The following day. though, Charlotte sets off to visit Anne Egerman and, faced with the child bride's foolish naivet6, her blithe worldliness cracks. Desirée has ensnared both their husbands. Love, she tells Anne, takes its toll: Every Day a Little Death. Desirée, however, feels otherwise. She has a short break in her hectic schedule and, ensconced at her mother's estate, decides to invite a few house guests: Carl-Magnus and Charlotte, Henrik, Anne and Fredrik. Of course, Fredrik's new wife is an obstacle, but who knows what A Weekend in the Country may bring? Act II A country weekend is about to begin. Tantalisingly, The Sun Won't Set, though no-one seems inclined to a quiet night's sleep. Charlotte tells Anne that she will make love to Fredrik and thereby tempt Carl-Magnus back. Young Henrik confides to Fredrika that he is in love with Anne, his stepmother. On the terrace, CarlMagnus and Fredrik are sunk in introspective gloom: if only Desirée had become fat, if only she wasn't so enduringly appealing, It Would Have Been Wonderful. The Norse twilight tingles and the lieder quintet sings of Perpetual Anticipation. Only Petra is enjoying her weekend away, with a straightforward bout of al fresco passion with Madame Armfeldt's butler Frid. As the night advances, a grim weariness descends: in Desirée's bedroom, Fredrik wonders why he's wasting his time trying to recapture his lost youth with a teenage bride; Desirée wonders why she's sleeping with a dunderhead dragoon to relieve the monotony of third-rate tours. Send in the Clowns?. Don't bother - they're here. Outside, under the Northern stars, Anne finds her stepson trying to hang himself. They kiss and, on the shores of the lake, both discover love. As they do, their maid straightens her own skirts, decides that one day she'll marry The Miller's Song but in the meanwhile . . . The night draws to a close with a duel between CarlMagnus and Fredrik - and a wounded Fredrik in Desirée's arms. The summer night has smiled on the young, the fools and, finally, the old: Madame Armfeldt dies, and the Night Waltz plays once more. CHARACTERS • Frederik Egerman - A middle-aged lawyer who doesn't wish to press his sexual advances, but is growing restless ... • Anne Egerman - His second wife but, after almost a year, still a wife in name only. • Henrik Egerman - A serious seminary student, Fredrik's son by his first marriage and, in fact, a year older than his stepmother. • Petra - The Egerman's maid and, in contrast to the rest of the household, someone who seizes every opportunity for a rustle in the hay. • Madame Armfeldt - A veteran of discreet and lucrative horizontal encounters with the crowned heads of Europe. • Desirée Armfeldt - Her daughter and a touring actress. • Frederika Armfeldt - Desirée's thirteen-year old daughter. • Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm - Desirée's lover, a splendidly proportioned but ferociously jealous dragoon. • Countess Charlotte Malcolm - Carl-Magnus' wife • Frid - Madame Armfeldt's butler. • Malla - Desirée's maid. • Bertrand - A page. • Osa Mr. Linquist, Mrs. Nordstrom, Mrs. Anderssen, Mr. Erlansson and Mrs. Segstrom - The lieder singers
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODU3MzQ=