The Story:
In Act 3, in a comic number, a group of spies is killing time while watching Rasputin’s apartment. Then we see how he conducts his salon, with petitioners from everywhere asking for royal favors, which he grants in exchange for cash – or the pleasure of their favors, in the case of attractive young women. He meditates on his efforts to keep Russia out of a foreign war in order to spare the peasants, and boasts that, in his hand, he holds the entire Russian Empire.
Then we meet Olga, a demented woman who considers Rasputin to be God himself, and another, whose life was ruined when he raped her.
In Act 3, in a comic number, a group of spies is killing time while watching Rasputin’s apartment. Then we see how he conducts his salon, with petitioners from everywhere asking for royal favors, which he grants in exchange for cash – or the pleasure of their favors, in the case of attractive young women. He meditates on his efforts to keep Russia out of a foreign war in order to spare the peasants, and boasts that, in his hand, he holds the entire Russian Empire.
Then we meet Olga, a demented woman who considers Rasputin to be God himself, and another, whose life was ruined when he raped her.
Click to hear an MP3 file containing a short excerpt from Act 3. (0.4MB, 30s)
Rasputin: I said to Nikolai: “If I leave the palace your own days will soon end”. And the Tsar knows this is true. Woman:: We call him the “Tsar above the Tsar”. |
Click to hear another MP3 file containing the rape scene from Act 3. (3.55MB, 5m27s) (This was recorded with a live singer.)
Woman: Why do you go to him? Young woman: Who are you? Who are you? W: why do you go to him? Why? YW: I am not quite sure myself. W: Why do you go to him? You do not belong to his regular circle. I know that! Listen to me! For Christ’s sake, listen to me! I shall lose my reason if I don’t talk to somebody! (They descend the stairs.)I must tell you everything. Listen to me, for God’s sake. You are so young, so happy. Listen to me! Are you a stranger? YW: Yes, I am not from St. Petersburg. W: I too came from far away, and I did not know what would happen to me. Why did she send me to him? I am not young any more. I am 32. Why did she say that all my sorrows would be over if only I spoke to him? Did you promise to come back? YW: No, I only gave him a hint. W: Good. You were clever! But I! I was always religious. I believed in God and Christ! Why did I seek salvation in him? Did he tell you to go to church? YW: Yes, but I didn’t mean to go, really. W: You are smart! That’s what he told me, too. And I came back after church, as he told me, and he was waiting for me. I knew what he wanted from me! He pulled me into the bedroom, taking off my dress as we went. He was breathing on my neck. He made me kneel in the corner by the icons and pray. He said: “Saint Simeon of Verkhoture, have mercy on my sins”. YW: And what did you do? W: And I did not curse him! I did not spit on him, as he deserved! The next moment he was all desire. He tore off my underwear, and that is all I remember. When I awoke he was standing over me, naked. I was lying on the ground, torn and defiled. He said something to me, something vulgar, and then “Do not sleep, for Christ’s sake”. He actually dared to say that name, he actually dared to say that name at that moment! I began to scream, I began to scream and strike at him! Someone came running, and they put a cloak on me and threw me into a coach. Why did he do it? Why did I let him? Now I do not know what to do. I cannot stay here, but I cannot go away. Every day I wander about the city. |