Scene 1
I - cezalpina
The space is empty.
Silence.
The light is pale, whitish.
It's the white hour,
when the night is gone and the sun has not yet arrived.
It's just before dawn.
Everything is milky.
Little by little,
slowly,
the light rises,
colors everything.
They are fresh colors,
and faint,
a mist rises from the earth.
It's the earth's first breath.
Dew.
A sound.
A vibrato.
A chord.
Sêmele's etherno firefly glows.
Water flows.
A breeze blows.
As if suddenly, Dionyzos is here.
He enters.
He has entered.
In the Silence.
He arrives with women.
They walk,
moving forward,
scarves of mist on their legs.
Footsteps.
Walking roots.
With each step you hear the sound of the earth.
Deaf.
Intense.
Present.
Ready to get ready.
The Divine Gang has descended.
Dionyzos consults compass and watch.
He looks at the crowd.
He has an appointment.
In this place,
at that time,
with the crowd present.
Right on time.
History is happening.
He's calm and passionate.
He and the Maenads, during the prologue, really discover the audience.
It's a thrill for them.
They really enjoy discovering each person.
The thrill of a new world.
The new world of each moment.
They really are sailors.
With great pleasure.
The Olympos of the Maenads and Dionysos is the audience.
They see and look deeply at each person's god.
And that's where the enchantment comes from.
(subtext prologue for the Bacchae by Catherine Hirsch)