, less air, less light, less life
His spark is fading
THE ASSISTANT
I want to see him, Sir
THE JAILER
No!
You must never see the prisoner of the state
CHORUS OF PRISONERS The prisoner of the state
THE JAILER
And you are too young to see a man Who is staring at his death
THE ASSISTANT I’m not afraid, Sir
THE JAILER
Good, that’s very good,
Life is hard – your heart must be harder
THE ASSISTANT
My life is hard already
And my heart, already harder
THE ASSISTANT (spoken directly to the audience) Here is a prison song
GUARDS Work Move Break Punish
CHORUS OF PRISONERS We work
We move
We break
We are worked We move
We are broken We are punished
GUARDS
We punish
So we can forgive What we can punish We can forgive
We punish
So we can forgive
So we can forgive you
What we can’t punish We can’t forgive
(vii)
What we can’t forgive We cannot punish
GUARDS Work Move Break Punish
CHORUS OF PRISONERS We work
We move
We break
We are punished
6. The Assistant, The Governor, The Jailer, Chorus of Prisoners
THE GOVERNOR enters
THE GOVERNOR (spoken, pointing to a trumpet player in the orchestra) You there – trumpeter
To the ramparts! Give us a signal if anyone approaches
(the trumpet player moves offstage)
Jailer – is he dead yet?
THE JAILER Sir?
THE GOVERNOR
The prisoner
Is the prisoner dead yet?
CHORUS OF PRISONERS Is the prisoner dead?
THE JAILER No, Sir
Not yet
CHORUS OF PRISONERS Not yet
THE GOVERNOR
Well – the moment has come
He must be killed
The Inspectors are on their way
They are looking for the prisoner of the state
CHORUS OF PRISONERS The prisoner of the state
THE GOVERNOR
So we have no time to lose
CHORUS OF PRISONERS There is no time to lose
THE GOVERNOR This moment –
(viii)
Vengeance calls This moment – Fate calls
I have waited so long for this moment How he mocked me
And by mocking me, he mocked us all This is his last hour
The last hour
I’ll shout my triumph in his ear I’ll shout my triumph in his ear The last hour
My triumph!
The last hour
My victory!
The last hour
Is mine!
Jailer!
THE JAILER Sir!
THE GOVERNOR
We must hurry
Do what I say and I will pay you well
THE JAILER
Tell me what I have to do
THE GOVERNOR
Good! Your years here have made you hard
THE JAILER Tell me
THE GOVERNOR Kill him!
THE JAILER What?
CHORUS OF PRISONERS Murder
THE GOVERNOR
Listen to me now!
Are you a man?
In the interest of the state This prisoner must die
CHORUS OF PRISONERS This prisoner must die
THE JAILER Sir…
THE GOVERNOR
Why are you standing here?
We have no time to waste
Run to him – kill him
Stick a knife in him and twist it till he’s dead
(ix)
THE JAILER
Sir
I’ve never killed a man before
THE GOVERNOR I’ll do it, if you won’t I’ll kill him myself Now hurry
to the man below –
CHORUS OF PRISONERS The man below
THE JAILER
More like the living shadow of a man
THE GOVERNOR
Go down and
Dig this man his grave
Take that boy there to help you dig Boy!
THE ASSISTANT Yes Sir?
THE GOVERNOR Are you a strong boy? Are you strong?
Are you afraid?
THE ASSISTANT I am not afraid
Trio, with Chorus
THE GOVERNOR
Starving in chains
Living in chains
Dying in chains
He has not suffered nearly enough To kill him is to save me
The knife will set me free The knife
I will be quiet then
I will be quiet
I will be free
THE JAILER
Starving in chains
Living in chains
Dying in chains
He has suffered enough He has suffered
The knife will set him free He will be quiet then
THE ASSISTANT I am not afraid Not afraid
Come hope – Star, don’t fall – Light, don’t fade –
(x)
If I could see him
I would be quiet then
CHORUS OF PRISONERS He has suffered
The knife will set him free He will be quiet then
He will be free
THE GOVERNOR (spoken)
Both of you –
Go down below and dig this man his grave I will be back to cut his throat
And then we will be done
(pause)
Now!
THE ASSISTANT and THE JAILER exit
7. The Governor
THE GOVERNOR (stepping out of the narrative, addressing the audience) Better to be feared than to be loved
It is better to be feared than to be loved
Men are fragile
Men are liars
Men are cowards
Men want money
When times are good they will be yours But if you need them they will be gone
Better to be feared than to be loved
It is better to be feared than to be loved
Love is a bond that men will break
If they can gain something by breaking it
But fear
A man who fears you will never leave your side
Better to be feared than to be loved If you can’t be loved, be feared
THE GOVERNOR exits
8. Chorus of Prisoners
PRISONERS look around and notice that they are alone
CHORUS OF PRISONERS O what desire
Desire
To breathe
To breathe again
To breathe the air again Our life is in the air
Here we are in the grave O what desire
(xi)
Desire Desire
We believe with all our faith
That God will hear us
We shout at him so he will hear us We shout –
God, when will we be free?
And in return
We hear hope whisper in our ears:
We will be free
We will find peace
We will breathe the air again
9. The Prisoner
Completely dark
A small light comes up through a grate in the floor, and a grainy security camera image comes on, projected onstage. PRISONER is below the stage – we can’t see him directly but we can see the security camera projection of his face.
THE PRISONER (wearily, and to himself)
Uhhh
So dark (So dark)
So cold (So cold)
So silent (The terrifying silence) Down here (Down here)
Death is king (Death is…)
I donʼt complain
I lived to find the truth To see it
To know it
To tell it
I told it, and
Sweet comfort
Now I live in chains
We are born free
We are born free
But everywhere we are in chains We are in chains
The difference here
Between prison and outside –
In here
You see the chains
You see the chains
Sometimes –
I hear a whisper Sometimes –
I feel the air move Sometimes –
I feel the light, moving
I see my wife I see an angel Sometimes –
(xii)
I feel her here beside me Sometimes –
Leading me to freedom And to my grave
(To my grave)
THE PRISONER is very weak and passes out.
10. The Assistant and The Jailer
THE ASSISTANT and THE JAILER enter with shovels
THE ASSISTANT
How cold it is down here So cold
THE JAILER
So cold
Yes, itʼs cold –
We’re down below the ground
THE ASSISTANT Look – there he is
THE JAILER There he is
THE ASSISTANT
I can’t see his face
But I can see him lying there So still
THE JAILER So still
THE ASSISTANT
Maybe he’s already dead Or almost dead
THE JAILER Almost dead Almost
THE ASSISTANT Or just asleep
THE JAILER
We have no time Are you afraid?
THE ASSISTANT
No
Just cold
If I could only see his face
THE JAILER It’s too dark Too cold
Too late
We have to dig now Dig hard
(xiii)
If you dig hard
You will get warmer
Letʼs dig his grave right now
THE ASSISTANT
If I could only see his face
THE ASSISTANT steps forward, sings to herself, as if she is trying to give herself courage THE JAILER starts to dig
THE ASSISTANT What if heʼs mine? What if heʼs mine? What if he isnʼt mine? Is he mine?
This poor man lying here – What if he isnʼt mine?
If he is mine
He is mine
He is mine
He is mine
But if he isnʼt mine – Is he still mine?
He’s still a man in chains He’s still a man about to die
If he is mine, he’s mine But if he isnʼt mine –
If he isnʼt mine,
He is still mine
Even if you arenʼt mine
I will undo your chains
And make you free,
Poor man, I will undo your chains And make you free
11. The Assistant, The Jailer and The Prisoner
THE ASSISTANT He’s moving
THE JAILER He’s moving
THE ASSISTANT Heʼs waking up
THE JAILER Heʼs waking up?
THE ASSISTANT
Yes, he raised his head
THE JAILER
I must talk to him
THE ASSISTANT
If I could only see his face
(xiv)
THE PRISONER Jailer!
Give me water
I beg you
THE JAILER
Impossible
That would make trouble for me
And besides, itʼs too late for you now Already itʼs too late
THE PRISONER I beg you
THE JAILER
Itʼs too late for you now
THE PRISONER Please
If I am to die
Don’t let me die of thirst I beg you
Just one drop of water
THE JAILER
We have no water here
THE ASSISTANT Sir, thereʼs wine here In my bag
Take it
And bread here
In my bag
Poor man
Take it
(THE ASSISTANT hands the bag down to the THE PRISONER)
THE JAILER Courage, boy
I see you trembling
THE ASSISTANT Who wouldn’t, Sir? Even you
THE JAILER Itʼs true
It’s his voice
THE ASSISTANT
It’s his voice
It goes straight to the heart
THE JAILER
It goes straight to the heart
THE ASSISTANT
If I could only see his face
THE PRISONER
Is this the end for me?
Does this mean my end has come?
(xv)
THE ASSISTANT Be calm
Be calm Remember –
I will stay with you to the end
THE PRISONER
Thank you, friend, I thank you I can’t repay your kindness
In this cell, or in this world
In a better world I could
THE ASSISTANT, THE PRISONER In a better world
In a better world
THE PRISONER
In a better world I could
THE ASSISTANT
How can you think that there’s a better world?
THE PRISONER There is a better world
THE ASSISTANT, THE PRISONER In a better world
In a better world
In a better world
We’ll be free
12. The Governor, The Jailer, The Prisoner
THE GOVERNOR enters
THE GOVERNOR Is everything ready?
THE JAILER Yes
We are ready
THE GOVERNOR
Good
Now go down into the pit And bring him up
THE JAILER exits below
This moment This moment I have waited So long
For this moment This man will die But first he will see That I am here
I am here
THE JAILER returns with THE PRISONER
(xvi)
THE JAILER
Should I take off this manʼs chains?
THE GOVERNOR
No, but lift him up
So he can see my face He has to see
That I am here
Prisoner!
Look at me! Look up!
Do you see me?
THE PRISONER I see a murderer
THE GOVERNOR
Then you truly see me You see me
Now, see this knife
Take a good look
Only one more moment –
13. The Assistant, The Governor, The Jailer, The Prisoner
THE ASSISTANT (pulls out a pistol) Stand back!
THE PRISONER My God!
THE JAILER
What are you doing?
THE ASSISTANT Stand back!
THE GOVERNOR Are you insane?
THE JAILER Don’t be a hero
THE ASSISTANT Stand back!
THE PRISONER My God!
THE GOVERNOR I must kill him
THE JAILER
What are you doing?
THE GOVERNOR
Now I will have to kill you both
(xvii)
THE ASSISTANT First pierce this heart I am his wife!
THE PRISONER My wife!
THE GOVERNOR His wife?
THE ASSISTANT Yes, here I am
THE JAILER What courage!
THE PRISONER My love!
THE GOVERNOR You cannot stop me
THE ASSISTANT I will defy you!
THE PRISONER My love!
JAILER His wife His wife
THE GOVERNOR You can’t stop me
THE PRISONER My love!
THE JAILER His wife
THE GOVERNOR You cannot stop me
THE ASSISTANT I will
I will stop you
I will help him
THE GOVERNOR You cannot stop me
THE ASSISTANT shoots the THE GOVERNOR Loud gunshot
It has no discernable effect
Long silence
(xviii)
14. The Governor
THE GOVERNOR (calmly) What is one man?
And what is one man worth? One man?
Or one woman?
What is any one man worth?
No one man is ever safe or free Our people say:
Keep our land safe Keep our land secure Keep it strong
Keep it proud
Keep it glorious and free
That is what your neighbors want from me No one man is ever safe or free
I hear the people of our land
I hear them
We hear them
Until we hear them crying out: ‘Save this man’
Until we hear them crying out: ‘Freedom’
Until we hear them
Until we hear them
Until then –
No one man is ever safe or free
15. The Assistant, The Governor, The Prisoner, The Jailer, Guards, Chorus of Prisoners
(the trumpeter appears on the ramparts and plays his signal)
THE ASSISTANT
The inspectors!
Does this mean you will be freed?
THE PRISONER Yes, I am saved I am saved
THE ASSISTANT You are saved
THE GOVERNOR
In a better world
You could be saved
In a better world
The inspectors could arrive At just the right moment
In a better world
We would all be free
How can you think that there is a better world?
(xix)
THE ASSISTANT, THE PRISONER This day
This hour
This moment
THE GOVERNOR This day
Is just another day This hour
Is just another hour This moment
Is just another moment
THE JAILER
What will happen to me? This day
What will happen to me? This hour
What will happen to me? This moment
GUARDS, CHORUS OF PRISONERS What will happen to us?
This day
What will happen to us?
This hour
What will happen to us? This moment
THE ASSISTANT, THE PRISONER We are free
GUARDS, CHORUS OF PRISONERS When will we be free?
EVERYONE (singing directly to the audience) We are born free
We are born free
But everywhere we are in chains
We are in chains
The difference here
Between prison and outside – In here
You see the chains
You see the chains
Sometimes –
We think you see us Sometimes –
Down in this darkness Sometimes –
We feel your light, on us
We need your light
You need to see us Sometimes –
We need to know you see us Sometimes –
If you can see us We can be free
(xx)
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