If André Antoine, the representative of a factory in the Liberal Theatre had not put the real half cut cows on a nail in the butchery on stage: Maeterlinck would not have been wondering with his mythical lovers in gothic castles. If the theatre had not wanted to put on stage the day as in a newspaper on all costs, Maeterlinck would not have been wondering in the middle age.

From one day to another instead of the modernity of naturalism the wish for death of the mysticism has become modern. Maeterlinck was thought to be a genius. "It is better than any masterpiece by Shakespeare” - Octave Mirabeau, the once popular naturalistic drama writer, became enthusiastic generously because of The Princess of Maleine (La Princesse Maleine) after it was published in 30 pieces in August of 1890 on the pages of Figaro. Mirabeau’s article affects as a bomb in Paris. Maurice Polydore-Marie-Bernard made Maeterlinck famous. With it began the Flemish poet’s world career.

In the movement of the Théâtre d'Art, which was founded by the symbolist poet, Paul Fort (existed for two years), Aurélien-Marie Lugné-Poë, who rebelled against the pope of the naturalism, Antoine, directed Pelléas et Mélisande. It had its only performance on 17th May, 1893 in Bouffes-Parisiens, in the earlier ceremonious place of Offenbach’s operetta. (In the ascetic building which was ruined till the bricks, however it was over-decorated in the time of III. Napoléon, nowadays Peter Brook has been working there). Lady Meuris played the main female role. Marie Aubry like a transvestite plays Pelléas, who was formed into a trousers’ role. Lugné-Poe choked from anger as an old king on the stage according to the review by Francisque Sarcey on 22nd May, 1893.

From those who are writing on French language, Maeterlinck is the most German poet. Instead of the French light, he brought into fashion his German gloominess and the mistiness of the Northern dramas. The uncertainty of existence gets the place of safety. Death is the secret hero of his dramas. It is covered in the middle age instead of the analysis of the present era. He did not get his stories form the criminal chronicle of newspapers, but form old folios, Flemish statements and mythical tales.

The Flemish one, who talked daily with death, was not a weak wise person. Béla Balázs was thinking about the photo from the poet’s childhood: This ten-years-old child is between those, who have remorse, after they have laughed well. In contrast to them, there is the Belgian civil person, who is fat, healthy, drinker, great eater and cheerful. He managed well the benefits of his poetry. Meanwhile he was dreaming about stone towers covered by fog, under earth ghostly corridors, dark castles with ghosts around them: between the sets, he bought, he performed open-air performance in the ruined building of Abbaye de Saint Wandrille.

Zoltán Balázs’ performances have already denied the naturalist theatre so far. Now from Maeterlinck’ evergreen love death-triangle János Lackfi celebrates a performance in the Bárka Theatre – mostly un-hearable because of the actors who played it – with a new translation. He did it without the usage of Gabriel Fauré’s opera music (1898), Claude Debussy’s (1902), Jean Sibeliusé’s (1905), and Arnold Schönberg’ symphonic poet. Béla Faragó made us remember the Latin and Orthodox masses. Which we could not understand from the text or the understanding of the director: the music could show us. It surrounded the performance, gave sound to the deep. The sounds make visible the invisible things.

Judit Gombár built a three floors high cloister of a monastery on the stage of Bárka Theatre. It is impressive, it gives opportunity to play it well and cross surprisingly. It stands solidly from scenic point of view on the stage. It does not shake. It does not wobble. It does not seem like usual sets in theatre to fly away with the first breeze. They fill the place and live it around. In its windows we can see the characters with ungraceful dignity like ghosts, like Uta and Ekkehardt would move there from the dome of Naumburg. The motionless walking using the middle of the foot is flat, it is almost a miracle on stage. Tamás Vati’s choreography melts slinky wild animals, creeping plants and albums of fine arts into natural decorated movements. Gabriella Varga enchants herself behind an Armenian carpet, then rolls it up. Like into a hedge, this girl from the forest, from the lake, or who knows from where, hides herself behind the carpet. Kristóf Horváth is on the right, at the top of the stairs, he is the frozen time, frightening threat, the presence of revision.

As in Balázs’ other directions, there is a well worked-out order. There are three floors and the forth part the opening trap is in front of the building, there are stairs into the deep, into the secret corridor, or into the sea, into the underworld, into the deepness of instincts. The director analysed clearly all through the senses and qualities of places. He does it purely for himself, why does Arkël, István Erdős, the puppeteer move like the marionette representative of himself the kind of Allemonde (while sounding horrific hissing voices) and why does Genevičve walk on the upper corridor like an upper self, Olga Varjú does it strongly. For the director it is also obvious why are Gabriella Varga as Mélisande with her croaking or sounds of a skylark and with her non-verbality, and her doubled partner, Kamilla Fátyol, who is with a floor under her, play their roles in a doubled way. Unfortunately, I am totally outside the interpretation. I admit that I could not understand it. If I did: I could not feel it. It does not have effect on me. Maybe I will stay alone with my opinion, but I can stand out only for myself. It has a meaning that Golaud the husband, and Pelléas the third one can be exchanged as Artúr Kálid and Zoltán Seress play them clearly, beautifully and in a strong way (as they are siblings, not only opponents in love). I do not understand why would Rémusz Szikszai got the role of Yniold, who in his baby dress and with his grey hair, similar to the mad grandmother of Frida Gombaszögi in The House of Bernard Alba.

Mélisande’ clicking rhythm and Pelléas who can keep in contact with her, with his gibbering like a wild man, in spite of its contradiction: theirs is the most well understandable dialogue. In the middle of a theatre which is mostly about literature the words cannot have effect, but the rhythms and the lights, the area and the movements can.

The three servants who are closest to us in understandability, are sounded on bass by Szabolcs Hámori, Antal Cseh, Gáza Gábor: they do it with strong individuality, mysteriously, but not in a dark mood, they can move frighteningly objectively with joy over good and bad between those who are sentenced to death.

The vision, the movements, the costumes, the dancing pantomimes, the background music form a real course of history of art, it is a high levelled lecture. Frozen knowledge and beauty. It is a multicultural revue: Latin and Orthodox masses, Scythian figures, Persian decorations, Kabuki compression and that graceful sacredness, something similar we could see only in the case of the theatrical genius, Vasilyev in Moscow.

Balázs’ performance put the best of them on stage, however with Ferenc Molnár’s words, the good ones would be enough. Theatre is not the place of reality. In case of the performance of Maeterlinck beside the sensuality its meaning means more, the speculation wins above the sexuality.

Péter Gál Molnár, Népszabadság, 2005

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)